THE SONG OF THE STARLING
Starlings sing of the distinctiveness of Hashem’s nation that exile cannot blur.
[Song 45] Starling (Ch. 4)
זַרְזִיר אוֹמֵר: נוֹדַע בַּגּוֹיִם זַרְעָם וְצֶאֱצָאֵיהֶם בְּתוֹךְ הָעַמִּים כָּל רֹאֵיהֶם יַכִּירוּם כִּי הֵם זֶרַע בֵּרַךְ יי: (ישעיה סא ט)
The Starling is saying, “Their seed shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which Hashem has blessed.”
Commentary
Starlings are very common worldwide and individual flocks can number over one
million. They have been known to mingle with the non-Kosher raven
.Mingling is an indication of relationship of species, but only if they are alike. Starlings have
distinguishable appearances and behaviors, and are therefore Kosher. They sing of
Hashem’s nation, who were blackened through exile, but have remained distinct. With
sideburns, circumcision, tzitzis, tefillin, mezuzos, and a code of conduct that refuses to
bend to immoral winds of society, we stand proudly as a nation within nations.
Be business-smart: do not trade an iota of that which lasts forever for something
temporal and meaningless. At the same time, we should be wary of the confusing pulls
of society. Maintain constant connection with Hashem through daily prayer and Torah
study. Only if we continue our tradition along its millennia-long line can we
distinctively remain Hashem’s blessed progeny. Keep faith, stride with pride, and live
with song.
LIVING WITH THE SONG
If we are we because we are we then we are.
We have nothing to be ashamed of, though other nations perhaps do. Every Jewish ritual is laden with deep and many-
layered meaning. Libraries fail to contain all that has been written about our Torah and countless oceans of brilliant wisdom
never made it to the papyrus and paper. We are not scared of questions- we invite them to come and reveal the truth.
Our lifestyle is essentially unchanged since its establishment at Har Sinai. There is an age-old practice to step out in the
morning to Shul with one’s Tallis and Tefillin on, enwrapped with them as one passes by his Mezuzah. We are not
embarrassed of this, rather we see in this practice it the splendor of divine worship. This true with all of our Mitzvos. We
see not only the physical world but also the spiritual one that permeates it.
Be proud of your identity. Fads will fade, trends will tread onwards, but your religion always was and always will be. Be
business-wise. Do not trade an iota of that which lasts forever for something temporal and meaningless. However, we must
be wary of the draw of society. Nobody is immune to it. Only with constant reattachment to Hashem, through daily prayer
and learning or otherwise, can we continue the tradition along the exact line it has travels through millennia, unchangeable.
If we bend the line but a little, over the generations that line may turn around completely.
Keep faith, stride with pride, and live with song.
Inspirational commentary By Shmuel Ben-Tzion Kraines author of
The Song of Existence.