Don't Take the Mother Bird with its Young 5784

(ו) כִּ֣י יִקָּרֵ֣א *(בספרי תימן קַן בקו״ף גדולה)קַן־צִפּ֣וֹר ׀ לְפָנֶ֡יךָ בַּדֶּ֜רֶךְ בְּכׇל־עֵ֣ץ ׀ א֣וֹ עַל־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֶפְרֹחִים֙ א֣וֹ בֵיצִ֔ים וְהָאֵ֤ם רֹבֶ֙צֶת֙ עַל־הָֽאֶפְרֹחִ֔ים א֖וֹ עַל־הַבֵּיצִ֑ים לֹא־תִקַּ֥ח הָאֵ֖ם עַל־הַבָּנִֽים׃

Deuteronomy 22:6

(6) If, along the road, you chance upon a bird’s nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs and the mother sitting over the fledglings or on the eggs, do not take the mother together with her young.

Ben: I think it is really stupid to shoo her away because the mother bird would experiencen the same amount if pain when she sees the empty nest as she would if she sees them taken. She may go and try to find them and become tired and might die from exhaustion and no food. But if she sees them getting taken she would know what happened to them.

From"TheBibleSays.com:
In addition, there is perhaps a greater reason why Moses discouraged the Israelites from taking the mother bird. As some have observed, the command to release the mother bird was likely to show respect for motherhood and respect for the relationship between parents and children.
It was also designed to emphasize the preciousness of life. If the life of a mother bird was to be protected, how much more so was the life of a human to be considered valuable and worthy of protection.

Chloe: Its really good that you should respect the mother and her children so she doesn't have to see her children taken away. Also it is good that you take the mother too so the mother can continue to produce more young. I personally would not do either and let them all live so they can all live in peace.

From "The Bible Says.com": Moses trains the people to recognize the sanctity of life by encouraging them to care for a lower form of God’s creation—a mother bird along with its young. Though possibly designed to preserve a source of food supply, it serves as a principle to care for and preserve life, both human and animal....However, the person was told that the young you may take for yourself. The Israelites were free to take them for food. Eggs were an important source of food for the Israelites, and by taking the eggs and freeing the mother, it allowed them to enjoy the eggs and to protect the future supply of eggs. In doing this, God advocates for the people of Israel an investment mindset. They are to let the mother go, to ensure there is adequate food in the future. “Eat the eggs, not the chickens,” so to speak. ...This mindset associated with investing in the future would cause things to be well with you. It would prolong their days. Living a consumptive lifestyle leads to poverty, and destroys well-being. Having the self-discipline to defer today’s pleasure for a future benefit is a big key to Israel’s blessings.

Samantha: Its okay to take the chicks because they won't grow big enough to make more chicks and it would take too long. It is important to not take eggs or chicks every time because then only old birds would exist and they would have a harder time making more chicks. Only older members of the species would exist and then the species would die out anyway.

From Thetorah.com: .... seeing the mother bird upon its young makes the parent-child relationship impossible to ignore. The image compels one to the think of the mother bird as a parent, and of the eggs or chicks as her young. To then ignore these facts, and take the mother together with her young, is to act cruelly.