By Diane Otto
Chickens…Yep...Chickens!
Yes…we have chickens! Onsite in our Citrus Garden, we have a chicken coup that houses the B’nai Israel hens: Rebecca, Rachael, and Sara. Our egg-laying hens were incubated and hatched here at the B'nai Israel Day School for our children to see. Now we can listen to their sweet song, gather their fresh organic eggs, feed them treats like bread and fruits, watch them turn the soils, watch them fertilize the soil, and best of all, watch them come running when they see us. They are a flock of G-d's creatures that our children must care for, be responsible for, and quite frankly, spoil them as no being should be deprived of G-d's bountiful gifts. To sum it up: the kids love chickens…chasing them, watching them, playing with them, and caring for them.
The B’nai Israel chickens additionally provide a platform to witness and learn about the interdependence of plants and animals because they demonstrate a basic biological cycle of gardening (and natural ecological systems): the plants provide food for the hens and the hens then eat and digest that food to turn it into fertilizer for the garden that will then grow more food for the hens.
The B’nai Israel chickens additionally provide a platform to witness and learn about the interdependence of plants and animals because they demonstrate a basic biological cycle of gardening (and natural ecological systems): the plants provide food for the hens and the hens then eat and digest that food to turn it into fertilizer for the garden that will then grow more food for the hens.
Jewish Wisdom and Practice: Respecting and Caring for Animals
Job 12:7-9
You need only ask the beasts, and they will teach you; The birds of the sky, and they will tell you; Or speak with the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea, they will tell you. Among all these, who does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? |
Mishlei (Proverbs) 12:10
The righteous person knows [the needs of] his animal’s soul. Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 40a (Deuteronomy) It is forbidden to sit down to your own meal before you have fed your pets and barnyard animals. As is says ‘and I will give feed to your animals’ and only after that does the verse say ‘and you shall eat and be satisfied’ |