Behaalosecha: The Shechinah Isn't a Dog Person
I am not a dog person. I have no problem with dog people UNLESS they're insensitive to those who aren't dog people. According to Chazal, the shechinah has my back. Take heed, O dog people!
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Behaalosecha: The Shechinah Isn't a Dog Person
The mishnah in Bava Kama 7:7 states: "a person may not raise a dog unless it is leashed" (79b). Although the Rambam (Nizkei Mamon 5:9) seemingly applies this ruling ALL dogs, others limit it to a “bad dog” – that is, a dog which might cause harm (see Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 409:3). We’ll return to this qualification later. The Gemara (83a) brings down a cryptic teaching based on a pasuk in Parashas Behaalosecha:
R’ Dostai from Biri expounded: “When [the Ark] rested, [Moshe] said: ‘Return, Hashem, to the myriads of the thousands of Israel’” (Bamidbar 10:36). This teaches that the shechinah (divine presence) only rests on 22,000 Jews (myriad = 10,000; “myriads” = 20,000; “myriads of thousands” = 22,000). [Thus,] if there are 21,999 Jews and one pregnant woman who was fit to complete the number [by giving birth], but a dog barked at her and she miscarried [as a result of the fright], this [dog owner] is found to have caused the shechinah to depart from Israel.
There are two major questions: (1) What does it mean that the shechinah only rests on a minimum of 22,000 Jews? Sure, the drashah fits into the words “myriads of thousands,” but what idea are Chazal teaching us? (2) Why is this dog owner blamed for chasing away the shechinah? This seems like an unduly harsh condemnation!
Our first question is partially answered by the Torah Temimah (ibid.) on the basis of the pasuk: “God stands in the Divine assembly” (Tehilim 82:1). A Sanhedrin must have a minimum of 22 core judges, with the 23rd serving as a tiebreaker. Considering Shlomo ha’Melech’s statement that “I have [only] found one [worthy] man in a thousand” (Koheles 7:28), it turns out that – statistically speaking – 22,000 Jews are needed in order to find 22 worthy individuals who will constitute the “Divine assembly” in which the shechinah can “stand.” Hold this thought.
The answer to our second question emerges from a series of dog-related statements in the Gemara Shabbos 63a-b. Reish Lakish said: “Anyone who raises a bad dog in his house withholds chesed (kindness) from his house.” Rashi explains “because he doesn’t allow the poor to approach his door,” since his dog frightens them. For this reason, Maharsha learns that even a non-bad dog results in withheld chesed, as long as it scares the poor. Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak said: “[a dog-owner] also casts off the fear of heaven.” Maharsha explains that taking security in one’s guard dog detracts from security in Hashem. A third statement is brought down in Shabbos and Bava Kama:
There was a [pregnant] woman who entered a house to bake. A dog barked at her, and her fetus was displaced. The owner of that house told her, "Don't be afraid! His teeth and claws have been removed." She responded: "Take your good [intentions] and throw them on the thorns: [the fetus has] already stirred [and will certainly die]."
This anecdote illustrates a truth that is familiar to all non-dog people: dog owners tend to be blind to the fear experienced by non-dog people. As a non-dog person, I can tell you that one of the WORST things a dog owner can say is: “Don’t worry, my dog is friendly!” I HATE friendly dogs! Give me an old, apathetic, or depressed dog any day, but if your “friendly” dog “wants to play,” then I’m outta there! Halacha responds to this psychological reality with great sensitivity. It doesn’t matter whether the dog is objectively dangerous (e.g. if its teeth and claws have been removed). The dog owner is obligated to leash their dog so that nobody even FEELS endangered.
We are now in a position to elucidate the insight that emerges from these Gemaras. Dog owners love their dogs so much that they are often oblivious to how they harm others and themselves. They might (a) scare the poor, depriving them of tzedakah and themselves of chesed, (b) dilute their security in Hashem on account of their security in their guard dog, or (c) cause the loss of a human life – a life which, on a purely statistical basis, might have become a tzadik who caused the shechinah to dwell in Israel.
Are these possibilities remote? Perhaps. But that is precisely the point: EVERY Jew matters. If a dog owner’s affection for their canine companion overrides their concern for the wellbeing of a fellow Jew, that is something the shechinah cannot abide.
I’m gonna go ahead and guess that this article might ruffle some feathers. If you have questions, objections, comments, thoughts, or observations, I’d love to hear them!
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