Shaul Yitzchak the Mischievous 0:59

A short animated film (about 1 min): Shaul Yitzchak, son of Rabbi Natan, learns to treat animals with compassion. In Hebrew.

The story in the film

In a small town in Russia lived Rabbi Natan, a beloved and patient teacher. The courtyard of his house was full of animals — hens, chicks and others — and he cared for every one of them with affection.

His son, Shaul Yitzchak, had not yet learned to be gentle. He frightened the hens and chased the chicks. His father did not shout at him. He opened the book and explained that animals too feel fear, hunger and thirst, and that the Torah teaches us to care for them.

Then Shaul Yitzchak saw his father weeping. Only then did he understand how much pain he had caused. "Father, I am sorry," he said. "I promise I will never hurt an animal again. I want to put it right." From then on, when he sat and studied in the courtyard, the animals no longer fled from him — Shaul Yitzchak had learned to see who lived there.

The film runs about a minute and tells the whole story in brief. For the full version there is an audio story of about eight minutes.

Listen to the full audio version

The sources in the story

• "One may tip the basket over in front of the chicks so that they can climb up and down" — on Shabbat the Torah permits moving an object that may normally not be moved, so as not to cause an animal distress. Shabbat 128b
• "A person may not eat before giving food to his animal" — one feeds the animals in one's care before sitting down to eat. Berakhot 40a
• "And I will give grass in your field for your cattle" — and only afterwards "and you shall eat and be satisfied". This is the verse the order is learned from, and it is said in the Shema. Deuteronomy 11:15

Credits

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