Take the mitzvah, the commandment, of shiluach haken, sending away the mother bird before taking her eggs or young. It appears in Deuteronomy 22:6-7, and it's all about compassion, preventing cruelty to animals. But it's not just send away the mother bird. It's shale’aḥ teshalaḥ – "you shall surely send away." Why the double wording?

Well, the Rabbis in Devarim Rabbah, a collection of homiletic interpretations on the Book of Deuteronomy, have some fascinating ideas. The first one is pretty straightforward, and it speaks to our own lives. "Shale’aḥ teshalaḥ," they say, means that if the opportunity to fulfill this mitzvah comes to you again, don't brush it off thinking, "Oh, I already did that once." Each time the opportunity presents itself, you should embrace it. It's a powerful reminder that acts of kindness and compassion shouldn't be one-offs. They should be a continuous practice, woven into the fabric of our lives.

But here's where it gets really interesting. Another interpretation suggests a connection between shiluach haken and other forms of liberation. The Rabbis suggest that if you fulfill the mitzvah of sending away the mother bird, you will be privileged to send away a Hebrew slave. That is, you'll be prosperous enough to own one in the first place, and righteous enough to set him free after his term of service! Where does this come from? Well, it is derived from the verse, "But when you send him free away from you" (Deuteronomy 15:13). The act of letting go, of freeing a creature, echoes across different realms of our lives.

And then… then we leap into messianic territory. According to Devarim Rabbah, “shale’aḥ teshalaḥ the mother” – if you fulfill this mitzvah, you will hasten the coming of the messianic king! How wild is that? The text connects the act of "sending" with the coming of the Messiah, drawing on Isaiah 32:20: “Who send out the foot of the bull and the donkey." Here, the "bull" is seen as an allusion to the proto-messianic king, a descendant of Joseph – the Mashiach ben Yosef – as it is written: “A firstborn bull is his majesty” (Deuteronomy 33:17). And the donkey? That alludes to the messianic king from the line of David – Mashiach ben David – in whose regard it is written: “Your king will come to you…he is humble, and riding on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). Fulfilling this seemingly small mitzvah, according to this interpretation, helps usher in an era of redemption!

Rabbi Tanchuma offers yet another layer. He says that fulfilling shiluach haken hastens the coming of Elijah the prophet – Eliyahu Hanavi – of blessed memory. Elijah, of course, is the harbinger of the Messiah. And, wouldn't you know it, sending is written regarding him too: “Behold, I am sending Elijah the prophet to you” (Malachi 3:23). He will come and comfort you. This is derived from Malachi 3:24: “He will restore the heart of parents with children.” The act of sending away the mother bird, therefore, becomes linked to healing broken relationships and restoring harmony within families.

So, what does it all mean? Is it just about not being cruel to animals? Well, yes, that's the basic commandment. But as we see in Devarim Rabbah, the Rabbis find layers of meaning within the text. It's about repeated acts of kindness. It's about freeing ourselves and others from oppression. And it's about actively participating in bringing about a more redeemed world, a world where families are healed and the Messiah can finally arrive. It's a powerful reminder that even the smallest actions can have profound and far-reaching consequences.