Shabbat Shalom!
My portion begins the Book of Leviticus and describes
the sacrifices of animals at the time of the ancient temple.
Thankfully, we don’t do sacrifices anymore – although
even when they were done, sacrifices weren’t just about killing animals. After they were killed, the meat was grilled
and eaten. So what we’re describing was
your basic barbecue.
Still, I must say that the idea of sacrificing animals
bothers me. Even though I consider myself a good cook. Actually I’m more of a baker – and by the
way, have you ever tried my smores brownies?
They are to die for! But back to sacrifices. If it’s just like a barbecue, why does the
whole idea bother me?
It so happens that I really love animals. And I ask
myself, what did animals do to us for us to treat them that way?
About 10 years ago, Maggie came into my life. Maggie is a black lab who didn’t pass her Seeing
Eye dog test. But although she is not a
service dog, and so she couldn’t come to services, I’ve come to see how caring
she can be. Instead of sacrificing animals to God at the temple, I’ve learned
how animals interact with people, and how they are capable of making great
sacrifices for one another and humans, everywhere and all the time.
Maggie is like a personal psychologist. Whenever I am upset and go over to her, she
can tell that I’m sad. While under
normal circumstances she might run away, at these times, she kisses me and puts
her head in my lap.
Maggie gives me exercise. She always wants to play and she also loves
attention, which gives me a chance to learn how to care for another living
thing. Maggie is the reason I roll out
of bed in the morning. I can hear her squeaking her squeaky toys downstairs and
know that she is waiting for someone to play with her. I can see why dogs are called man’s, or
girls’ best friend, because Maggie is definitely mine. (Look over at friends…
“But you all are too! J”)
She’s also inspired my choice for my mitzvah project.
For my project I am raising money for CCI – Canine
Companions for Independence – an organization that works to train dogs to help
wounded soldiers, emotionally affected children, and many other types of
disabled adults and children.
I am raising money by making and selling dog magnets
made from Perler beads. One of the
events in which I sold these dog magnets was at the Temples Purim Carnival. I
also had cookies and brownies for sale at my booth.
I was inspired not only by Maggie, but by a recent
story about a dog named Haatchi. Haatchi
is an Anatolian Shepherd who lost one of his legs after being tied to a
railroad track by an abusive person. He
was later adopted by a family to help their son, Owen, who has a rare genetic
condition that causes his muscles to contract uncontrollably and made him fearful
of appearing in public. Hattchi helped Owen overcome his anxiety of the outside
world. The two are now inseparable, and
Owen now loves taking Haatchi out in public including to dog shows, where he
has proved to be quite a hit.
Despite the severe challenges they had to face
individually, Owen and Haatchi, united as a team, have showed us that true
friendship can overcome any amount of sacrifice.
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