19 Comments
User's avatar
Rauvan M Averick's avatar

Reminds me of the time I was given the chance to be a ba'al tokea - but I blew it.

Brought my own shofar to shul and was accused of blowing my own horn.

Expand full comment
Moshe Averick's avatar

I love your posts related to animals/ birds/ fish in Torah literature, always fascinating and enlightening :)

Just one note regarding a halachic point: while it's true that the gmara in megilla 26b says that tashmishei mitzvah (like suka, lulav, shofar and tzitzis) can be thrown in the trash, and this is codified in Rambam hilchos tzitzis 3,9 and shulchan aruch orach chaim 21,1, Rama on the shulchan aruch there does note that later authorities thought that one should not treat them in a disrespectful manner when disposing of them and even says that he thinks there's a midas chasidus to bury them. Mishna brura there sif katan 6 explicitly mentions shofar in this regard.

Expand full comment
Nachum's avatar

So she only believes in things she's seen? That's kind of limiting, no?

Also, of course, she can see dinosaurs in many places.

Expand full comment
Rauvan M Averick's avatar

in the scientific world, birds are considered dinosaurs.

Expand full comment
Nachum's avatar

Yes, I occasionally joke about the good dinosaur I ate the other day. But I was thinking more of remains in museums.

Expand full comment
Jew Well's avatar

Could it be the Rema was thinking of a boar's tusks, which can be dug into a horn?

Expand full comment
David Ilan's avatar

Tusks are teeth, not horns

Expand full comment
Jew Well's avatar

I know that, but our sources do not follow scientific classifications.

Expand full comment
Leib Shachar's avatar

Which is why I think the rhinoceros horn is not the horn referred to in the Talmud, only ones on the top of the head.

Expand full comment
David Ilan's avatar

I’m kind of surprised you didn’t write about how critically endangered rhinos are..

https://www.savetherhino.org/rhino-info/population-figures/

Expand full comment
Todd Shandelman's avatar

Rabbi Slifkin -

By mentioning that the daughter was around 20 years old, surely you meant to say that we must give her the benefit of the doubt. At that tender age, she was obviously still catching up on her scientific education.

I would also point out that she must not be blamed for the decision of the English language to adopt the Latin rather than Greek transliteration of the animal's name. Had the word been spelled "rhinokeros" as we might have expected, her confusion could have been entirely avoided.

Expand full comment
Mark's avatar

"Rinosaurus" is hilarious

Expand full comment
Building Worlds's avatar

Natan,

Please be aware, that Yadidya (YDYDY)

Who has commented on this post appears to be a Jew for Jesus.

Expand full comment
Joe Berry's avatar

Every Rosh HaShana I read your treatise on the shofer. A fascinating paper.

Expand full comment
Weaver's avatar

So are there any non-kosher animals with real horns . . . ?

Expand full comment
Gidon Ariel's avatar

a couple of ROTFLs there:-)

Expand full comment
Shui Haber's avatar

Fascinating!

Expand full comment
Todd Ellner's avatar

In your copious free time you might want to read Peter Beagle's delightful and profound collection of short stories "The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche and Other Odd Acquaintances". And while you're at it pretty much anything else by him. One of my favorites is " Uncle Chaim, Aunt Rifke, and the Angel".

Expand full comment
Comment removed
Sep 11
Expand full comment
Building Worlds's avatar

You make a weird comment about Jesus in your video, are you a believer in Jesus?

Expand full comment