Lioness Finds Her Bashert

Three years ago, when I was visiting Chobe National Park in Botswana as part of the Torah In Motion Africa Tour, we were lucky enough to spot a solitary lioness. Although it was getting dark and she was quite far away, I even managed to take a good photo (see right). Later that evening, when I transferred the photo to my laptop and zoomed in on it, I noticed that her eyes were different colors - her right eye was blue instead of the normal yellow. The next day, I asked the ranger, and he told me that she was blind in one eye. Poor lioness.

Two years ago, we visited Chobe again. Once again, we saw a lioness - and it was the same one! Her eye had gotten even worse, it was now entirely opaque. The poor thing was still alone, too.

Last year, when went to Chobe, I eagerly looked out for the one-eyed lioness. Alas, I did not see her. I hoped that she was still alive.

Five days ago, we went back to Chobe. And yet again, we saw the lioness that was blind in one eye. Only this time, she wasn't alone. She was with a large and powerful male lion. And one of his eyes was damaged! She had found her bashert!

Here is a photo of the happy couple (alas, a little out of focus):

And here is a video (but if you're reading this via email, you will have to visit www.RationalistJudaism.com in order to watch it:

Baruch Hashem!