Adapted from: A Daily Dose of Perek Shirah by Rabbi David Sutton

בְּהֵמָה גַּסָּה טְמֵאָה אוֹמֶרֶת: יְגִיעַ כַּפֶּיךָ כִּי תֹאכֵל אַשְׁרֶיךָ וְטוֹב לָךְ.

The large unkosher animal says: When you eat of the labor of your hands, you are praiseworthy (Tehillim 128:2).

Wild animals do not have to “work for a living.” The sefer Birkas HaShir explains that they dwell in the fields and forests, and they are created with the instincts they need to survive. However, when the winter comes and the prey is not as abundant, wild animals suffer from hunger. As the pasuk says (Tehillim 34:11), kfirim rashu v’ra’eivu, Young lions may want and hunger.

However, the docile unkosher farm animals work hard for their owners, and in return, their owners feed them. They never lack. As Yirmiyah (17:7) tells us, Baruch hagever asher yivtach b’Hashem v’hayah Hashem mivtacho, Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, then Hashem will be his security. The animals entrust their survival to their owners, and we learn from them to trust our survival to our Owner, Hashem, Who will always take care of our needs.

Yeshayah (1:3), speaking for Hashem, rebukes the Jewish people for not recognizing this, yoda shor koneihu vachamor avus ba’alav Yisrael lo yada ami lo hisbinen יָדַע שׁוֹר קֹנֵהוּ וַחֲמוֹר אֵבוּס בְּעָלָיו יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא יָדַע עַמִּי לֹא הִתְבּוֹנָן, An ox knows its owner and a donkey its master’s trough; but Israel does not know. My nation does not comprehend. Therefore, says the donkey, “Learn from me. Work for your Master and He will take care of you.”

The sefer Yeshuah V’Rachamim by R’ Yehoshua Sofer discusses the fate of the non-kosher animals in contrast to the kosher animals. It seems that the kosher animals have a much more elevated destiny: they are slaughtered, cooked and eaten according to the Torah’s laws. A blessing is said over them. They are digested by a Jew, imbuing him with health and energy to serve Hashem. The non-kosher animal’s lot appears to be dismal by comparison. However, it too plays a role in the picture of avodas Hashem. It serves as a mode of transportation, carries burdens, ploughs the fields and performs many other functions that enable man to serve Hashem. This teaches us that every person, as well, has a part in Hashem’s plan. Each of us is created to fulfill our own personal mission, and when we do it to the best of our ability, we find our unique fulfillment in life.

There is a fable about two cows that noticed an eagle flying high in the sky. One of the cows longed to do the same. His companion told him he was being foolish; cows can’t fly. Nevertheless, the cow decided that he would give it a try. He went up a mountain and jumped off, quickly ending his experiment and his life. The other cow absorbed the lesson: “I’m not made to fly. But I can do things an eagle cannot. I can run, I can pull wagons, I can plough the earth. And that’s what I will do.”

The horse and the donkey cannot be a meal for a Jew. They cannot ascend to Hashem as a korban. Rather, they live a workaday life and are rewarded with their daily meal from their owner’s hand. But they, too, have something to sing about — When you eat of the labor of your hands, you are praiseworthy. Furthermore, the Gemara (Berachos 8a) says of the person who works for his living, “It is good for you in this world and good for you in the next world.”

The large farm animal tells us not to become focused on status, fame, or great accomplishments. Some people are in the world to acquire those things and some people are not. But we’re all here to serve our Master in the way He designates for us. That’s what makes us worthy of praise.

PRACTICAL TAKE-AWAY

What are the roles you play in life that no one else could fulfill as you do?