On Rosh Hashanah we are very aware that the Book of Life is opened and that it is a time of justice, mercy and faith. I was recently at a ceremony at a farm and was struck by the beauty and majesty of the horses when I remembered a story about the inter-relationship of man and horse that taught a very important lesson.
At first G-d thought to create the world through the quality of judgment (din), but realizing that the world could not endure at this level. G-d added on the quality of compassion (rachamim).
—Midrash Bereishis Raba 12:15
One Friday morning a group of students set out to spend the Sabbath with their teacher, a holy rabbi. Dovid, whose deep love for animals earned him a reputation as a gifted horse whisperer, was among this group of students. After encountering several obstacles and delays on their journey, the group arrived just as the sun was about to set Friday afternoon. Fearing they would be late for Sabbath prayers and miss the holy rabbi’s teachings, the group hastily abandoned their horse and carriage and ran off to the synagogue everyone that is, except Dovid. When the holy rabbi realized that Dovid was missing, he sent the some of the students to look for him. Where did they find him? In the barn, feeding and brushing the horses. When they asked him what he was doing there, he responded that all the others had run off without thinking to feed and water the horses, who were weary from the demanding journey, and so he had stayed behind to do just that.
Dovid was a holy soul in the truest way, a lover of the Divine, and his love for G-d was expressed through his deep compassion for all creatures and all living things. It was absolutely clear to Dovid that by observing the mitzvah of tzaar ba’alei chaim, the commandment to prevent the suffering of animals, he would obtain more closeness to G-d than by seeking spiritual satisfaction in the synagogue. Dovid understood that it is in the expression of compassion, the love and care we extend to all living things that we find the Divine presence; for ultimately compassion, or rachamim, as it is called in Hebrew, is G-d’s very essence.
Jewish mysticism teaches that we come close to G-d only when we “walk in G-d’s ways” – that is, when we embody the divine quality of compassion. In the following, the thirteen attributes of Divine mercy revealed to Moses at Mount Sinai form the template for the practice of compassion:
“Walking in all His ways. (Deuteronomy 5:22). What are the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He? “A G-d compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6).
