Parashat Bo

וּלְכֹ֣ל ×€ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל לֹ֤א יֶֽחֱרַץ־כֶּ֙לֶב֙ לְשֹׁנ֔וֹ…but not a dog shall snarl at any of the Israelites,

Mechilta on Parashat Mishpatim points out that in reward for the dogs not barking at the Israelites on their way out of Egypt, the Torah commands us to provide non-kosher meat in our possession for them to enjoy וּבָשָׂ֨ר בַּשָּׂדֶ֤ה טְרֵפָה֙ לֹ֣א תֹאכֵ֔לוּ לַכֶּ֖לֶב תַּשְׁלִכ֥וּן אֹתֽוֹ׃ (ס). “You must not eat flesh torn by beasts in the field; you shall cast it to the dogs.” The midrash goes on to say that Hashem does not hold back reward from those who deserve it.

In the process of liberating the Jews from Egyptian slavery, Hashem used many creatures to show his might and ultimate control over nature, from wild animals to grasshoppers, and frogs and so on. However, we don’t see any reward mentioned in the Torah for these other animals for their services, perhaps because there is no inherent lesson for us to learn from them. But what is the lesson to be learned from the reward for the dogs mentioned in the Torah? Interestingly, later authorities mention other rewards that the dogs earned for their silence during the Israelite journey from Egypt.

Rav Moshe Meir Weiss Shlita points out that the reason the Torah places the dogs on a pedestal for us to learn from is because the nature of dogs is to bark at strangers. The dogs that the Torah mentioned who refrained from barking belonged to the border guards of Egypt and should have naturally barked at strangers ( Jews) who were crossing the border and had no previous encounter with these dogs. The lesson for us is clear: even though there were many other creatures who helped bring about our liberation, no other animal did it by changing its inherent behavior. One may serve Hashem according to his nature, but greater is the servant who serves through changing and breaking his nature and building a new reality to become close to Hashem.