09 May BEHAR/BECHUKOTAI: BECOMING A HUMAN BEING

On the second day of
Pesach, the korban
omer, made of barely,
is sacrificed. Barley is
animal food. We then
count fifty days until
Shavuos, when the shtei
halechem are
brought. The shtei
halechem are made
from wheat flour,
which is a grain that
is fitting for humans.
This alludes to the
period of the fifty
days of the omer,
when we rise from
being animalistic to
acquiring the fine characteristics of a
human being (see Aruch HaShulchan
489:3).
What makes a person “human”?
In Shacharis we say, Mutar Haadam Min
Habeheima…..These words can be
translated as the quality of man over an
animal is man’s ability to say Ain, no.
Animals act by instincts only. They can’t
control themselves. But “Mutar Haadam

Min Habeheima,” man’s greatness over
animals is Ain, that he can shout “no” to
whatever isn’t Hashem’s will.
The Rebbe of Ishbitz zt’l taught:
The head of a human being rests on top of
the body. This indicates that his mind
rules over his actions. By an animal, the
head and the body are on the same plane,
which implies that the mind can’t control
its corporeal instincts. It can’t say “no” to
control what its body wants.
When the railroad system was invented,
the Shinover Rav zt’l explained that
people used to be greater than animals,
and therefore they rode on animals.
Today, they aren’t greater than animals
anymore, but they are still greater than
domeim, inanimate objects. So, they can
ride on metal trains, but they don’t have
the right to ride animals.
This is because if a person has intelligence,
but he doesn’t follow his conscience, he
is essentially the same as an animal, and
he therefore doesn’t have the right to have
an animal serving him.
A bachur, whose spiritual level was
declining, asked Reb Shalom Shwadron
zt’l for permission to travel to a certain

place that wasn’t appropriate for a
yeshiva student. Reb Shalom Shwadron
replied, “If you can answer my questions
you can go there.”
The bachur agreed to those terms, and he
waited for the question.
Reb Shalom asked him, “Which is
better? To be a human being or an
animal?”
The bachur replied that it is obvious that
the human race is a more elite race than
that of an animal. “Animals eat outdoors,
they rummage through the garbage, they
never wash up… It is certainly a greater
honor to be a human being.”
Reb Shalom told him there is another way
to look at things: Animals lead tranquil
lives. They find their meals wherever they
go. They don’t get into machlokes. They
never have to take medicine… In contrast,
human beings have financial problems,
they get into disputes, one day with one
person, the next day with someone else…”
The bachur changed his mind. “Perhaps it
is better to be an animal. I wish I was
created an animal…”
Reb Shalom told him, “You don’t have to

worry about it. You’re a perfect animal…”
A person has to take control over his
body, and to let his mind rule. He should
think through what he wants to do, what
he wants to eat, when he wants to wake
up, and so on, and then follow through
with his decisions. If he can’t change in a
moment, he should make a plan to change
gradually. However, when one is under
the control of the body’s desires, he is
ultimately like an animal. He acts by
instinct, without intelligence.
An animal remains an animal, but a
person can change. He can say “no” when
it isn’t Hashem’s will, because “Mutar
Haadam Min Habeheima,” a person’s
quality over an animal is his ability to say
“no” to sins.