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Why does the Torah (תורה) say "lo sikach ha'eim al habanim" — don't take the mother upon the children — when the prohibition is actually taking the eggs? The shiur develops a fundamental understanding: when the mother is rovetzes (sitting on) her young, they are considered part of her — like a fetus is yerech imo, part of the mother's body. Taking the children is therefore taking something from the mother herself, which explains the Torah's otherwise puzzling formulation.
The shiur opens by analyzing the unusual structure and terminology of the Kan Tzipor passage in Parshas Ki Seitzei. Rabbi Zweig notes several linguistic difficulties: the Torah (תורה) calls the young "banim" (children) after initially calling them "efrachim" (fledglings) or "beitzim" (eggs); the prohibition is phrased as "lo sikach ha'eim al habanim" (don't take the mother upon/with the children) rather than a straightforward prohibition against taking the eggs; and the opening phrase "ki yikareh kan tzipor" (when you happen upon a bird's nest) seems to define the nest as including the eggs or fledglings, yet the mother is mentioned separately. A key question emerges: where in the verse is there any indication that one cannot take the eggs themselves? The explicit prohibition reads "lo sikach ha'eim al habanim" — don't take the mother upon the children — which seems to forbid taking the mother, not the eggs. Yet Chazal and all authorities agree the prohibition includes (or primarily concerns) taking the eggs. The positive commandment "shaleach teshaleach es ha'eim v'es habanim tikach lach" (send away the mother and take the children for yourself) indicates one may take the eggs only after sending the mother away, but where is the actual lav against taking them?
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Devarim 22:6-7
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