Some interesting facts about ravens.

The raven is the largest bird in the crow family. They have an almost three-foot wingspan and at three pounds they’re twice as heavy as the common crow. Also unlike crows ravens can soar high above the trees and are  apable of aerial stunts similar to those executed by birds of prey.

Ravens are considered the most intelligent birds displaying high learning ability and the use of logic for solving problems. In one experiment a raven had to follow a series of actions to reach a piece of meat dangling from a string bound to perches. Ravens even put other animals to work for them. They have a close symbiotic relationship with the fox which helps them open the tough skins on the carcasses to expose the meat. Raven calls can express tenderness happiness surprise emotion or rage.

Here are two raven stories.

The first story happened during Pesach about ten years ago. I went upstairs to a neighbor to pick up something. She was cooking hamburgers with real 100 percent beef which they ate only three times a year on the Yamim Tovim. Her entire family had gone out that day for a trip and she opted to stay home. She took about a quarter-pound of the meat to cook a burger for herself “to eat in peace ” she explained. But when she flipped the precious burger it fell to the floor.

I watched her face fall as well.

She gently picked up the burger. Although their family’s tradition was not to eat any food that fell on the floor during Pesach (not that eating food off the floor during the rest of the year was a great idea either) she didn’t throw it into the garbage right away.

I didn’t say anything as I watched her put the hamburger on the kitchen windowsill.

Probably after waiting six months to eat that piece of meat she couldn’t just throw it away. There was obviously a battle raging inside her soul.

But the rage didn’t need to continue for long. Two seconds later a huge black raven swooped down squeezed his head between the safety bars of the kitchen window and ate that hamburger right in front of our eyes. I couldn’t help but think “Hashem watches over His loved ones.”

The second story about ravens also happened ten years ago. We couldn’t leave the house for almost three days straight because a raven clan had camped out right next to our front door.

The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israelexplained to us that ravens watch over their young until they can completely fly. “How does this work?” we asked. They explained that when baby ravens are old enough to learn to fly the entire extended raven family pulls together to guard the baby raven from predators or any other threat until it feels secure. If someone or something threatening approaches the whole clan attacks. We had to climb out windows on the side of the house if we wanted to leave during flying lessons. It was very interesting though watching the behavior of these birds which sat day in and out perched on strategic poles ready to warn one another the second any threat appeared.

I imagined the baby raven as having an “Uncle Simon” and an “Aunt Mildred” hawking over it just like I did.

It made me think of myself and every other parent who protects their children until they learn to fly.

Like ravens.