Job Chapter 30
Jackals and Ostriches
Once upon a time, Job dressed so fine, threw the bums a dime in his prime, didn't he? Now he doesn't talk so loud, now he doesn't seem so proud scrounging for his last meal. Children of men that he wouldn't hire to sleep with his dogs are spitting at him. He's like a complete unknown with no direction home. Also -
“I am a brother to jackals and a friend to ostriches” - Job 30:29
That statement needs context.
Jackals
In the Bible, jackals frequently come up as beneficiaries of G-d's wrath. When Jerusalem falls and Judah is sold into exile, the jackals take over. Repeatedly G-d promises to make Israel a haven for jackals. This wasn't just a bit of poetic flourish. When everyone stayed indoors to wait out covid-19, jackals were all over the public parks, seeking food in the absence of the garbage they usually feast on.
When jackals are brave, something has gone wrong. There's a major pandemic. The corpses outnumber the living. Invaders have destroyed everything. Jackals eat what they can, but they are cowardly. They hide from people. They hunt at night. They stick to the back alleys and woods. They eat fruit out of garbage cans and devour birds.
When Job sees jackals, he sees his future. Will Eliphaz give him a job? Will Zophar let him stay over indefinitely? Of course not. Job might have just lost everything, but he's certain of his doom. He will be one of the faceless nameless people society ignores. He will after scrounge for food, eating of dumpsters. Maybe a 1990s socially conscious rap group will make a song about him. If too many people see him, they'll chase him away and beat him.
In modern Israel, jackals are basically raccoons. No one fears them and they've become dependent on garbage in the same way that New York rats and pigeons and raccoons depend on litter. If you are planning a trip to Israel, make sure to litter. The jackals will appreciate it.
Ostriches
Ostriches are ridiculous. Just look at them. They are tall and violent. They are birds that can't fly but have claws at the end of their wings. Take the funny face and the long and then watch them run and you can be entertained for hours. However, Job is more concerned with their childcare standards.
Ostriches leave their eggs for days. Ostrich eggs are thicker than normal eggs so only humans with tools can crack them, but most notes that one can feed a family of four on one ostrich egg. Furthermore, when ostriches are raising their kids, they often just leave them on their own.
Job's children died. Job might have been the best father in the world, but his children died when their house fell on them. It was a freak wind. Job probably didn't build that house, but he feels responsible. By the same token, last week, many Jews – Israeli and diaspora – felt responsible for the Bibas children. Yes, Hamas murdered them. Hamas displayed their bodies in a big parade and celebrated their murders. Columbia University Nazis are currently trying to bully the administration into letting them disrupt classes. We have many people to hate. Yet many of us are like Job – feeling like we've failed these children in some way, like we believed that Hamas would eventually get over itself and stop trying to murder Israelis. And October 7 happened and there was nothing we could do to save the Bibas children or their mother. Or the hundreds of other Hamas victims.
Job is a companion to ostriches. Job feels like a failure as a parent.
Today, the ostriches indigenous to Israel are extinct, but there are efforts to clone them and bring them back. The few successful ostriches are kept in nature reserves, because they can't be trusted to run wild without getting eaten by dogs. This almost makes Job's statement even more true. He cannot see himself surviving without major social intervention.
But that's true of everyone really.
For more on Biblical Wildlife, Nathan Slifkin wrote some cool books.
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Read more about the murder of the Bibas children here.