I remember the story - Ariel ZT'L ran and ran, and brought his grandfather a glass of water, even though he was weakened. Bless.

Jackie:

Yes, Ariel's lungs were in very bad shape when this terrible incident took place. It was a miracle that he ran those three full city blocks--back and forth. But he loved his grandfather dearly, was stunned and frightened by the wound, and as if on the wings of eagles, our child flew when walking such a distance made him pant with fatigue.

I know the point of Rabbi Singer's ZT"L message was about the sanctity of Shabbat, and it was a beautiful one. But allow me to expand it slightly to include a few thoughts about the sanctity of human life and how this story of a dog attack confirms some of the fears I have:

I have nothing against animals, but the deference given to dogs and cats at the expense of innocent human beings in this country is truly frightening. Let me give you an example. Not far from my home, a four year-old boy was recently mauled close to death by a dog. That dog had attacked people before and its owner was warned more than once. But once again, his dog "got out" and almost killed a little boy. What's the worst that can happen to this guy under state law? Well, the dog MAY be put down, (unlikely), and the owner MAY be fined or successfully sued in civil court for a nominal (capped) amount. As the father of a toddler in a suburban area with lots of dogs, I'm not happy.

At the same time, a man in another town near my house was arrested for killing a neighbor's cat. The cat had been destroying some of his property for some time and he just snapped and poisoned it. Deplorable behavior to be sure, but guess what is going to happen to him? Legal experts tell me the chances are better than 90% that he will go to jail for a significant term. You see, killing pets is a serious crime in New York.

I don't know about you, but the message this all sends about respecting human life above all else is chilling. There are a growing number of irresponsible pet owners in this country, (and it sounds like we can include the people who owned the dog that attacked Rabbi Singer ZT"L to that list), and the laws need to be changed to frighten these people, not everyone else.

Jake:

Agree with you completely. The owner of the dog who bit Rav Singer looked at the bloody wound and shrugged. He could not be bothered. His main concern was with his dog, that it not be "put down" because of this "accident."

And of course, the dog is still alive, still dangerous.

The so-called "animal rights" movement is part and parcel of the moral inversion that grips some liberal minds.

There are now terrorists who would (and will) kill scientists who experiment on animals, yet these same people support abortion -- this points to a moral perversity that is perhaps unparralleled in human thought.

POLITICAL DIGRESSION: I can guarantee that if homosexual marriage is legalized, the very next step will be the demand that people have the right to marry their "pet partners."

And why not, if love and affection is all that matters, well, who is to say that human/animal unions are wrong? If the life of a human being is worth the same as, say a chicken, as Professor Singer of Princeton University the father of the animal rights movement constantly reminds us, how can marriage between human and animal be morally objectionable? END POLITICAL DIGRESSION.

Jake, I want to thank you and Adar for taking the trouble to schlep all the way to Bensonhurst to pay a shiva call to Karen and her family. It was wonderful to finally meet your lovely wife--I only wish it was under happier circumstances.

Robert,
I know this isn't the point of the story, but I was a little perturbed about the sense of guilt for calling 911 and "profaning" the shabbos. It's my understanding that we are allowed to do anything to save a life on shabbos and should not have to feel bad about it. I've done so in the past for relatives (riding in an ambulance and making phone calls) and while it's not something you want to have to do, I certainly didn't feel the need to do teshuvah for it.

Mata Hari:

I understand your feelings completely. But this is the madrega of a Gadoi, of a Tzaddik. People like Rav Singer exist on an entirely different spiritual level than ordinary Jews like you and me.

That has brought back a nasty memory of mine, of something that occurred a couple of years ago when I walked into a pub in London for a beer on a hot day. A woman was there with a dog, and as I walked past the dog barked at me, and then jumped at me and bit me when I recoiled at the bark. I was not badly hurt (although the trousers I was wearing were ruined), but the owner of the dog them proceeded to get angry with me for upsetting her dog. I then lost my temper completely, and said some extremely rude things to the woman in question which I really wish I hadn't.

I haven't lost my temper so completely since, and I consider losing my temper to be amongst the worst of all possible personal failings, and I walked out of the pub feeling extremely angry with myself for doing so. However, I still find the circumstances (in which someone got angry with me for being bitten by her dog) to be extraordinary.

Sorry Robert, I am rambling here. It sounds like your father in law was a very good man, and I am very sorry to hear about his death.

Robert, I hope that from time to time you will post more of the Rabbi's writings. Did he have any work published which is suitable for laypersons? His writing style is beautiful, his insights subtle and profound.

Michael:

I've heard stories like yours many times. I don't attribute this kind of craziness to any political movement, it's just that people often get irrational when it comes to their pets. Now we have more cases of people keeping Tigers and pythons in their apartments. And of course, we know that Hitler was crazy about animals, especially his dogs.

Look, I love my daughter more than anything, but if she ever bit someone I'd be mortified beyond belief and she'd be very severely punished.

I wish this was just about politics, but some people are just jerks.

Tamara:

Rav Singer ZT'L left mountains of writings behind. Many are in classical Hebrew. He was working on editing Ariel's ZT'L Talmud notebooks at the time of his death, and there are volumes in gorgeous Yiddish. Of course there are the Paper Pulpit writings in English.

David, Karen's brother, Karen and I plan on editing and publishing Rav Singer's writings here on Seraphic Secret over the next few years, yes. However, it will take us a while to gather the material, go through it, and of course, type it up. My father-in-law was old school: he wrote using a fountain pen.

Michael:

Very sorry to hear about your dog incident. I do not agree with you that losing one's temper is such a terrible personal failing. In fact, I'm running the Ten Commandments through my brain right now and you know what -- it's not there. Unless of course, you lose your temper and then murder someone, lose your temper and then dishonor your parents, lose your temper and start worshiping idols.

You get my drift.

Look, we're all human -- being physically assaulted is a most shocking and frightening experience. I consider it perfectly appropriate to lose your temper, especially when the dog's owner reacts in such a vile and unsympathetic manner. Personally, I would have punched the dog owner and then killed the dog.

Sorry, now I'm rambling.

Thanks so much for your condolences. We have not heard from you in a long time and as always, it's very good to hear from our very favorite Libertarian.

Robert,

I understand your response to Mati Hara, but I hope all readers understand that in certain circumstances one is obligated to call an ambulance. If waranted (piku'ah nefesh), it is a mitzvah, and not in any way hilul shabbat.

I would wake up my wife to read her the last paragraph, but she would probably kill me if she knew I were blogging at this hour (or period?).

You wrote that Reb Gershon was "armed to the teeth." Is this literally or literary license?

Shavu'ah tov

Ari:

You are quitre right, one is obligated to call an ambulance under certain circumstances as was done for Rav Singer.

Reb Gershon was literally armed. Highwaymen were a terrible problem and he was constantly forced to defend himself on the roads in Italy and in Greece.