Founder of the Biblical Museum of Natural History and author of the recently published The Torah Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom, Volume One: Chayot and Wild Animals, Rabbi Natan Slifkin has always been an animal lover. “Since I was two years old, I was always fascinated by animals. I wanted to make a career out of it as a kid. I decided to go into Jewish education while in yeshiva, and decided to combine the two,” said Rabbi Slifkin.
Rabbi Slifkin will be making appearances in various communities this August as part of a tour to promote his book, the Torah Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom, which came out in the United States a couple of weeks ago. He will begin his tour in Bergenfield at the Beis Medrash of Bergenfield, which will be followed by a book launch in Teaneck. He will then continue on to visit the Five Towns communities.
It took Rabbi Slifkin 14 years to complete the encyclopedia. “I didn’t think it would take me longer than two to three years,” said Rabbi Slifkin. “It was amazing to see how much material there was to research.”
The encyclopedia, published by the Biblical Museum of Natural History together with Koren Publishers and OU Press, contains a complete reference to animals in the Torah, Talmud and Midrash, with full-color photographs, the scriptural citations of the animals and a range of sources from the Talmud and Midrash. The encyclopedia also discusses the symbolism of each animal in Jewish thought, zoological facts, lessons that Judaism derives from the animals that can apply to daily life and halachot relating to specific animals. It is the first volume of a full encyclopedia set that Rabbi Slifkin plans to publish in the future. This volume covers the wild animals mentioned in the Torah, such as lions, bears and hyenas. Rabbi Slifkin plans to cover fish and birds in future volumes.
After receiving his rabbinic ordination from Ohr Somayach, Rabbi Slifkin graduated from the Lander Institute in Jerusalem with an MA in Jewish Thought and Law, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Jewish History at Bar Ilan University, with a dissertation on rabbinic encounters with zoology. He has been living in Israel for the last 23 years and in Ramat Beit Shemesh for the last 14 years. Rabbi Slifkin has published numerous other books, such as The Challenge of Creation, Sacred Monsters and Perek Shira.
Aside from Rabbi Slifkin’s impressive set of books, he has also recently founded the Biblical Museum of Natural History in Israel this past October. The museum is dedicated to providing visitors with a window into the natural world of the Bible, allowing for greater insight and appreciation into the Biblical text and Torah tradition.
“The museum actually complements the encyclopedia…The museum is very hands-on; there is an interactive guided tour,” said Rabbi Slifkin. “It is a very unique experience.”
Based in a temporary facility in Beit Shemesh, the museum has both living and nonliving (taxidermic) animals on display, with exhibits such as “The Wonders of Creation,” where several of the world’s most extraordinary creatures are displayed, “Beasts of Prey,” a taxidermic exhibit where predators mentioned in the Torah are displayed, “Kosher Creatures,” “The Eight Sheratzim,” “Horns and Shofars,” with the museum housing the world’s largest collection of shofars and “Biblical Scenes.”
“We have the first lion back in Beit Shemesh in 700 years,” said Rabbi Slifkin. “People don’t realize that Israel had all these animals. We have a skull of a hippopotamus and people are mystified by it, they can’t believe hippos used to live in Israel.”
The fusion of zoology, science and Torah is a matter that Rabbi Slifkin feels very passionate about. The encyclopedia and museum “open people up to a new dimension of Judaism that they never thought about. Some people think Judaism is dry, they would never associate it with hyenas and lions,” said Rabbi Slifkin. “When we think about animals in Biblical Torah it connects us back to biblical times.”
Rabbi Slifkin will be the scholar in residence at the Beis Medrash of Bergenfield this Shabbos, August 1st, Shabbos Nachamu. He will then be giving a presentation at Congregation Beth Aaron, 950 Queen Anne Road, at 10:00 am on Sunday, August 2nd.
The Biblical Museum of Natural History is located at 5 Rechov Ha-Tzaba Street, in Beit Shemesh, Israel. The museum is open to the public by reservation only. To make a reservation, contact +972-073‑213‑1662 or email [email protected].
By Esther Hirsch
