Why is a Mixed Pool Problematic, Why Cats Have Whiskers, and Is Shechita An Animal Suffering?

Eyelids

Let's look at each of our faces: around the eye, we all have eyelids that go up and down, helping to clean the eye. Have you ever wondered why eyelids are composed of two parts: an upper part and a lower part? Why is there not just one eyelid, descending to clean and then rising back up?

Suppose the eye's cleaning system was composed of only one long eyelid. What would happen then?

By the time the eyelid would descend to the bottom of the eye and come back up, our vision would be disrupted for a fraction of a second. In other words, we wouldn't be able to see continuously due to the constant closing of the eye every blink.

Therefore, there are two eyelids: one from above and one from below. This way, you can clean the eye quickly and automatically while maintaining continuous vision without any disturbance. Thus, we don't have to stop constantly to clean our eyes and don't lose concentration. We don't think about this process at all because it's an automatic action done quickly. Perhaps this is where the expression "in the blink of an eye" comes from...

Could it be that this wonderful process, indicating a guided and caring hand, created itself without a creator and planner?

The Jewish Shechita

How is it possible that the Torah of Israel, which has bestowed upon humanity the universal values of morality regarding sensitivity to all living beings and their suffering – and especially that the prohibition of causing animal suffering is strongly emphasized in the Torah – specifically commands that the only way to consume meat for food is through shechita?

The common answer is that adherence to the laws of shechita ensures that no pain is felt and no suffering is caused to the animal at all. The Torah requires that only a completely sharp and smooth knife be used, and it is also required by halacha that the shechita be performed swiftly and with one quick motion of the knife. These requirements ensure that no pain is felt, as a quick and sharp cut does not cause pain, as known. This is evidenced by people who have been cut by a sharp blade, which hit them swiftly (for example, during emergency surgery). They felt no pain at all, and only the sight of blood made them aware that they were cut.

This answer, correct in itself, was further strengthened by the publication of startling results from new studies that dealt with the structure of the blood vessel system in the brains of mammals. Below is a summary of the research by Dr. Norberto Klein, a veterinarian at "Mazor L'Chai," a veterinary hospital.

All mammals have both anterior and posterior arteries that supply blood to the brain. However, as revealed by the research, among all mammals that the Torah permits for consumption, there is a significant change in the structure of the posterior arteries: While in mammals forbidden to eat, these arteries penetrate directly to the 'blood center' in the brain, in animals permitted to eat, they join the anterior arteries on their way - before reaching the brain center, with most of the blood flowing through them reaching the brain via the anterior arteries!

(Photo: shutterstock)

Consequently, in mammals permitted for consumption, during shechita the blood supply to the center of the brain is cut off - not only from the anterior artery due to the outward flow - but also the blood flowing from the posterior artery spills and exits from the site of shechita instead of flowing to the brain! The result: a sudden drop in blood pressure and immediate loss of consciousness, ensuring that in Jewish shechita there is no pain or sensation of suffering at all for the animals.

By the way, an animal's body may still twitch after losing consciousness from shechita, but the aforementioned research proved that it is merely a reflex without pain caused by enzymatic activity in the muscle fibers. This can be likened to the twitching of a lizard's tail after severance from its body; the tail certainly feels no pain, yet it twitches. 

Who, apart from the Creator of the world, can weave such a special connection between the physiological difference and the halacha defining the animals permitted for consumption?

Cat Whiskers

Those who observe closely will be surprised to discover that a cat has whiskers, about 12 whiskers on each side of its face. Have you ever wondered why a cat has whiskers?

The cat's whiskers are not intended for beauty alone.

The whisker hair is connected to muscles that allow it to move in different directions. Along the roots of the whiskers are numerous nerve endings serving as sensors for information transmitted from the whisker hairs to them and from them through a complex nervous system to vital organs and the brain, processing the information coming from the cat's environment.

A cat's whiskers are an important tool in its hunting ability: the cat's sensory hairs are so sensitive that they detect even very slight movements in the air around the cat, warning of possible prey or a threatening predator long before the cat can see, hear, or smell it.

Here is the wonderful design in the cat's whiskers. We have not yet spoken about the amazing balance of the cat and its ability to land from great heights without injury, thanks to its other unique anatomical and physiological traits.

Could it be that this wonderful creation, bearing witness to a guided and caring hand, came about on its own without a creator and planner?...

Mixed Bathing - What's the Problem?

Please answer honestly the following question (addressed to the men among us): Suppose you live in a tall apartment building, isolated on the 30th floor, and invite your best friend over. As he arrives, your wife comes out dressed very revealingly... What would your reaction be?

I assume you would be very embarrassed and even angry at your wife for dressing that way in front of your friend.

But why would you be embarrassed? After all, it's just the 30th floor, and a stranger didn't see her, only your best friend...

The truth is, you rightly react this way. After all, she is your wife, and no one else should see her in this manner but you!

(Photo: shutterstock)

So why, when your wife goes to a mixed beach and is "exposed" to the eyes of many strangers, don't you feel the same embarrassment as you did in your apartment on the 30th floor in front of your best friend?

Friends, many of us feel as if merely being at the beach gives us the privilege (so to speak) to walk around with minimal clothing. It's supposedly a "permissive zone"... But if we truly examine things, we see there's no chance we would allow ourselves to dress this way in the living room, around family and guests, or even dress this way to go to the grocery store. Therefore, the most important question to ask is: what is the difference?

So, there is no difference.

We have simply lost the sensitivity to understand how we appear and how serious it is. If we were not so biased and truly looked at things with a neutral perspective, we would probably be startled by the unbearable ease with which we allow ourselves to behave in matters of our modesty....

Danger of Electrocution

You surely noticed that all the electrical wires around us aren't open and exposed; they're wrapped in insulating material, like the cord for a charger or any other electrical device. Without this insulation, anyone touching them would be electrocuted, even fatally. Logical...

Did you know that such a marvelous mechanism also operates in our body?

Transmitting and receiving information from various body parts is done via the nervous system. Nerves transmit sensations and instructions from the body to the brain and vice versa, from the brain to the body. Our body is branched with delicate nerve fibers to every organ, transmitting information by conducting electrical signals indicating sensations like light, sound, pain, pressure, heat, or cold, etc.

So, if there are electrical processes in our body responsible for transmitting and receiving information, how is there no "short circuit" in our body? What insulates the electrical signals for us and prevents the danger of electrocution in our body and damage to our functioning?

It turns out to prevent a "short circuit," nerves are covered with a coating called "myelin," which insulates and protects the nerve cells. The role of "myelin" is somewhat similar to the role of insulating material that wraps electrical wires. In addition to insulating and protecting, "myelin" helps transmit information faster to all body parts.

If a "short circuit" forms in the body, it means the "myelin" sheath around nerve fibers is damaged or destroyed, impairing the nerve's ability to transmit information. Consequently, it can lead to a wide range of symptoms, such as difficulty in coordination, stiffness, or weakness in limbs, and more.

So who is the "CEO of the electric company" who made sure to wrap the nerve fibers in our body in a special insulating layer ("myelin"), protecting us from "short circuits"?

By examining the human body, one can understand it's an otherworldly creator with infinite genius and immense powers...