Community Magazine October 2014

tishrei 5775 oCtober 2014 69 Unique Traits The monkey is considered to be one of the most intelligent animals on Earth. Many monkey species display complex social behaviors in their daily lives, from the way they care for their young to their usage of basic tools in order to obtain food for themselves. Monkeys use facial expressions, body movements, and noises called vocalizations, to communicate with one another. Staring, for instance, is a threat in monkey communities. Grinning or showing the teeth signals aggression or anger, while grooming is a sign of friendship and peace. Vocalizations can be quite complex, and are often used to warn other monkeys of predators nearby. There is research that suggests that some monkey species have developed methods of putting together phrases and are actually able to “talk” to one another! There are organizations that train certain species of monkeys, such as the white-faced capuchin, to be “monkey helpers,” in order to assist quadriplegics and other people with mobility impairments. After being raised in a human home as an infant, the monkey will then undergo extensive training before being placed with a quadriplegic. Once the monkey has been trained, it helps out around the house by doing tasks such as microwaving food and opening drink bottles! The traits of the white-faced capuchin are quite fascinating. Because of its particular eating habits, creative use of tools, and complex social structures, it is considered to be the most intelligent of the New World monkeys. One way the white-faced capuchin exhibits its intelligence is when searching for food; it looks under logs and foliage for insects, and can be seen squeezing and smelling fruit to check if it is ripe. It also uses stones and twigs to pry open shellfish, in order to get to the meat inside. Torah Talk The Gemara in Berachot (58b) teaches that one must recite a blessing upon seeing certain unusual creatures; specifically singled out as “unusual creatures” are monkeys and elephants. These rulings are codified by the Rambam (Hilchot Berachot 10:12–13) and by the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 225:8, 10), which states that the blessing to be recited upon seeing unusual creatures is “ Meshaneh Habriyot - Who has altered the creations.” In practical halachah, Rav Ovadiah Yosef (Sefer Yalkut Yosef, Volume 3, 225:21) rules that one should recite the beracha of “ Meshaneh Habriyot ” upon seeing a monkey or an elephant. The obvious question is: why are monkeys and elephants the only animals to be singled out as being “unusual creations”? Certainly, there are countless other animals that have their own unique and often strange appearances! The reason only these two animals are singled out for this beracha is as follows: The midrashim (Beresheet Rabbah 38) tell us that the sin of Migdal Bavel was a conspiracy made among the people to rebel against their Creator. Hashem punished the people by scattering them across the planet in order to break their unity, which had turned to evil. Among those who sinned, however, there were different groups, each of which was punished differently. Those who had wanted to sit quietly atop the tower they had built were dispersed all over the world. Those who had intended to use the tower for idolatry lost their common language and unity. Those who had wished to use the tower to do battle against Hashem were changed into monkeys and demons (Sanhedrin 109a). As for the elephants, the Melechet Shlomo Kil’ayim (8:6) teaches that in the generation of the Mabul, some of the people of the generation turned into monkeys, and some people turned into elephants. It is for this reason that the halachah says that when one sees a monkey or an elephant, he should recite a special blessing to the One “Who has altered the creations” - since these animals came about as a result of the creations being changed! Did You Know? Monkeys do not eat the skin of a banana. Before digging in, they first peel the banana – from the opposite end. A monkey was once tried and convicted for smoking a cigarette in South Bend, Indiana! Rhesus monkeys preceded humans into space. The first monkey astronaut was Albert, a rhesus monkey, who on June 11, 1948 rode on a V2 rocket for six minutes. Howler monkeys have special structures in their throats that are oval-shaped and hollow. These structures act as echo chambers and help make the monkeys’ calls extremely loud. Several female howler monkeys often help a mother take care of her baby. The word mandrill means “man-ape.” When a male mandrill gets angry or excited, the colors on his face become even brighter. This serves as a warning signal to others. Capuchin monkeys use different noises to identify different types of predators. They will also bang rocks together to warn each other of approaching danger. Q : Why did the monkey go to the doctor? A : Because his banana was not peeling very well! Excerpts from ‘Exploring the Wild World of Animals , by Efraim Harari, published by Israel Bookshop Publications. This book and Volume 2 of this series, ‘Exploring the Wet & Wild Underwater World’ , are available online and at all Judaica stores. Howler monkey