Three Things Every Jew Needs to Hear at the Seder This Year
4 min read
4 min read
Feral pigs, ancient symbols of deception, are overrunning the world—just as lies flood our lives.
A plague of biblical proportions is sweeping across farmland on nearly every continent, destroying crops at a rate reminiscent of the ancient Egyptian locust swarms. The culprit? Feral pigs—also known as wild boars—multiplying faster than farmers can eliminate them.
Despite efforts to trap, hunt, poison, or fence them out, these methods have largely failed. In fact, killing a few pigs often backfires, accelerating their reproduction. With a staggering reproductive capacity—up to two litters per year, each with 4 to 12 piglets—and razor-sharp intelligence, these animals quickly learn to evade danger. They avoid traps and sites where other pigs were killed, disperse, and continue breeding.
In Texas, organized hunting parties using helicopters and automatic rifles have had some success, but only in open terrain. In Brazil, small-plot generational farmers are seeing their entire harvests wiped out within hours by these marauding hordes.
Reflecting on this modern plague, I found myself wondering: Why now, and why is this happening on such a global scale?
In Judaism, the pig symbolizes falsehood. It is the only animal that has split hooves but does not chew its cud—making it non-kosher. When a pig lies down, it stretches out its front hooves as if to say, “Look at me, I’m kosher!”—all while embodying the very essence of traife, or non-kosher.
Jewish mysticism teaches that events in the physical world are merely reflections or manifestations of realities that have already occurred in the spiritual realm. For example, the Rabbis in the Midrash explain that when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the First Temple and Titus destroyed the Second Temple, they were not truly destroying a sacred space. By the time they arrived, the Divine Presence had already departed—the result of the spiritual deterioration caused by the actions of the Jewish people. What remained was an empty shell, a building whose soul had already left. In essence, they were no more than a demolition crew tearing down a lifeless structure.
It is striking that feral pigs—ancient symbols of falsehood—are rampaging across the globe at the very same time that truth has become an increasingly rare commodity. Today, we are surrounded by deception: in the media, in education, in politics, in medicine, and even in ethics. Trust, once the foundation of civil society, is now elusive. Can we rely on medical professionals? It’s no longer so clear. Can we trust our leaders? Hardly a simple matter. Even the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” has lost meaning in an age of digital manipulation and AI. Journalists, once the guardians of truth, are often no longer impartial. Reality has been flipped—up is down, left is right, right is wrong, and truth seems obsolete.
Public discourse has deteriorated. People no longer debate to reach understanding—they scream to be heard and validated. The airwaves are filled with shouting voices trapped in echo chambers.
When the Brazilian farmers realized that direct attacks on the pigs were futile, they adopted a different strategy. Instead of fighting the pigs head-on, they built trenches to keep them out. Only then were their crops able to thrive. Perhaps there’s a deeper lesson here for us: you cannot reason with those committed to lies. They are not seeking truth, only to win, dominate, and silence opposition. When you present a clear, rational argument, they respond not with dialogue but with personal attacks—labeling you a fascist, a racist, a sexist, or some other pejorative meant to shut down conversation.
Perhaps, then, the task of our generation is not to fight falsehood on its terms, but to cultivate truth in our own lives. To get clear on what we stand for: what it means to live with purpose, to be a Jew, to build meaningful relationships, to be a devoted spouse, a nurturing parent, a loyal friend. To understand what real success looks like. These are the fundamental truths we must embrace and embody. Perhaps this is our calling—to be bearers of Truth in a world desperate for it.
Set side arguments about why they are NOT kosher and farmiing prohibitions, the Israel boars infiltratiing Haifa and other towns are WILD animals that mutiplied out of Israeli eco-policies and Jewish respect for SENTIENT beings.
Take the suggestion in a letter below to capture them (by shooting anaesthetic darts) and ship to Europe (for transport costs) where hunting is still permitted in many countries; OR ship them to Latin America to scavenge the favellas and be hunted by their population.
Alternatively in the Israeli "dead" agricultural months of summer after grain harvests, the Ministry of Tourism could invite Euro/ Indian/ Chinese/ American idle rich to come and hunt - and eat - them. Cousin Ishmael is unlikely to object as many of the wild boars are in Galilee.
The pig and other non kosher animals are used that you need 2 signs that the meat is kosher, split hooves and the other chewing its cud( for instance a cow is kosher and a pig is not kosher)
Pigs of all types are extremely intelligent. Humans and whales are smarter but pigs come close to these species smartness. They can actually make good pets, but unless you live on a farm you can only keep those Mini pigs as pets. They are also edible. Consider we have a huge problem with hunger in this world, it would be useful and profitable to capture these animals to feed our hungry population.
meaning feed somebody else's hungry population
Bravo
Interesting observation and very insightful! Thank you Rabbi Pamensky!
P.S. i'm a huge fan of the CD series you put out at least 21 years ago, "How to make a good marriage great." Do you have a downloadable or streaming version of it today?
This article could have been written without using any animal species in a vilifying way. Speaking of "falsehoods" ----- It's a falsehood to call call pigs "false liars". Don't animals have enough nightmarish problems at humans' hands? They are multiplying because people have stupidly eradicated their natural predators, destroying the magnificent balance that Hashem created in every ecosystem. Unless you want to use animals metaphorically to ENDEAR people to them, then leave them out of dvar Torahs. People have enough freakish attitudes towards them----and as we well know as Jews----- freakish attitudes lead to brutality.
The TALMUD uses the pig as an example of hypocrisy. There is a special curse in the Talmud against the raising of pigs -- at least in the Land of Israel. Instead of trying to be "sensitive" in defending the pig, study the Talmud and try to understand WHY the pig is described in such negative terms.
I defend all animals, because they need defending from people who are callous to them. The Talmud also says that ostriches eat glass. We are to believe that?
look up on google it will agree with the Talmud
I am not denying that the Talmud uses pigs as a metaphor of falsehood. I am saying that the article should not present this Talmudic statement as some sort of mystical coincidence that feral pigs are overpopulating around the world at the same time that people are swallowing falsehoods about Jews and Israel. Big difference.
I meant that ostriches actually do eat glass, not for nourishment but to assist their digestion. I verified this in a 2 second google search, for do ostriches eat glass?
Do you also defend people that are bullied or mistreated by other people too? Are you only sticking up for animals?
Yes, ostriches will eat stones as well as glass. My be they do it by accident, but they do do it.
accd to the internet they do it quite intentionally and it is necessary for their digestion
Animals are programmed to do what they do. They don't have free will. Therefore, it's ludicrous to take the Talmud LITERALLY about pigs being "false". Itis a metaphor. A pig can't be a liar. (Duh)
Nobody said pigs lie. coz like you said, a pig can't be a liar (duh) - we said pigs REPRESENT lies. big difference. sometimes we need nuance to understand subtleties. Nobody has anything against the pig. We have issues with twisted facts. The pig - by design of Hashem, represents twisted facts - showing off split hooves, while being a non kosher animal is a twisted representation of their truth, their status of being treif.
This article was brilliant and insightful with a whole lot of food for thought. The fact that it is precisely the feral Pig plaguing the world right now, at the same time when lies and fake news and falsehood are taking over the world is a deep and powerful connection. shame to take the pig out of it.
Try to be less nasty, please!
I mean foxes are depicted as wily in both Jewish literature and so many world myths. Lots of animals are depicted as representations for both good and bad.
Pigs were used as deceptive animals in George Orwell's Animal Farm where they pretended to be a comrade to other animals but secretly took all the power to themselves. Not just a Talmud thing.
I used to be like you, got annoyed about animals being seen as bad but I learned to move on.
I really really unclear what "nightmarish" problems animals are facing at the hands of humans? If you mean that they are being raised for labor and slaughter/food, according to the Torah this is exactly what they are here for, to serve man in our needs. And this article will "add" to the "nightmarish" problems of wild pigs how, exactly?
for clarity's sake I didn't mean that pigs are here for Jews to eat them, but that they are here for non-Jews to eat is certainly true.
If you are wondering what "nightmarish problems" faced at the hands of humans, let me give you some examples. Sure, animals are raised for labor, slaughter, AND in some cases, companionship. There are humans who take the idea of "animals are here for us to use" literally. They subject the animals to horrific abuse, physically and mentally. I don't think that Hashem condones this treatment. The animals must be treated with respect and kindness, even up to the point of shechting. There are people who train pitbulls to rip apart other dogs and even cats/kittens. There are people who raise Tennesse Walking Horses to show. This involves forcing them to adopt an unnatural high stepping gait for which the horses must have heavy weights attached to their hooves, destroying their ligaments.
After years of this, many of the horses have to be destroyed from the pain. There are animals of many species which are starved, or kept without shelter, causing their death. This is certainly not in accordance with Hashem's will. Neither is senseless beating an animal or other harsh and cruel treatment. No, we are not given a carte blanche to treat animals any way we feel like. They are briyos Hashem .
Very nice. But you are fighting a straw man. Because nobody said there is carte blanche to treat animals any way we feel like. I merely expressed confusion why this article raised the ire of a commentator who said there is enough nightmarish treatment of animals. Frum Jews who care about Hashem's will I don't believe are cruel to animals and please don't tell me that Israeli kids throw things at cats. They are kids. That goyim or people that don't keep the Torah occasionally are cruel to animals shouldn't be so surprising. People also torture and are cruel to humans, as well. In short. No reason from this article to cry about animal mistreatment.
Jews are taught to respect and be kind to animals, and some people are a magnet for animals, the animals have a instinct which people would be nice to them, for example when my mom( obm) and me was in Israel a cat came to my mom( obm ) my mom( obm) thought the cat needed milk, so the kids from block said " the dog torn the skin from the cat" so the cat came to my mom( obm) for help, another story in Europe when my mom( obm) worked on a farm and she( obm) was on or was on a wagon with a horse, when the horse fell it made sure not to injury my mom( obm) because my mom( obm) was always nice to the horse, animals and kids have the instinct who to go to and who is really nice
Feral pigs are extremely dangerous especially the ones with the razor sharp tusks. They destroy fields and carry diseases harmful to domesticated farm animals.
Jews believe what is wriiten in the torah to not give pain or anguish to animals, the pig is a metaphor for falsehood, every animal as a attributes both good and bad, you worry about animals having nightmares, what about humans having nightmare, unfortunately only King Solomon knew the languages of animals , so no one knows what animals are really thinking
What a great read! So insightful!