Why I Fish

BY: Avraham Demenstein

So you’re wondering why do I go fishing?  The license costs me $90.  If I catch anything I say a shehechianu.  I lose several lures to the bottom of the ocean every time (that cost me about $15 each). And I stay up late researching fish psychology the night before.  Ah, but it’s so exhilarating.   

Standing on the jetty at Redondo Beach, sticking 300 feet out into the ocean, the ocean waves smash against the rocks and into my face.  Below me are five large orange Garibaldi fish which are a protected fish, and are the official California State fish.  There are numerous crabs crawling around me on the rocks.  I feel like a character in Melville’s Moby Dick, holding on tightly to his boat as he hunts for halibut (instead of a white whale). Halibut are bottom feeders and they hide in the sand below, sneaking up on their prey from under the sand.  My lures are designed to sink near the halibut, but get caught up in the algae below, never to be heard from again.  

The Gemorah in Eiruvin 100 (2) quotes Iyov (35) “Teach us from the animals of the land, and make us wise from the birds of the sky.” The Gemorah explains, “Rav Yochanan states, “Had the Torah not been given to the Jews we would have learned “Tzniut” from the cat (they only relieve themselves in private); not to steal from the ant; monogamy from the pigeon (they remain dedicated to their mate all their lives); and elaborate courting from the rooster.

I often wondered, what do we learn from the fish?  Fish must find food to satisfy their voracious appetites.  They are not too picky about what they eat, but each species does have a list of favorite foods it prefers.  Nevertheless, they are a suspicious animal.  They have been taught by their mothers to be careful of hunters with lures that entice, and delicious pieces of fish and squid that contain barbs inside.

Like the fish, it is important to know the list of things we need for our welfare- friends, community, good boundaries, and a constant searching out of Hashem’s plan for us in this world.  Nevertheless, like the fish we must be vigilant. We must choose our friends carefully; find our place in the community and accept it; make sure we study the Torah every day; and search out what Hashem’s unique mission is for us in this world.