Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
What's going on here? מַה זֶה?
One of the non-kosher birds that the Torah lists is called חֲסִידָה (hasidah). What’s the meaning behind this bird’s name?
Rabbi Yehudah explains that it is a white stork, and that it has this name since it does חֶסֶד (hesed, acts of kindness) for other birds (Talmud Bavli Hullin 63a). Rashi explains that the hesed is sharing its food with its friends.
R. Yitzhak Meir Alter (Poland, 200 years ago) wondered: if a stork does kindness, why would it not be kosher? He suggested that perhaps it's because, according to Rashi, that kindness is extended only to its friends. It's nice to share food with friends, but we have to learn to share even with those who aren't yet our friends.
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