OCTOBER 31 • 2024 | 61
61 | OCTOBER 31 • 2024 

T

he ram is an adult male sheep. Adult female sheep 
are called ewes, and baby sheep are called lambs. 
The ram is mostly noted for its huge, curled horns. 
The larger the horns, the more prestigious it is for the 
ram, since the horns serve as a symbol of status and are 
used as dangerous weapons when the ram battles rivals. 
While female sheep are generally timid and peaceful, 
rams usually exhibit the opposite type of behavior. Rams 
are very aggressive and can cause fatal injuries to both 
people and animals. 
The ram has an extraordinary sense of smell, which 
it uses to find water and to differentiate between the 
various types of pasture plants that it likes to consume. 
The ram also possesses a strong sense of hearing, as well 
as very good eyesight, which it mainly uses for watching 
its surrounding areas for predators.
An herbivore, the ram generally eats grasses, plants, 
cacti, and seeds. The ram has a split in its upper lip, which 
allows it to pick preferred leaves off of plants. Like all 
kosher animals, after the ram eats a mouthful of food, it 
will spit it out. This regurgitated food is called cud. Then 
the ram will re-chew the food and swallow it once again.

Torah Talk 

Avraham looked up and noticed a ram caught in a bush by its horns. 
Avraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering 
in place of his son. (Bereishis 22:13)

It says in the Yerushalmi (Ta’anis 10b): Rabi Chonah said in the name 
of Rabi Chaninah bar Yitzchak: All that day Avraham saw the ram 
getting entangled, first in a tree, but it freed itself and went out. Then 
it became entangled in a grove, but it freed itself again and went out. 
Then it became entangled in this bush, until it freed itself once more 
and went out. 
The Holy One Blessed is He said to Avraham, “Likewise, in the future, 
your children will become tangled in sin and entrapped from Bavel to 
Madai, from Madai to Yavan, and from Yavan to Edom.”
Avraham said, “Master of the World! Will it be like this forever?”
Hashem answered him, “In the end, they will be redeemed by the 
horns of this ram [as it says], And God will blow with a shofar and go 
forth in southern tempests. (Zechariah 9:14)” 
Each year on Rosh Hashanah, Hashem ensures that the Satan himself 
becomes “ensnared” and powerless – by the shofar blowing of the 
Jewish People. (Rosh Hashanah 16b) That is why, when the Redemption 
finally does come, Hashem will signal this specifically by blowing a shofar.

The Ram

Q 
: Why did the ram fall off the cliff?
A: He didn’t see the ewe turn!

Did You Know? 

Rams do not like to walk in water!

Check out our site: 
www.thejewishworldofwonderskidsmagazine.com 

ExpLORing THE WiLd WORLd Of AnimALs is pREsEnTEd By:

Efraim Harari

