Do Not Raise the Axe |
Parashat Shoftim offers two powerful teachings that illuminate the historic debut and revival of the Kanaani cat.
The first concerns judges and the pursuit of justice:
“Judges and officers shall you appoint in all your gates… and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.” — Deuteronomy 16:18
The Torah then declares:
“Justice, justice shall you pursue.” — Deuteronomy 16:20
For the first time in the history of the breed, the Kanaani entered an official international show and stood before three WCF judges—from France, Ireland, and Belgium. They evaluated living representatives of the breed according to its established standard.
Their evaluations, championship certificates, and show results became independent international testimony that the Kanaani still exists, possesses recognizable breed qualities, and deserves a future.
In this sense, the Kanaani stood not only before the judges of a cat show, but before the judgment of history.
The second teaching from Shoftim concerns preservation. Even during war, when destruction surrounds a city, the Torah forbids cutting down a fruit-bearing tree:
“You must not destroy its trees, wielding the axe against them, for you may eat from them.” — Deuteronomy 20:19
From these words comes the principle of bal tashchit—the prohibition against needlessly destroying anything living or valuable.
If the Torah forbids us from raising an axe against a fruit-bearing tree even during war, how can we remain silent while a rare living creature disappears?
The Kanaani is one of the rarest cat breeds in the world. Born in Jerusalem, it is part of Israel’s living heritage. To me, the Kanaani resembles an ancient tree from which only a few branches remain. Those branches are fragile, but they are still alive. They can still grow, bear life, and begin again—if someone chooses to protect them.
In Finland, the two teachings of Shoftim came together. International judges recognized the Kanaani, and their judgment strengthened the effort to preserve it. The breed stood before the judges of the present so that it would not disappear from the future.
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