Crested Caracara : The Teachings of Our Fathers

This is a Crested Caracara. When I first started becoming active in the bird world, I saw others’ photos of these in my local area - but I almost couldn’t believe them. How, I wondered, could I have never before seen such a large, regal beast in my daily life? Could I really have missed such a forceful presence? Was I truly so oblivious, so wrapped up in other things, that this fairly common resident had entirely escaped my notice? So I went looking. And yes, this magnificent, awesome beast really exists. And as I become more conscious, and more focused, I started to see them fairly regularly. As my discernment increased, so too did my opportunity to appreciate a truly glorious sight.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are the Jewish Patriarchs. It is easy to lump all three men together, to speak of them as a single unit without appreciating their own individual personalities and focus solely on their contributions as founders of the Jewish people. So take a moment. For just a moment, consider Abraham’s trust in God: leaving his home, sacrificing his son. Consider Isaac’s respectful conservatism: consolidating his father’s gains and teeing-up his sons. Consider Jacob, the wrestler with man and God: loving and blessing his children warts and all. Real men, with real faults and real strengths. We revere them even as we recognize their humanity. Consider.

Fatherhood is my self-defining activity. Can my actions, particularly, and my words provide an example that’s worthy of noting - not always emulating, but noting. Do I make an impact in teaching ways? Will my habits, the approaches I take, the things I do, make an impression on my son such that he consciously chooses either to adopt or to reject them? Can I appropriately reveal successes and failures so I’m seen as both a role model and a real man, not a caricature? The striking presence of the Caracara is impossible to overlook - once we’re aware. So too are the real, human lessons of our Patriarchs.