The Torah gave man dominion over the animals, but also
famously commanded people to be considerate of other species. Fittingly, none
of the hundreds of stuffed specimens at Torah Animal World in Brooklyn’s
Borough Park was killed for the sake of the display – and none will be staying
when the bankrupt “zoo” is tossed out on its ear, the New York Post reports.
Torah Animal World contains about 350 animals mentioned in
the Old Testament and the Talmud, artfully crammed into a two-bedroom house.
None are alive: All are examples of the taxidermist’s art. Some are mere heads;
others are in full-action if glassy-eyed mode, such as a bear tackling a deer.
It’s the perfect place for kids who stress out in the
presence of predators with mouths bigger than their heads. It’s rather
reminiscent of a crowded, biblical version of New York’s Natural History
Museum’s stuffed animal collection.
It would seem, however, that the world isn’t beating a path
to the World’s door. Lacking sufficient income to stay afloat despite charging
$10 per visitor, the house is for sale and only a timely champion on a live
white horse could help.
If none arrives, the animal collection will be moving from
Borough Park to the Catskills, laments Rabbi Shaul Shimon Deutsch, who owns and
runs the museum.
Meanwhile, don’t just show up and expect to walk in. Visits
are by appointment only. But if you make the effort, you could be rewarded by a
lesson on the difference between kosher and unkosher animals, demonstrated
visually with the help of the collection.
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