FRIDA EYTAN
3RD GRADE TEACHER
My heart has always held a special place for animals and I never imagined they’d be a prominent part of my life during the 2020 lockdowns. Given that my family and I had been safely quarantining at home and school was out, we had the gift of time on our hands and decided to do our part in helping our local community by fostering two kittens. Gracie was two months when we began fostering her and is now thriving in her forever home, and Julian was just two weeks old when he came to our home and watching him blossom has been nothing short of amazing! Judaism teaches us the significance of Tza’ar ba’alei chayim (צַעַר בַּעֲלֵי חַיִים). The idea is that animals should be treated with compassion and care, as we did with Gracie and Julian by bringing them to our home in a time of need. They also helped bring light into my own home during very uncertain times.
