A Single Fish

“I have to, he’s a rodef,” my son said in resignation.

“A fish can’t be a rodef,” I explained. “He’s beautiful. Separate him from the other fish and you can still enjoy him.”

But my son could not enjoy the beautiful, bright yellow fish with the willowy fins.

Within days of introducing it to his aquarium, the other fish started to die: the black and silver stripped Zebras, the Neon Tetras…. It didn’t take long to realize the new fish was attacking the others. He removed the offensive fish to a gefilte fish jar (perhaps as a warning) and with a word of caution, donated him to a friend.