Rabbi Mikhail Salita
“We see the world in our own way… but a bee sees it differently… a bird sees it differently still… and only God weaves all these visions into one design.”
At our very first class, we were shown a picture. On the left — as we see it: green grass, white tree trunks, the familiar landscape. On the right — as a bee sees it. Where we see green, for her there is a violet glow.
We can see this in a photo… yes… but we must remember — for us it is only a translation, a model. For the bee, this is her real world. This is how she lives, how she flies, how she finds flowers. For us it is only a hint. For her — it is life itself.
And here is the lesson… The world is wider than we think. Our vision is not the only one. A dog has its reality. A cat has its reality. A bee has its reality. And all of them are real.
And of course, I must say — what a joy and an honor it is to learn from Sarah Bowen. She gave us this first lesson. She opens the world for us. And I am grateful to her… and grateful for our group. Remarkable people came together there. People who do not just love animals… but who, by feeling them more deeply, begin to understand people more deeply too. That is priceless.
This is what chaplaincy truly is. Learning to see through the eyes of another. Adam gave names to the animals — which means he tried to grasp their essence. Noah saved two of every kind — which means he cared for them, as best he could. But all of this was possible only because God guided them.
The Talmud teaches: “Whoever shows mercy to God’s creatures, Heaven will show mercy to him.” Kabbalah adds: God hides Himself in many garments… and reveals Himself differently to each.
And then I understood… When we learn to see through the eyes of others — we come closer to God. For us, the grass is green. For the bee — it is violet. For the bird — even more multicolored, beyond our imagining. But for God, all of this is one world.
To learn to see through the eyes of others… that is the true lesson. A lesson in mercy, a lesson in justice, a lesson in faith. And this lesson will remain with me always.
Rabbi Moshe (Mikhail) Salita is a Brooklyn-based rabbi, legal scholar, and emerging animal chaplain whose work unites Jewish spirituality, international law, and compassion for all living beings.
He holds a Master’s in International Law (with honors) from the National University “Odesa Law Academy,” where he is currently a PhD student researching the restitution of unlawfully confiscated Jewish communal property in Soviet Ukraine. He also earned a Master’s in Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute (New York) and a Master’s in Education and Special Education from Touro University, with graduate certificates in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Bilingual Education.
Rabbi Salita is an ordained rabbi of the Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute (JSLI), a Doctor of Ministry student in Jewish Spirituality at the Graduate Theological Foundation, and an Animal Chaplain-in-Training with the Compassion Consortium in New York. His mission is to weave together justice, mercy, and creation care into one sacred path of Tikkun Olam — healing the moral and spiritual wounds of the world.
He serves as Executive Director of the Salita Foundation, originally founded by his brother, Dmitriy Salita — former WBF World Champion boxer, and inductee of both the New York Boxing Hall of Fame and the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Today, Rabbi Salita leads the Foundation toward a broader vision — uniting humanitarian ethics, environmental awareness, and cultural restitution.
Through the Foundation, he has launched the “Eco-Kosher Initiative,” a global program encouraging support for businesses and individuals who respect the environment, animals, and their communities. For him, “eco-kosher” is not limited to food — it is a moral philosophy of living in balance with creation, where sustainability and holiness walk hand in hand.
He is also devoted to preserving and gaining international recognition for the rare Israeli cat breed Kanaani — a living symbol of harmony between Jewish heritage and the natural world.
A descendant of Sruel ben Aharon Lekhtman, a Ruzhiner Hasid and brick-factory owner in Kitai-Gorod, Kamianets-Podilskyi — once a spiritual heart of the Ruzhin Hasidic movement in Tsarist-era Ukraine — Rabbi Salita continues his ancestor’s legacy of faith, integrity, and bridge-building. Sruel Lekhtman served as a close friend and estate manager for Pan Dembitsky, a Polish landowner remembered with respect in both Jewish and Ukrainian memory. Their friendship, crossing lines of faith and culture, remains a profound symbol of coexistence — especially meaningful for Ukraine today.
Although Rabbi Salita received Reform rabbinic education in the spirit of Jewish Universalism, he maintains a deep spiritual connection with Chabad, whose living Hasidic tradition unites intellect, compassion, and joy.
Following the example of the prophets — from Adam, the first caretaker of creation, to King Solomon, who understood the language of animals, and to Rav Papa, the sage who spoke kindly of cats — Rabbi Salita teaches that true holiness is revealed through compassion for all living beings. His life’s work is to show that caring for animals and serving God are one and the same sacred breath.
