Noah, Rav Papa, and the Cats of the Holy Land: The Kanaani’s Journey Back to Life
A rabbi’s quiet mission to revive a forgotten breed from Jerusalem — and to remind us that compassion, too, is a form of Torah.
The weekly Torah portion Noah feels deeply personal to me. It is not only about survival, but about the sacred duty to protect life itself. Noah was not merely saving animals from the flood; he was preserving the breath of existence, the nefesh that lives in every being. He understood that each creature, pure or impure, small or great, carries a spark of the Divine.
In a way, I feel that my own work continues that same covenant. My ark is not made of wood but of love and care. I am preserving a nearly vanished breed of cats from the Holy Land — the Kanaani. This work is not driven by commerce or ambition, but by a sense of calling. I did not hear a voice from heaven; rather, I followed a quiet path of signs, reflections, and inner light that led me here.
The Kanaani was born in Jerusalem through an act of kindness. In the 1990s, Dorothea Polaczek, an Israeli architect and designer, rescued a wounded wild cat. She nursed it back to life and, from that gesture of compassion, a new breed emerged. It was not a laboratory creation but an encounter between mercy and nature — a reminder that kindness can give life to an entire species.
Years later, when the Kanaani had nearly disappeared even in its homeland, I met a woman in Israel, Lyudmila Vlasova, who entrusted me with three Kanaani cats: Layla, Arbuz, and Haifa. When I heard her name, I felt a sudden connection. My late mother’s name was also Lyudmila. In that moment, I understood that this was not a coincidence. The Eternal rarely speaks in words. He speaks through names, through encounters, through the small quiet bridges between souls.
From that day, I felt my mission clearly. I created the Kanaani Salita Gold line and began working with Lyudmila to establish a second one — Kanaani Lyudmila — in her honor. Together, we are continuing a story that began in Jerusalem and is now finding a new chapter across the ocean.
All my cats carry the family name Salita (Shlita) — a blessing traditionally given to rabbis, meaning “May his days be long and good.” It feels right that these cats carry it too. They are my prayer in motion, my living covenant with the Creator, and my offering of gratitude.
Every Kanaani cat bears the ancient letter Mem (מем) on its forehead — the letter of water, mercy, and mystery. Mem is the first letter of Moshe, of Mashiach, and of Misha. Sometimes I look at them and think: perhaps that letter is not by chance. Perhaps it is a quiet sign from Heaven, written not in ink but in fur, light, and breath.
In the Babylonian Talmud (Pesachim 112b), Rav Papa teaches: “Do not sleep in a house that has no cat.” And in Eruvin 100b, it is written: “If the Torah had not been given, we would have learned modesty from the cat.” In the time of Egyptian slavery, Jewish homes kept cats to guard against snakes and scorpions. Rav Papa saw the cat as a protector — not a source of impurity, but of order and safety.
Since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, cats have lived freely in every city. They keep the streets clear of snakes and pests, just as Rav Papa once advised. Perhaps Israel, knowingly or not, has fulfilled his teaching more faithfully than many of us realize.
When I look at Layla, Arbuz, and Haifa, I think of Noah opening the ark and releasing the dove. There is the same quiet peace, the same faith that life continues, that the world still deserves care. My mission is small, but it feels true.
I do not write a book. I only try to be one letter in that book which is not written with ink, but by the hand of the Eternal.
Rabbi Mikhail (Moshe ben Israel) Salita, Shlita
Director, Salita Foundation
Founder of the Kanaani Salita Gold and Kanaani Lyudmila lines
Doctor of Ministry in Jewish Spirituality (Graduate Theological Foundation, in progress)
Animal Chaplaincy Program, Compassion Consortium (in progress)
Israel – United States – Ukraine
About the Kanaani breed:
The Kanaani cat was first bred in Jerusalem in the 1990s by Dorothea Polaczek, an Israeli architect and designer who loved the city’s street cats. After rescuing an injured wild feline, she developed a natural breed that embodied the grace of the desert and the spirit of the Holy Land. The Kanaani combines the beauty of Israel’s native wildcats with the gentleness of domestic life. Today, only a few dozen pure Kanaani cats remain worldwide. This revival continues in Israel and the United States, carrying forward a lineage born not from ambition, but from compassion.