Highly Sensitive Persons and More Bava Basra 23-26 Psychology of the Daf
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Highly Sensitive Persons
Our Gemara on Amud Aleph tells us about Rav Yosef, one of the most respected sages of the Talmud, who describes himself as more sensitive than typical. This has halachic implications for what types of nuisances and pollution his neighbors must remove. In a different Gemara (Succah 29a), Rav Yosef’s sensitivity also has implications on when he is exempted from the mitzvah of Succah, with a lower threshold of tolerance for discomfort than others. There are a few other Amoras who also describe themselves as unusually sensitive, once again with actual halachic consequences, such as Rav Nachman and Rav Chisda (Yoma 30a).
I find this psychologically fascinating. There is a complete absence of cynicism such as, “It’s all in your head”, or “get over it”, instead there is total acceptance of the subjective internal state and feelings. I think it is sadly and often the stance we modern westernized people take to subjective phenomena that cannot be scientifically measured or understood. We say, “It’s not real – buckle down and stop ,akong excuses.” In ancient times, despite the generally harsher conditions, there seemed to be far greater respect for natural differences. I believe industrialization has had a negative impact on allowing for the natural tendencies of individuals. The pace of work required to fit into a model of production and labor for a larger company instead of a simpler economy made people adapt and betray their own simpler needs and pace of life.
Even in Talmudic times, we find the bustling metropolis of Mechoza treated people differently and with less respect. (See Gittin 6a “The people of Mechoza are constantly in motion”. Literally, Mechoza translates in Aramaic as “The City”. In Mechoza there was an indulged wealthy class who didn’t work (Pesachim 50b), and a worker class who were accustomed to unusually long hours of labor (Bava Metxia 76a). In addition, Mechoza was more regimented with regular store hours never open at night (Bava Basra 29b), with other towns operating on a more casual schedule. Imagine some small, backwoods town where the general store owner is also the sheriff and the pharmacist. He opens his store when someone knocks on the door.
Regardless, the respect for individual variances and personal sensitivities displayed by the sages is a refreshing and important reminder for parents and educators. To this point, Dr Elaine Aron began researching traits of sensitivity in 1991. She called it HSP, for Highly Sensitive Persons, and authored a number of research publications and self-help books. There are a number of co-occurring traits that cluster in regard to persons with HSP, such as processing and perceiving on a deep level, but also then being easily overwhelmed by too much information or emotions. HSP is not an excuse for poor behavior, as all of us are responsible to manage the interplay of our emotions and our behavior. However, it is important to respect that what is easy for one person might be challenging to another. One can go to this website to a self-test to determine if you are an HSP: http://hsperson.com/test/
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Homing Pigeons
Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the habits of a chick-dove that does not fly, and merely hops, in that it will not stray further than line-of-sight to its nest. This has implications to determining its origin and ownership if it is found nearby.
The Torah uses a nest as a metaphor for being in Hashem’s embrace as is stated in Devarim (32:6):
הלוא־הוא אביך קנך הוא עשך ויכננך
Is not this the Father who is your nest? He Fashioned you and established you! (According to Rashi’s translation.)
Based on this, Chofetz Chaim al HaTorah remarks that one should never stray so far from Yiddishkeit that one loses line of sight, because it is much harder to find your way back to the nest.
While this might be statistically true, there are many who have strayed far from observance and came back. The draw toward the ancestral nest is powerful.
Some families have many members who have abandoned observance and Torah life, and others remain untouched, even for generations. It’s a complicated and painful phenomenon. Different families carry legacies and burdens of how joyous and connected they felt toward Judaism, how it was expressed and general mental health. There are many factors that in hindsight are technically choices and under our control, but at the time one can be totally oblivious. Regardless, what is most important is to never give up hope that the person may return, and to always remain connected even when the dissonance from religious life is offensive and embarrassing. We too can play a part in keeping line-of-sight with the nest.
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You Can Take The Bachur Out Of The Yeshiva, But You Can’t Take The Yeshiva Out Of The Bachur
Our Gemara on Amud Beis offers segulos for wisdom and wealth:
אמר רבי יצחק: הרוצה שיחכים – ידרים, ושיעשיר – יצפין, וסימניך: שלחן בצפון ומנורה בדרום. ורבי יהושע בן לוי אמר: לעולם ידרים, שמתוך שמתחכם מתעשר – שנאמר: ארך ימים בימינה, בשמאלה עשר וכבוד״.
Rabbi Yitzḥak says: One who wishes to become wise should face south (during prayer), and one who wishes to become wealthy should face north. And your symbol for this is that in the Temple the Table, which symbolized blessing and abundance, was in the north, and the Candelabrum, which symbolized the light of wisdom, was in the south of the Sanctuary.
The Beis Halevi (Shemos 19:5) notes that despite this geographical positioning, the subjective experience upon entering the Beis HaMikdash is that he will find the Menorah on the left side, and the Table on the right. The right and left in Jewish tradition represent the Good Inclination and the Evil inclination respectively, so there seems to be a contradictory message. The side of the Table which represents material success is on the right side, implying an association with the Good Inclination. Beis Halevi explains that when striving for material success, one’s intentions must be pure, otherwise it will lead to a spiritual and moral disaster. But when striving for spiritual and Torah aspirations, we have a tradition that even Torah study motivated by less pure intentions, such as to be admired, are worthwhile as the Torah will eventually lead the person to higher awareness and elevation of their motives (Nazir 23b). Therefore, the Table is on the right upon entry hints that material success absolutely must start with initial good intentions (symbolized by entry). However, Torah can be initiated even with compromised intentions, thus the Menorah is on the left.
This further emphasizes the unique aspect of Torah over every other pursuit. It confers and contains a spiritual charge that transcends the physical and technical aspects of the material. As we discussed at length in blogpost Psychology of the Daf, Bava Basra 8, the Torah speaks for itself in believing it can draw back the non-observant even when they study with insincere motives.
I’ll conclude with this observation about a public secular figure. Recently I watched an interview of a very funny comedian, Ari Shafir on Tucker Carlson. He’s a former Yeshiva Bochur who is now an unapologetic atheist with a foul mouth, but holds certain aspects of Orthodox life in high regard. His latest comedy show is about Judaism, and according to his own report, he took five years to research the material. Tucker, an astute student of human nature and provocative interviewer, sensed something was up and kept pressing him to explain why it took five years to research. Ari gave a rather lame answer as since it was about religion, he felt he had to get the facts right. What Shafir did not realize or could not fully admit, is that he couldn’t bear to get Torah wrong. (Btw, many of his facts about Judaism were not correct, but I won’t fault him for at least trying.) You can take the bachur out of the yeshiva, but you can’t take the yeshiva out of the bachur.
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Jewish Environmentalism
Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the prohibition of cutting down a fruit bearing tree. This is a matter that is taken seriously, and the Gemara even relates a story about someone who died, apparently from the spiritual backlash of this destructive act.
Rabbenu Yonah (Shaarey Teshuva 3:82) says this prohibition extends to any wasteful or destructive act, and warns to not even waste a penny. While this commandment is common sense and basic good character, the Chinuch (529) has a compelling and inspiring way of describing this mitzvah. His words speak for themselves:
שרש המצוה ידוע, שהוא כדי ללמד נפשנו לאהב הטוב והתועלת ולהדבק בו, ומתוך כך תדבק בנו הטובה, ונרחיק מכל דבר רע ומכל דבר השחתה. וזהו דרך החסידים ואנשי מעשה, אוהבים שלום ושמחים בטוב הבריות ומקרבים אותן לתורה, ולא יאבדו אפלו גרגר של חרדל בעולם, ויצר עליהם בכל אבדון והשחתה שיראו, ואם יוכלו להציל יצילו כל דבר מהשחית בכל כחם. ולא כן הרשעים אחיהם של מזיקים, שמחים בהשחתת עולם, והמה משחיתים את עצמם, במדה שאדם מודד בה מודדין לו. כלומר, בה הוא נדבק לעולם, וכענין שכתוב (משלי יז, ה) שמח לאיד לא ינקה. והחפץ בטוב ושמח בו נפשו בטוב תלין לעולם, זה ידוע ומפרסם.
The root of this commandment is well-known — it is in order to teach our souls to love good and benefit and to cling to it. And through this, good clings to us and we will distance [ourselves] from all bad and destructive things. And this is the way of the pious and people of [proper] action — they love peace and are happy for the good of the creatures and bring them close to Torah, and they do not destroy even a grain of mustard in the world. And they are distressed by all loss and destruction that they see; and if they can prevent it, they will prevent any destruction with all of their strength. But not so are the wicked — the brothers of the destructive spirits. They rejoice in the destruction of the world, and they destroy themselves — [since] in the way that a person measures, so is he measured; which is to say that he clings to it forever, as the matter that is written (Proverbs 17:5), “the one who rejoices in calamity, will not be cleared (of evil).” And the one who desires the good and rejoices in it, “his soul will dwell in the good” forever. This is known and famous.
The Chinuch describes a humble disposition toward material objects; of course not to chase after them but to respect their value, enjoy them modestly and never waste them. You don’t need to be an “environmentalist wacko” (as Rush Limbaugh used to describe them) or a Greenpeace fanatic to humbly monitor and conserve excess consumption and waste. Years ago, a certain acquaintance was rebuked by another more modern family member for not bothering to recycle. The modern family member had one child, and the recycling scofflaw had 12. His answer was, “Recycling is for people with 1.5 children and a dog.” His point was well taken, as clearly, his priorities and focus on raising a family really could not deal with the distraction of rinsing the aluminum foil kugel pans. (Anyway, I’m pretty sure one day there will be a scandal where we find out that some mafia sanitation contractor was dumping the recyclables into the ocean.) Yet, that’s not what these teachings mean. No need for radical or extraordinary environmentalism. Live life, enjoy, use resources to take care of your family. Just do it humbly and modestly without senseless waste.