Silence is Olden and Enforced Dignity and more Bava Basra 62-64

Silence is Olden

Our Gemara on Amud Aleph and Beis record halachic discussions and situations when the great Amora, Rav was presented with a challenge to his argument, it was met with silence on his part. Rashbam (“Umodeh”) notes that sometimes the silence is to be interpreted as tacit admission, and other times, it is interpreted as a response to a question that is lacking in sophistication. That is, when questioned by peers who are close to his level of scholarship, if Rav does not respond, he is conceding their point. On the other hand, if the question is by somebody of lesser scholarship such as a lower student, the question might be due to ignorance that would be obvious to the greater sages, and in such a case, there is no response by Rav but no indicator of admission.

In those situations why is there no response? Is it that it is beneath the dignity of the rabbi to explain himself? That seems discordant with the ethic of humility which is emphasized in teachings such as:

Avos (2:5) “An exacting teacher cannot teach.”

Or (ibid 4:1): “Who is wise? One who learns from every person.”

And the famous story of Rabbi Pereida (Eiruvin 54b), who patiently reviewed a teaching with a student 400 times. Even more fascinating, the student was highly sensitive, and when he sensed that the rabbi felt pressure to be somewhere else it made it even harder for him to concentrate. Instead of getting frustrated, this caused Rabbi Pereida to start all over again, reassuring the student that he will devote all the time necessary.

On the other hand, there is a concept called zrol mara be-talmidim “instilling fear and dread in the students”, as described in Kesuvos (103b). However, Rambam (Talmud Torah 4:5) says that it only applies if the teacher perceives that the students are being intellectually lazy and lacking respect for the material. If they are merely having difficulty understanding due to intellectual shortcomings or density of the material, Rambam says the teacher must be patient. These principles are similarly codified in Shulchan Aruch (YD 246:10-12).

If so, we cannot justify Rav’s ignoring the questioner on the basis of respect and dignity for the content alone. There is no indication from the dialogue that there was any laziness or lack of respect on the part of the students; they merely lacked advanced ability. So, why ignore them?

I believe the correct answer is that Rav was engaged in study with an advanced group. In order to answer the question it would have consumed a large amount of time, taking opportunity for study away from the majority of students who understood that it was not a question. Apparently, Rav relied on the advanced students to later address the lacunae of the less advanced students. To this day, there are shiurim where this practice occurs. Students do not dare interrupt with a question. Only, after the shiur, the more advanced students review with the lesser ones the content of the Rosh Yeshiva’s lecture. In some yeshivos no one interrupts, and in others it’s completely open, and anybody can interrupt, and still in others, it’s understood buy some invisible yet distinct pecking order that your question must be of a high caliber before you dare ask it. This is the way of scholarship. You can still see traces of that in old movies such as the Paper Chase where John Hausman literally embodies this idea of zrok mara. (Here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx22TyCge7w ).

Professor Kingsfield, dresses down is the incoming class of Harvard Law School:

“You come in here with a skull full of mush and you leave thinking like a lawyer.”

We belong to a generation of extreme casualness, where the old practices of respecting authority and hierarchy are alien. Here and there, you can see in older, traditional families, often with Persians, how much respect is given to elders. I have observed younger people who will not speak English in front of their elderly grandparents. Those gestures and degree of respect lost on

most of us. Kids today are brought up to feel that their teachers are like buddies and friends. You can’t turn back the clock, and these practices have evolved to suit the sensibilities and needs of our culture. Still, it is worth contemplating, to see the weight in which silence, dignity and respect, went hand in hand. We are used to people posting on social media what they ate for breakfast, so the idea of calm reticence is unusual.

My father Z”L used to tell me that, “Once upon a time, people behaved in such a manner that they thought twice before they spoke what they thought, and they thought four times before they wrote what they spoke. In our times, people don’t think before they speak, and hardly much before they write.“

And what is interesting is that there’s a deep yearning in the soul for this kind of quiet, humble dignity. As we saw, even in popular American culture and media there is this fascination with elderly sage characters. For the younger generation, we have characters

such as Yoda or a sensei in a dumb cartoon. Unfortunately, they are crass caricatures, and generally speaking, after spouting some deep philosophical idea of passivity and humility, to make the movie interesting, they end up brandishing a sword and slaughtering their enemies. (To be honest, we have that archetype ourselves. For example Moshe doing battle personally with Og (Berachos 54b), or Shmuel against Agog (Shmuel I:15:33), and the Maccabees.)

Regardless of the subtleties, we do see that there is a craving for an all wise transcendent character who speaks in riddles and challenges the intellect and the heart. This is an important human pattern of how nonverbal attitudes and ideas are transmitted by sages to students who have an open mind and heart.

Depths of Creativity

Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses that for a seller to imply that he is including all the underground cisterns and tunnels, he must say “from the depths of the Earth to the Height of the sky.” The English words for these boundaries do not capture the theological and contextual meaning of these words in Hebrew. The Hebrew word for “height of the sky” is rakia, and the Hebrew word for “depths of the Earth” is Tehom.

What do these words mean? Rakia has been translated as “firmament” because the idea within the story of creation is that this boundary made a firm barrier between the upper waters and the lower waters (Bereishis 6:1). However, etymologically the word Rakia is more like something spread out, such as in Tehilim (136:6), which ironically describes spreading the Earth out with the same root word R-K-A, or Bamidbar (7:3) which describes the gold sheets plated on the top of the altar. Tehom is more challenging etymologically, as it seems to be an original word and not borrowed from a larger idea like Rakia. But the definition is easy because it is almost exclusively used in every application to imply some deep part of the earth, an ancient abyss. There are similar words for the deep earth in Akkadian and Ugaritic, which indicates the precision of this definition. Sometimes it is used by way of Metaphor, such as in Tehilim (36:7) “Your justice is great depth”, but the meaning is still quite obviously something far down below, difficult to fully assess and discern. Thus, God‘s justice is not always easy at first to understand, but it comes from a profound ancient place, just like the depths of the Earth. It might be related to the word for wonder, as in wondrously or imponderably deep, as when the townsfolk encounter the weather-beaten, once aristocratic Na’ami, returning to Israel (Rus 1:19) “VaTehom kol ha’ir” “And the entire city was astounded.“

And of course the first usages of Rakia and Tehom make their appearances early in the account of creation: (Bereishis 1:2; we saw the reference for Rakia earlier.)

The spirit of Hashem hovered over the face of the deep tehom

What are we to make of these accounts of creation? Clearly none of it is comprehensible in any simple format, so why even bother? Avos (5:1) acknowledges this question as well, wondering why create the world with ten utterances? Why not one? Or 100? Avos says, it is to reward and punish those who support or thwart the purpose of the world, created with these statements. As if to say, thwarting or supporting the creation would be better or worse depending on how many statements were used to create it? The answer Avos gives is just as cryptic, only making sense superficially, but requiring more study. Even so, one way to look at this is like a Midrash; you can’t necessarily understand it on its ultimate deepest level, but you can still derive meanings and morals from the story line. From that perspective, there are a couple of notable touchstones:

The opening does not tell about God being alone, but instead we get to know God by his action – creating Heaven and Earth. This fundamentally tells us we can never know what God was thinking, how he was before creation. We will only know God by what he does in this world.

The creations follow a taxonomy , elements, astral bodies, vegetation, sea creatures, birds, animals and humans. The Torah values categorization and order. Recognizing the wonders of creation fully requires attention and appreciation of the details. As Chovos Halevavos’ Shaar Habechina elaborates, reflecting on the various marvels of nature brings one closer to Hashem. To a degree studying science, particularly biology and astronomy can be a devotional exploration that the creation account stimulated. Because we must ask ourselves what is the point in all the categorization of the creation account if there is meaning to the system?

And of course the final point is that there is a creator. A creator with the power and wisdom to create the world and the cosmos must have a purpose and a vested interest in the world. While we can wonder about the purpose of it all, it is hard to ignore that evidence of purpose and therefore our accountability to participate.

Enforced Dignity

Our Gemara on Amud Beis continued the discussion of several dappim regarding the dispute between Rabbi Akiva and the Rabbis over the attitude of the seller. Is he generous of spirit (ayin yaffa) or more parsimonious attitude, with halachic outcomes that indicate which extras get sold along with the property.

Recognizing this pattern of behavior and emotion, Meshech Chochmah (Behar) explains this as the intention of the verses that introduce the commandment of Shemitta (Vayikra 25:2-4):

דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם כִּ֤י תָבֹ֙אוּ֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י נֹתֵ֣ן לָכֶ֑ם וְשָׁבְתָ֣ה הָאָ֔רֶץ שַׁבָּ֖ת לַה׳

Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land that I assign to you, the land shall observe a sabbath of Hashem.

שֵׁ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ תִּזְרַ֣ע שָׂדֶ֔ךָ וְשֵׁ֥שׁ שָׁנִ֖ים תִּזְמֹ֣ר כַּרְמֶ֑ךָ וְאָסַפְתָּ֖ אֶת־תְּבוּאָתָֽהּ׃

Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your vineyard and gather in the yield.

וּבַשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗ת שַׁבַּ֤ת שַׁבָּתוֹן֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה לָאָ֔רֶץ שַׁבָּ֖ת לַה׳ שָֽׂדְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תִזְרָ֔ע וְכַרְמְךָ֖ לֹ֥א תִזְמֹֽר׃

But in the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath of complete rest, a sabbath of Hashem you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.

אֵ֣ת סְפִ֤יחַ קְצִֽירְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תִקְצ֔וֹר וְאֶת־עִנְּבֵ֥י נְזִירֶ֖ךָ לֹ֣א תִבְצֹ֑ר שְׁנַ֥ת שַׁבָּת֖וֹן יִהְיֶ֥ה לָאָֽרֶץ׃

You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untrimmed vines; it shall be a year of complete rest for the land.

Imagine the emotions that played out upon the wandering Jews: “I’ve got good news and bad news.” They are told they’re to finally enter the land promised to their ancestors, a long relief after the travails of oppression and slavery. Oh, but wait, there’s a catch. Every seven years you need to abandon the land and let it run wild; you are not allowed to take possession of any of its produce. This might be a bitter pill to swallow. Meshech Chochmah explains that this is why the subsequent verses go into detail about the pleasures and benefits that they will derive from the land in the other six years. But this is not just to soften the blow, to say take the good with the bad. To the contrary, it is to remind the Jews, that God gives generously. When a person gives a parcel of land generously (ayin yaffa), he includes all kinds of hidden extras. The Shemittah year is not a deprivation but a hidden benefit. How is this so? It’s hard to give up control once every seven years.

That’s the strange thing about human nature. Difficulties and challenges, in the right dosages, enhance life. The enforced rest of not working and letting go of financial and personal concerns, like the weekly shabbos, can be a boon or a nightmare, depending on the person’s attitude. Some people find Shabbos torturous, with hour upon an hour of uninterrupted time and no distractions. In truth, dysfunctional families can be at their worst on Shabbosim and Yamim Tovim. Because people spend extended time intensely together, it can bring out the worst in them. Fears, compulsions, unresolved resentments, and power struggles can play out awfully at the Shabbos table. So to be fair, we can’t judge certain people who find aspects of Shabbos unbearable. But it was not designed to be that way. Unfortunately, as the prophet (Hoshea 14:10) states:

מִ֤י חָכָם֙ וְיָ֣בֵֽן אֵ֔לֶּה נָב֖וֹן וְיֵדָעֵ֑ם כִּֽי־יְשָׁרִ֞ים דַּרְכֵ֣י ה׳ וְצַדִּקִים֙ יֵ֣לְכוּ בָ֔ם וּפֹשְׁעִ֖ים יִכָּ֥שְׁלוּ בָֽם׃

The wise will consider these words,

The prudent will take note of them.

For the paths of GOD are smooth;

The righteous can walk on them,

While sinners stumble on them.

And this is not merely true as a punishment, but unfortunately those who sin and their family members might get lost or stumble in the manner in which their disorder and chaos ruins the tranquil spirituality of the Torah lifestyle. Other enforced rests, such as stopping the day’s hectic pursuits to periodically pray are all gifts.

To us, the ubiquity of electric lighting dilutes our appreciation for the wisdom of our sages who mandate lighting Shabbos lamps for light, even in the most impoverished homes, taking precedence over spending funds on Kiddush (Shulchan Aruh OC 263:3). We forget they were times and locations where people could not afford the fuel for the lamps, and yet this was a kind of enforced dignity. Another kind of rest and dignity imposed on us by religion is the family purity laws and how they regulate sexual and intimate life. Once again, for some it is hurtful and difficult, possibly due to traumas, but for most it is difficult but rewarding.

The ultimate litmus test about the gift and generosity within the Torah laws is the testimony of outsiders, as it states (Devarim 4:6,8)

ושמרתם ועשיתם כי הוא חכמתכם ובינתכם לעיני העמים אשר ישמעון את כל־החקים האלה ואמרו רק עם־חכם ונבון הגוי הגדול הזה

Observe them faithfully, for that will be proof of your wisdom and discernment to other peoples, who on hearing of all these laws will say, “Surely, that great nation is a wise and discerning people.”

ומי גוי גדול אשר־לו חקים ומשפטים צדיקם ככל התורה הזאת אשר אנכי נתן לפניכם היום

Or what great nation has laws and rules as perfect as all this Teaching that I set before you this day?

It’s a fair bet to say that the majority of civilized countries throughout the world keep a day of rest. One might argue this all comes from Judaism and Christian and Islamic offshoots, largely via missionary activities of colonists, but even so, why has this been adopted so readily and thoroughly, even by those who have no connection to religion? Obviously, the social and psychological benefits are rewarding.