On a holiday we can technically go to a local shop and obtain items needed for the festive meals.  No money changes hands, the bill will be settled after the holiday ends.

The Gemara discusses using a scale indirectly, by using items on the other tray that are not normally used as weights.  Our sages note that an expert butcher should not weigh meat in his own hands, or by water displacement.

When you are an expert in your field, you get a sense of the proportions of what you work with.  Become an expert in your chosen area.

If you are still working on figuring out your life mission, try becoming an expert on people.  We all have to deal with other people.  If you work on reading their facial expressions, body language, and how to engage in spontaneous conversation, you will have an easier time weighing social situations and engaging with others.

Like a butcher holding a piece of meat this expertise comes only through hands on experience.

The Gemara is working out the rules of using a blemished firstborn animal on a holiday.  In a dispute between Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Shimon, we normally rule like Rabbi Yehuda, but in this case it was said in the name of Rabbi Zera that the law is with Rabbi Shimon.

A student in the study hall heard this debate and prayed that he would be able to go to Israel and hear this teaching from Rabbi Zera himself.  Eventually he made it, and Rabbi Zera clarified that in truth he didn’t say the law was like Rabbi Shimon but that it seemed logical to follow him since there was another teaching like his opinion.

In modern times many people restate ideas from others and pass them off as their own.  Social media makes this easy and profitable.  When you see a useful concept, figure out where it came from and find the source.

Often people take valuable ideas and reframe them for a specific audience, and some of the power of the original idea is lost. When you find the original content you may he able to better understand and use the wisdom.

The greatest example of this is the Bible itself. Jews study the original text in the original language, using ancient commentaries.  Other faiths translate the Bible in the way that fits their narrative, and add layers of explanation that make it palatable to their members.

Going back to the unadulterated teaching in the original language allows you not only to get the real message but also to see how later people modified it for their own ends.

The Talmud asks about a case in which a first-born animal falls into a pit on a holiday.  If a first-born animal is without blemishes then it must be brought as a sacrifice in the Temple and belongs to the priests.  If the animal has a blemish that makes it invalid as an offering, then the original owner can eat it.

The Gemara brings an opinion that an expert in blemishes can go down into the pit, and if this animal was indeed blemished in a permanent manner (and this blemish existed before the holiday), they can bring it up and eat it on the holiday.

You need an outside expert, a man cannot judge his own animals. A person does not see and understand his own blemishes.  In modern society very few people will give you accurate feedback about your own personal issues.  You need to get honest friends who also value self improvement in order to get valid advice.

We also see that an expert needs to be willing to get down and dirty to evaluate his subject.  Ivory tower intellectual exercises are a waste of energy if you cannot use the information in the real world.

To develop expertise, a man needs to go into the field.  You must gain experience with other people in order to get a sense of what types you can get along with and forge bonds with.  You need to figure out what blemishes in other people would be too much for you to handle.

Some people are tempted to diagnose others, this is not what we mean.  If someone is cruel to you or undermines your mission, it doesn’t matter why this is, they don’t belong in your life.

The Gemara compares the Jewish people to a turmus or lupine bean, which requires cooking seven times before it is edible.  Our sages note that some ancient Jews worshiped seven different idols and were punished, but did not return to serving God.  This hardheadedness could be a positive virtue as well:

It is taught in the name of Rabbi Meir: For what reason was the Torah given to the Jewish people? It is because they are brazen.

The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught the following with regard to the verse: “From His right hand went a fiery law for them” (Deuteronomy 33:2); The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: These people are fit to be given a fiery law.  Some say a different version: The nature of these people is intense like fire, were it not for the fact that the Torah was given to the Jewish people to restrain them, no nation or language could withstand them.

Jews are headstrong and once committed are not easily shaken, and are called the “stiff necked people” (Exodus 32:9, Deut 9:13, Jeremiah 7:26).  This tenacity prevented assimilation for thousands of years, and kept most Jews loyal to their traditions.

Some commentators explain that the Torah, a harsh and exacting “fiery law” was a good match for our national character.  Others note that the Torah which requires mercy and charity was needed to offset the brazen headstrong qualities inherent in the nation.

In truth, the Torah is a system that allows this nation to channel traits that could easily be negative into positive outcomes.  Such fiery grit causes interpersonal conflicts, but when you get men to use this tenacity for specific causes like charity, prayer, teaching, and ritual purity, you see amazing effects on the society.

First you need to find your mission, something that appeals to you and is for your own ultimate benefit.  Then you must work on your ability to commit and focus on this mission.  Don’t waste your tenacity on winning a new video game.  Use it to enhance your life and change the world.

We begin the third chapter of Beitzah with a teaching about trapping animals to eat on a holiday.  Hunting and trapping is forbidden, but if you have the animal enclosed then merely grabbing it is not an act of trapping.

The Mishnah taught that a bird inside the house is not trapped, Rabba bar Rav Huna explains that the Mishnah refers to a “free bird” which does not accept outside authority (there is a debate if this is a specific species or any such bird).  When a man tries to grab it, the free bird will flutter away and hide in the corners.

The Talmud comments that this bird can be free even inside the house, just like in the field.  True freedom is being able to survive thrive in any environment.  Do not be domain dependent.

The Gemara also mentions that even a bird that goes outside by day but always comes back to the coop at night is considered trapped.  If the bird relies on the master for food, it is also not free. 

Men in modern times often depend on the approval of others for their own self esteem.  If you pay attention to the portrayal of men in mainstream media you will see that men are often ridiculed or demonized.  Men need to feel like they are contributing, so if the society as a whole minimized their work they seek approval from individuals in their lives.

Be aware of this and know who you are seeking approval from and for what behavior.  If the situation is preventing you from accomplishing your chosen mission, you need to break free.  Work to develop methods of self approval for your own accomplishments.

The Talmud brings an episode where the neighbor of Rabbi Elazar Ben Azaria let his cow out on the Sabbath with a ribbon.  Since the Rabbi did not object to this, people said that the Rabbi’s cow had violated the Sabbath.

When a man with authority does not correct people who would listen to him, he is considered culpable as well.  By contrast, when a man lacks authority in a given situation, trying to push others is a waste of time.

The Gemara comments that Rabbi Elazar Ben Azaria himself did not have just one cow but hundreds of thousands.  In fact, the Gemara in Brakhot Daf 28 states that his vast wealth was one of the reasons he was appointed as leader of the community.

This reminds us that men who have their own money and means to generate resources are harder to influence or corrupt.  You can’t bribe a man who has hundreds of thousands of cattle in his flocks, and he has the means to give gifts to others.

Compare this ancient Rabbi to modern politicians, who almost always do not generate any resources but only take from the men who do.

The Gemara explains that we do not extinguish lamps or remove oil from them on a holiday, and examines the extent of this law.

Abba bar Marta asked Abaye: What is the law with regard to extinguishing a lamp for “something else” (meaning  sexual relations)? Abaye said to him: One may not extinguish it, as it is possible to have relations in a different room.
Abba continued: If he does not have a different room, what should he do? Abaye replied: It is possible to set up a sheet as a have relations on the other side.
Abba bar Marta asked further: If he does not have sheets to erect a partition, what should he do? Abaye answered: It is possible to invert a vessel over the lamp in order to hide the light.
Abba bar Marta further inquired: If he does not have a vessel, what should he do? Abaye said to him: It is prohibited.

Abba doesn’t stop there, he compares his case to a teaching ruling we can extinguish wood to prevent food or the house from getting smokey, but that teaching was not agreed to by all.

This line of questioning reminds us of the critical Daily dose of wisdom, Shabbat 8. The euphemism for sexthat intimacy plays in our lives.  Men are problem solvers, and if the problem is a lack of sex then men will apply their minds to obtain it.

A wise man will consider his situation and the logistics involved beforehand.  Typically a woman will not feel comfortable undressing in a brightly lit room, and will not be impressed if a man’s space is dirty or cluttered.  A man who can set the stage and build rapport can leave a woman with the impression that “it just happened”.

See also
Mishpatim: The holy law of sex

Daily dose of wisdom, Shabbat 8. The euphemism for sex

The reading of Vayelech (Deuteronomy 31:1–30) is the last narrative in the Five Books of Moses, after this section Moses states a prophetic song to the Jewish people, and then gives Divinely inspired blessings to all of the tribes before his death.

Vayelech contains the last two Mitzvot (commandments) in the Bible: for the Jewish king to gather the people in the Temple and read to them from part of the Torah, and for every man to write himself a scroll of the Law.

When all Israel comes to appear before the Lord, your God, in the place He will choose, you shall read this Torah before all Israel, in their ears.  Assemble the people: the men, the women, and the children, and your stranger in your cities, in order that they hear, and in order that they learn and fear the Lord, your God, and they will observe to do all the words of this Torah.  And their children, who did not know, will hear and learn to fear the Lord, your God, all the days that you live on the land, to which you are crossing the Jordan, to possess.  31:11-13

The idea is to publicly remind all the people – men, women, and children together – to continue to serve God.  When a society promotes a consistent message that something is very important, that society gets more of that something. 

We know that the media has a disproportionate impact on the future of society.  There is a constant struggle in our time to win readers and eyeballs.  The messages people get from the media impact our decision making and even our morality.  When we perceive something as being normal and common, since it was popularized by the media, we are more likely to accept it as being okay.  Most people, most of the time, want to fit in and go along with what they think their neighbors and society as a whole is doing.

The Bible describes how the king of the Jews would publicly read from an ancient Torah scroll inside the Holy Temple.  This was done during a festival when most Jews would be present in Jerusalem. This was the ancient equivalent of a synchronized emergency broadcast on all stations.

God wants the next generation who did not see the miracles of the Exodus to get this message in an exciting public event.  Of course Jewish parents would tell their children privately about the amazing events they lived through.  The normal transmission of personal experience is one of the proofs of the veracity of the Jewish Bible. The fact that we are commanded to tell our children about Jewish history makes it impossible to invent a new revisionist history.

If the Bible had been changed or new narratives added later on, then the Jews living in that time would have vehemently objected, since their own parents ancestors had told them a different version of these events. We read the Bible publicly every week, and study it daily. If Ezra invented parts of the Bible later, everyone would know and reject the additions.

However, it was not enough to have the parents educate the next generation.  The culture itself must give over the message en masse – through the monarchy and the Temple, the mightiest institutions of ancient Israel.

Don’t underestimate the extent to which your personal choices are limited by the narrative you are told from your society and government.  The Bible commands the Jews to use their ancient version of mass media to promote monotheism and loyalty to God.  Our Creator understands human nature

Think carefully about what goals your present day mainstream society is promoting.  Are those goals actually good for you?  If not, how can you wean yourself away from the narrative being drip fed into us and find alternate messages are consistent with your own personal mission?

Coming troubles

At the conclusion of Vayelech, God commands Moses to make another gathering:

Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, and I will speak these words into their ears, and I will call upon the heaven and the earth as witnesses against them.  For I know that after my death, you will surely become corrupted, and deviate from the way which I had commanded you. Consequently, the evil will befall you at the end of days, because you did evil in the eyes of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.  31:28-29

Moses had already relayed this message privately to his successor Joshua (31:16-18) and to the tribe of Levi (27).  The Jews would surely stray from God and be punished.

This is amazing.  Moses tells the entire people that he knows prophetically that the nation will go become corrupted in the future.  This assembly seems to be the opposite of the gathering the king is commanded to make in the Temple, to urge the people to stay on the straight path.

Why is the king, and the society generally, made responsible for keeping the Jews in the faith when Moses himself, the greatest prophet of all time, testifies that they will not?

This brings us back to our discussion of free will.  Yes, it was predicted that the Jewish nation would stray to idolatry and be punished.  But this does not mean every man and every family would do so.  Indeed, there were many righteous and God fearing men in Israel right up until the destruction of the Temple. 

The decree was on the nation in general, not the individual.  Each man still had free will, and could choose to remain loyal to God and resist the temptation.

We witness the same concept when the Egyptians were punished for enslaving the Jews (Exodus 7-14).  You could argue that this was unfair since God Himself ordained that the Jews would be enslaved.  He told Abraham “Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years” Genesis 15:13.

So why punish them for setting God’s own plan into motion?

The decree was on the nation – many of the Jews would be oppressed by a foreign nation.  But each individual Egyptian still retained free will, and did not have to become a taskmaster or beat the Jews.  And yet many Egyptians gladly took part in dehumanizing and abusing the Jews.  Many happily threw Jewish babies into the Nile.

God is exacting, each man and woman is held accountable for their own transgressions even when part of a nation acting immorally.  Each earned their punishment through his own individual choices (See Michtav M’Eliyahu).

You could still argue that when a society as a whole is pursuing a goal – here forcing the ancient Jews to work – then the individual cogs in the greater social machine are less culpable.

Even when a culture, meaning most of the members, institutions, and media organizations, are united in one goal, there is always some resistance.  Even when the German National Socialists (may their name be cursed) took over Europe with overwhelming force, there were still men and women willing to give up their lives to sabotage them.  Others did not resist actively but would not take part in Nazi goals.

This is why German officers were found guilty and sentences to death in the Nuremberg war crimes tribunal.  “I was just following orders” is not an excuse.  Every man retains free will, even within a powerful evil regime.

It is vital for modern men to understand that the narratives promoted by your culture, institutions, government, and media do play an enormous role in your thought process.  Often this is subconscious and we are rarely aware of it.  This influence can be good for you, as when the Jewish kings urged the people to stay loyal to God.  Or it can wreck you.

You need to rationally examine the ideas you are being conditioned by your society to accept.  Do not mindlessly go along with the flow.  Question what you are told.  Take only the concepts that are good for you personally and reject the rest.  Know that it is very difficult to summon the strength of character to resist going along with a dominant narrative.

However, don’t assume that being part of a counterculture group makes you in the resistance.  Your cause or organization could actually be working to further the same goals that the mainstream media is pushing through different means.  Causes may be branded as counter cultural or opposing the status quo, but they are really being used to further the interests of those already in control.  Be aware of who is funding or controlling the opposition before you assume you are a free thinker for joining it.

In addition, ideas that were once held by the minority or the revolutionaries often become normalized and accepted, and then used by the establishment or majority to cement their own power.

The Jews are the eternal minority. God promised that we will always be few in number compared to the other nations: “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you are the fewest of all peoples” (Deut 7:7).

We are forever tasked with being distinct from the mainstream culture.  Being a permanent minority is dangerous for the Jews, as we see throughout history. Jews are often the literal scapegoats for the problems of the mainstream society.

However, the Jewish experience gives inspiration to others.  The slaves in America identified with the ancient Hebrews in Egypt and yearned for salvation, and many Jews became abolitionists or assisted escaped slaves (Deut 23:15).

Today, people still turn to ancient ideas of the Bible when modern approaches do not solve their personal problems.  The Jewish people are still keeping this wisdom alive and intact.

We being to debate the parameters of cooking for other people on a festival.  The Gemara notes:

There was an incident involving Shimon the Timnite, who did not come on the night of the Festival to the study hall. The next morning, Rabbi Yehuda ben Bava found him and said: Why did you not come last night to the study hall?
He said to him: A military unit on a search mission came to our city and wanted to pillage the entire city. We slaughtered a calf in order to placate them, and we fed them with it and convinced them to depart in peace.

First of all, it is amazing that the sages were expected to go to a study hall to learn after indulging in a festive meal.  This reminds us not to overeat to the point where it impairs our mental acuity.

Second, sometimes you realize that you don’t want or need someone to be part of your life.  This person may be looking to take too much of your time, attention, and resources.  Or it simply isn’t working out.

You may need to “slaughter a calf” for them through letting them down easy.  Meaning that you thank them for whatever time or value given but regretfully must move on.  Don’t make a big deal of this, but don’t simply ignore a person and expect them to go away on their own.

The Talmud brings up the famous dispute between Hillel and Shammai over “semicha”, laying hands on the head of a sacrificial animal, on a holiday. Before one brings and offering, he or she must do semicha on the animal. However, it is Rabbinically forbidden to lean on animals on a holiday.

When Hillel himself came to the Temple to bring a burnt offering, the students of Shammai (Beit Shammai) intimidated  him. Their public show of force in the Temple made it appear that Hillel had accepted Shammai’s opinion.

However, Bava ben Buta, himself an elder from the school of Shammai, knew that the law should follow Hillel. Since many people now assumed the law followed Shammai, Bava made a public display to counteract that notion. He bought up countless high quality sheep and made them available for everyone to bring an offering with semicha.

Later on, a disciple from among the students of Beit Hillel brought his burnt-offering to the Temple and was about to place his hands on the animal’s head on a Festival.
A disciple from Beit Shammai found him and said to him: What is this placing of hands?
He replied: What is this silence?
(Meaning, why do you not stay silent, as the law was not established like you?)

Keep in mind this encounter was apparently after Bava ben Buta made a public display that the law was like Hillel.  The student from Hillel’s school knew he was in the right, so he did not waste words arguing the law or become angry.  His response was direct and proportional.

By contrast, when Bava ben Buta needed to publicize that the law was actually like Hillel, this required a massive investment in animals to show everyone that they could do semicha as Hillel authorized.  Bava ben Buta did not argue or debate, but demonstrated.

When you already know your position is correct, you can minimize your responses to detractors.  When you need to convince others, instead of fighting directly, act publicly in accordance with your values. When you go ahead and follow your opinion with confidence, they will see that you stand up for your side and reconsider theirs.