The Gemara notes that if we see someone racing to the mikvah before sundown to immerse and purify a utensil, we should stop him since he may not know the rules that he must wait for sunset to use the utensil with pure foods.  It could be that this man does know the law and is trying to get the vessel pure before sunset so he can use it at night.  However, since he is running it appears that he is in a hurry to use it as soon as possible and he should be reminded.

When you observe people keep in mind that their actions are a good indication of their inner state.  Someone can tell you their situation in words, but you may see that this person is acting in a way that is inconsistent with their verbal claims.  A common example is a woman saying “I’m fine” in a sullen or venomous tone.

Be on the lookout for behaviors and actions that do not match up with the words someone is telling you.

The Gemara examines when you can take a ritually impure vessel to be purified in the waters of a Mikvah on a holiday.  We don’t normally allow this immersion to purify vessels on the holiday, one of the reasons is that a busy man may wait until he has extra time on the holiday to bring his impure items to a Mikvah.  While he is delaying, these vessels can make food impure as well.

Tosafot asks why we are not likewise concerned that a man who is himself impure will wait until the holiday to immerse.  He answers that men don’t wait when their own personal purity is on the line.

This is a reminder that your own personal intrinsic value is more than your things.  Yes we understand, a nice house, car, and clothing can enhance your perceived status.  A man needs to take good care of his possessions, tools, and domicile.

But your main focus in life should be you.  Your physical health and fitness, and your spiritual and intellectual development.  These items come first, and ensuring your own needs comes before taking care of your physical things.

In modern mainstream society men are all too often measured by their wallet and physique while their character and refinement is ignored.  Become a man who bucks this trend and pay attention to the deeper reality of the people around you.

The Gemara discusses how we recite prayers when a holiday falls on a Sabbath.  If it were only a holiday or a Sabbath, we would have seven blessings in the prayers, the first and last three are fixed, these are the same every day.  The middle blessing is about the sanctity of the day.

We could have eight blessings, with two in the middle for both the holiday and the Sabbath.  Instead the Gemara concludes that we combine these two topics, and wrap up by saying “You make holy the Sabbath, the Jewish people, and the holidays”.

One sage suggested that the prayer should end “You make holy the Jewish people, the Sabbath, and the holidays”.  The Talmud rejects this because the Sabbath is already inherently sanctified, since the very first Sabbath after creation.  People don’t make the Sabbath holy, it just falls each week.  However they do make the holidays holy through setting the calendar (the holidays are on specific dates).

There are some things that are simply out of your control – and even out of the control of all of mankind.  Part of developing useful stoicism is to realize which parts of your life are not in your control, and not allowing those items or people to take control of you.  Even if you were able, some people and situations simply cannot change.  Accept this reality and move on to where your talents are useful.

Today the Talmud brings a famous contrast between how two sages prepared for the weekly Sabbath:

They said about Shammai the Elder that all his days he would eat in honor of Shabbat. How so?  If he found a choice animal, he would say: This is for Shabbat. If he later found another one better than the first, he would set aside the better animal aside for Shabbat and eat the first.

However, Hillel the Elder had a different trait, that all his actions were for the sake of Heaven, as it is stated: “Blessed be the Lord, day by day; He bears our burden, our God who is our salvation; Selah” (Psalms 68:20).
It was also taught: Beit Shammai say:  From the first day of the week, Sunday, start preparing already for your Shabbat.  And Beit Hillel say: “Blessed be the Lord, day by day.”

Hillel would find a nice animal, fish, or item and use it right away, trusting that God would also provide appropriate supplies on Friday to enjoy on the Sabbath.  Hillel’s approach relies on a high level of faith that God will provide whatever is needed in the right time.

This is not the best framework for everyone to adopt.  Someone without unquestioning faith may become disappointed when they don’t get what they had hoped would arrive.

Shammai taught his students to start preparing for Saturday on Sunday, so they were thinking about and seeking out what they would need for the Sabbath every day of the week.  This concept can be helpful for men working towards an important goal.  If you are constantly trying to advance your mission, you will be on the lookout for ways to do so.

However, if you have anxiety about the future and tend to try to plan everything in advance, you must try to take from Hillel’s approach to life.  Increase your tolerance to let things happen in the right time instead of micromanaging your schedule.

We begin the second chapter of Beitzah, about when a holiday falls just before or after a Sabbath.  On Fridays we cook and prepare in honor of the Sabbath, but if it is a holiday we can only cook for the needs of the holiday.  Our sages discuss the laws of Eruv tavshilin, a Rabbinical enactment to allow preparing for the Sabbath on a holiday, provided you began before the holiday.  This is based on Exodus 16:23 “Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy Shabbat to the Lord. Bake that which you will bake and cook that which you will cook, and all that remains put aside to be kept for you until the morning”.

The Talmud brings a story about Rabbi Eliezer, who was lecturing on the laws of holidays on a holiday.  When one group got up and left, he quipped that they were going to indulge in a huge container of wine at home (and likewise much food to eat).  When another group left, he joked that they had barrels of wine, then he referenced jugs, jars, and cups.  He explains to the remaining students that he criticized those who left early for abandoning the eternal life of Torah to engage in the temporary needs of eating.

The Gemara explains that Rabbi Eliezer held that physical joy of eating is not strictly required on a holiday, but that a man could sit and study the entire day to create spiritual joy.  Other sources say that enjoying good food is actually a Divine commandment.  Rabbi Yehoshua states that we should divide the day: Half to God in prayer and Torah study, and half to ourselves, through eating, drinking, and other pleasures.

In modern times, most men put much more than half their effort into physical pleasure – working, shopping, cooking, and taking care of regular day to day needs.  Challenge yourself to put more time and energy into your intellectual and spiritual development.  First evaluate yourself, and think about the areas in which you can improve.

We must note that today’s Daf fell on Yom Kippur, the one instance a year on which we put all our effort into spirituality by fasting and praying the entire day.

The Talmud brings a pair of Mishnayot about sending food and gifts to others on a holiday.  Our sages debate if you must send prepared food, or can send even raw food, or even a live animal.  Recall that on a holiday we can prepare food and even slaughter animals (Exodus 12:16).  However, sending raw food or unfinished clothing and shoes could be a mixed blessing for the recipient.

Keep in mind that other people may not be operating in the same framework you are.  Due to your own experiences, you may take for granted that something is helpful and enjoyable while another person finds it difficult to deal with.  Be sensitive that gifts you give, and especially your advice and counsel, is applicable to the recipient.

This applies in reverse as well.  Other people may give to you, but if you must put in effort to make their giving useful and meaningful, the ultimate result may not be worth the trouble.  In relationships and business your partner may be giving but it simply may not be enough for you.  Know what you need for your own chosen mission.  You must evaluate if you can get this person to give what you require or if you need to move on.

We are discussing processing grains and legumes on a holiday, and comparing it to the level of processing that triggers an obligation of tithing.  The Gemara explains a case where grains became liable for tithing on a holiday itself, and a similar case of tithing fenugreek seeds on a holiday.  The Gemara asks why we had to bring fenugreek as a specific example, and answers that since the stalks have the same taste as the seeds, we may have thought we have to tithe not just the seeds but the stalks as well.

So what if the stalk tastes like the seed?  How is that relevant in Jewish law? There is an amazing Medrash (Bereishit Rabbah 5:9) which explains a verse in the first chapter of Genesis, about the creation of plants:

And God said “let the earth sprout…” (Genesis 1:11).  It was taught in the name of Rabbi Natan: three entered into judgment and four left guilty.  Adam, Eve and the Snake entered into judgment, and the earth was punished along with them, as it says (Genesis 3:17) “cursed is the earth because of you”, that she will bring forth for you cursed things…
Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Shimon says this is because the earth disobeyed the command, since God said “let the earth sprout with sprouts” (a redundancy implying) that just like the fruits can be eaten so too the tree itself.  But the earth did not do so, rather the fruit can be eaten but not the tree.

There is a lot of deep meaning to this Medrash, Rav Kook of blessed memory explains one key concept:  The fruit is your ultimate goal, and the tree is the means to generate the fruit.  When you accomplish a goal, it tastes good and you enjoy it.  The original intent of God was that we also taste the flavor of accomplishment while we are working towards the goal.  However, in this physical world we are distracted by the effort and difficulties and cannot taste it until we generate the result.

When a man can bring himself to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment while he is working towards his mission, this is a high level.  Work on tasting the glory of achievement while you are still growing towards it.

If you are working on your body, you can measure your progress readily and enjoy it.  Working on your intellect and personality is a deeper task.  Do you now stay calm in situation that used to upset you?  When under stress can you stop and think before you react?

Take a look at what you have accomplished so far and taste it, to give yourself energy to continue growing.

We have learned that on a holiday we only use animals we prepared beforehand.  Items needed for food preparation can be handled and used on a holiday, but there is a debate if other things can be moved as well:

Beit Shammai say: One may carry out on a Festival neither a minor child, nor a Lulav, nor a Torah Scroll into the public domain, as none of these are required for preparing food; but Beit Hillel permit it.

On Sabbath and the holidays we do not deal with items that are forbidden to use, and on the Sabbath we cannot even carry items into a public domain. Holidays differ from the Sabbath in that we can perform labor for food prep (Exodus 12:16).

This exclusion of extraneous things and activities allows us to focus on the holiday or Sabbath.  On holidays we do allow handling items that are not actually needed for food, like Beit Hillel’s opinion.  However, this is only because we are allowed to handle items for cooking.

When you are involved in an important task, put everything else aside.  Don’t just turn off the ringer, put your phone in a different room.  Remove items and people that will distract you from your work space.  When you have less around, you make more mental space for your own creativity.

It is tempting to multi-task, but it is less effective when you are working toward an important goal.

The Talmud continues explaining when you can slaughter and eat on a holiday birds designated the day before.  If the birds are too young to fly but can hop, they are assumed to hop no farther than 50 cubits.  Therefore if there are no other nests within 50 cubits, the fledgling birds you find today are the same as those present yesterday.

Men also typically stay close to home base.  Many of us rarely leave our home areas, other than short vacations.  We have heard that most accidents happen within 5 miles of home, a big part of this is because we are near our home most of the time.

Men are not flightless birds, we can move.  If your city or areas is not working for you, start looking into alternatives.  Know what you want out of life and research which places best allow you to get that.

This is not merely a physical concept.  Many men live their entire lives pursuing the same goals, doing the same activities, and thinking the same familiar thoughts about life.  If your situation is not what you are hoping for, start making changes and moving outside your comfort zone.

Without refrigeration, the only way to enjoy fresh meat on a holiday was to slaughter it that very day.  However, you needed to designate the animal before the holiday.  The Talmud brings a Mishnah about preparing your birds for a holiday, with a dispute over if you must handle the birds or merely see the ones you want and verbally identify them.

The Gemara brings various cases of a man who designated certain birds in advance, but found that the situation had changed.  There are now fewer or additional birds present, or the birds are in a new location.  In most cases we are concerned that these are not the same birds designated, so they cannot be used on the holiday.  It would be unusual for a man to know be able to identify the exact bird he had seen previously.

Often a man has an expectation of what he wants in a partner or friend, and sometimes he paints a detailed portrait of this person in his mind.  When he looks but doesn’t find what he envisioned he can become disappointed or angry, and blame the other person for not living up to his ideal.

This is not a realistic way to deal with other people.  Instead of planning exactly what the other person should be like, carefully consider what you are like.  What are your needs from a partner?  What boundaries will you have to continually enforce to get what you need out of life and your relationships?

You have to know yourself before you can fairly evaluate if another person is appropriate for you.  You may find a person who does not fit the mold you made in your imagination, but does indeed add to your life and respect your boundaries, allowing you to excel in your own mission.