The Talmud brings an amazing encounter:

Rabbi Simlai came before Rabbi Yoḥanan. He said to him: Would the Master teach me the Book of Genealogies?  (This was ancient teachings that formed a midrash explaining secrets in the book of Chronicles, which contains many Genealogies).  Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: Where are you from?  He said to him: From Lod. Rabbi Yoḥanan further asked: And where is your present place of residence? He said to him: In Neharde’a.
Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: I have a tradition that we teach this subjects neither to Lodites nor to Nehardeans, and certainly not to you who comes from Lod and your residence is in Nehardea, such that you have both shortcomings.
Rabbi Simlai pressured Rabbi Yoḥanan until he agreed to teach him.

Chronicles contains genealogical information “X begat Y”, but learning the hidden secrets of Chronicles would reveal that not every son was the biological son of his father.  In Lod and Nehardea some families were suspected of hiding similar secrets.  Teaching a man from the Book of Genealogies may lead him to delve into the actual modern genealogy and uncover skeletons that should be left buried.  While there was no suspicion on the parentage of Rabbi Simlai himself, by learning the Book of Genealogies he would be tempted to uncover the secrets of the families in his city.

This idea is in tension with the critical importance Judaism places on knowing your parentage.  The Bible cares about who a man’s actual father is.  While the religion follows the mother, a man’s tribe and status is from his biological father.

With the innovation of affordable genetic testing, modern people can find out that they are not related to the man they assumed was their father.  This can lead to major rifts in the family.  Rabbi Yohanon reminds us that there is a danger in delving into genealogy.  In modern times it can be illegal in some instances for health care providers to reveal when a baby is not the biological offspring of the husband, and in France genetic testing for parentage is illegal.

In America you can still obtain kits from private labs to conduct this testing.  There may be situations where this is appropriate, but be prepared for the possibility of opening a can of worms.  If you find yourself questioning who your father was,  look to the future and work on yourself instead of focusing on the past indiscretions of other people.

אֲמַר לֵיהּ: וּמָה בְּרוּרְיָה דְּבֵיתְהוּ דְּרַבִּי מֵאִיר בְּרַתֵּיה דְּרַבִּי חֲנַנְיָה בֶּן תְּרַדְיוֹן, דְּתָנְיָא תְּלָת מְאָה שְׁמַעְתָּתָא בְּיוֹמָא מִתְּלָת מְאָה רַבְּווֹתָא, וַאֲפִילּוּ הָכִי לֹא יָצְתָה יְדֵי חוֹבָתָהּ בִּתְלָת שְׁנִין, וְאַתְּ אָמְרַתְּ בִּתְלָתָא יַרְחֵי?!

KABA: עיין היטב קידושין פ: המבין יבין מה שרמז ר”י פה

The Talmud continues discussing the paschal lamb offering.  One of the unique laws of the Passover offering is that it is brought on behalf of a group, with everyone in the group taking part in the meat during the feast.

Our sages learn from the Bible (Exodus 12:4) that when the lamb is slaughtered, you must know exactly who is in the group which will eat the offering.  A Passover slaughtered for people not registered to it, or on behalf of people who are ritually contaminated or otherwise unable to eat the meat is invalid.

This highlights the necessity to know your group or tribe*.  Be aware of their talents and deficiencies.  When undertaking a task together first consider if your team is appropriate for this job.  You are probably a member of multiple groups, not all of them will have the attributes for success in all areas.  You don’t (typically) have your softball team double as your stock portfolio advisors.  Different guys have different things to offer to you.

*First be mindful that every man needs to be in a tribe.  You are probably already in some sort of group of men working together on a project or getting together for a common interest.  If you think these groups are not enough, try to improve your bonding with the other guys or find additional groups.

The Talmud examines cases in which a man had the proper intention for his offering at the start of an act, but then had an improper intention at the end.  For example, he slaughtered the paschal lamb for sake of the paschal lamb, then adds that the animal should be for sake of a shelamim, a different offering.

Rabbi Meir says we hold him to his original statement of intent. Rabbi Yose says the later intentions are also important, so the offering becomes invalid.  Rabbi Yose is teaching that a man does not always follow his first thoughts, he can reconsider midway through.  Rabbi Meir seems to hold that a man’s first intent or word reflects what he really wanted.

In social situations, listen carefully to what people say – and when.  Someone blurting out a response may be giving you truer insight into what they really think or feel, per Rabbi Meir.  When you listen to people under stress or duress, you find out the realities of their personality.  Before you commit or partner with someone, you must observe them when they are in an tense situation to get a clear picture.  People can fake being kind and caring under optimal conditions, but when conditions change listen carefully.

Some people think before they speak, others backtrack or qualify their words when people question them.  These communications are the Rabbi Yose type.  A man who explains himself in a way that contradicts his original words can appear weak and unimportant, so be aware when you do this.

The Gemara brings verses teaching that no animal offerings were brought after the daily afternoon offering (Tamid), except the Paschal lamb and also the animal of a person who had been contaminated and needed to bring an offering to be eligible to eat from the Paschal lamb or other sacrificial meat.  First it is notable that the Bible itself wants people who were in a contaminated state to be able to purify themselves, bring the necessary offerings, and join everyone else in partaking in the Passover offerings.

The Passover feast was a key annual get together for the entire Jewish nation, and unlike other offerings the Paschal lamb was eaten in a predetermined group.  It is important to be able to be with your chosen group or tribe. In modern Jewish culture the Sabbath and holidays are a key opportunity for this.

Our sages note that when a person who was contaminated would bring their offerings, the Hatat or sin atonement offering came before the Olah elevation offering.  This echoes a larger concept in Jewish wisdom that it is vital for us to leave behind bad habits when we try to improve, as we say in Psalm 34:14 “turn from evil and do good”.

This concept works on all levels, an obvious example is a man who is overweight, and he resolves to start going to the gym.  However, he is still in the habit of eating junk food, drinking sodas and sweet tea, and sitting on the couch much of the day.  His exercise, while good, is fueling his appetite.  He may spend an hour a day in the gym, but if he continues overeating and being sedentary outside the gym his progress will be painstakingly slow.  He has not turned away from the bad habits.  It would be so much easier in the long run to stop consuming items that are harming his health before he begins strenuous exercise.

The concept from Psalm 34:14 for modern men is “be attractive, don’t be unattractive”.  This order is not set in stone: In many cases you will need to track down your unattractive habits and work on those before the work you do to be more attractive pays off.

Today we start the fifth chapter of Pesachim, shifting our focus to the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb in the Temple on the 14th of Nissan.

The first Mishnah in this chapter describes the timing of when ancient Jews would bring the Pesah sacrifice in relation to the tamid, the daily afternoon offering.  The issue is that the Pesah must be offered after the tamid, and since many thousands of Pesah offerings were brought, ample time was needed, especially on Fridays before the Sabbath.

The wisdom here is to examine your logistical needs and work out your timing in advance.  If you are going to need more time and space for your personal mission, you are responsible to carve it out for yourself.

A related concept is to value your time: if you tell someone you are dealing with that you only have half an hour for them before an important meeting, they realize that your time is valuable and you are valuable.  If you give them all day they assume you have nothing better to do and act accordingly.

The Talmud finishes up the first section of Pesachim with some amazing stories about certain High Priests who served in the Holy Temple.  Some of the High Priests had a flaw that caused the Temple courtyard itself to cry out against them:

Leave here, Yissakhar of Kfar Barkai, who honors himself and desecrates the items consecrated to Heaven.  Due to his delicate nature and his disrespect for the Temple service, he would wrap his hands in silk before he performed the service. This would invalidate the service because the silk was a barrier. Furthermore, his conduct demeaned the Temple service, as he demonstrated that he was unwilling to dirty his hands for it.

He was unwilling to get his hands dirty engaging in Temple service, which requires handling animal blood, ashes, and parts of sacrificial animals.  He thought he was too proper to touch these things directly.

The wisdom here is to be willing to work directly with your own hands to accomplish important goals.  Do not think you are too good to get your hands dirty.  Put in the work and don’t worry about what other people will think of you.

The Gemara relates how Yissakhar of Kfar Barkai was punished:

The king and the queen were sitting and talking. The king said that goat meat is better, and the queen said lamb meat is better. They said: Who can prove which one of us is correct? The High Priest can, as he offers sacrifices all day and eats both.  When Yissakhar arrived he signaled contemptuously with his hand (as if saying the king’s opinion was nonsense) and said: If goat is better, let it be sacrificed as the daily offering. The daily offering is a lamb, proving that its meat is preferable to that of a goat.

The king said:  he not only disagrees with me but has no reverence for the monarchy, so sever his right hand. Yissakhar gave a bribe and the officer severed his left hand instead. The king heard that Yissakhar had deceived him and had the officer sever his right hand as well.  Rav Yosef said: Blessed is God Who took retribution from Yissakhar of Kfar Barkai in this world (and did not wait to punish him even more severely in the next world.)

 

It was because Yissakhar treated his important work with contempt, he ended up treating the king with arrogance.  The attitudes you choose to display, even towards inanimate objects or simple everyday tasks, carry over to the rest of your life.  Be aware of how you act, remember what our sages say: “Great men make small things great, small men make great things small”.

If you get in the habit of allowing yourself to feel arrogant in some areas of life, you may end up in a situation where it costs you more than it ever gained.  Our sages teach that because he allowed himself to indulge in self honor and derided the Divine service, Yissakhar would never be the king’s right hand man.

 

 

I am Rabbi Kaba, aka Red Pill Rabbi, studying the Bible and Jewish wisdom and sharing how modern men can use it to improve their lives.  This site is for adults who are not bothered by adult content.

While I intend to teach other Jews, You don’t have to be Jewish to benefit from our wisdom.  You don’t even have to believe in God.  Most of my work is about self improvement, relationships, and masculinity.

I try, with God’s help, to share brief insights from our daily Talmud study, the “Daf Yomi“, as well as longer essays on the Bible and Jewish holidays.

Today the Talmud mentions that the men in ancient Jericho did six things that were not ideal, and our sages reprimanded them over three of these but not the other three.

This demonstrates an important concept for us to internalize: you should not try to correct others more than absolutely necessary.  If you try to rebuke people too often, even if this would be justified, you can appear hyper-sensitive, weak, and pushy.   Like our ancient wise men, analyze what is important enough to require your intervention before you open your mouth.  (If you find yourself in a relationship where you are rebuking her often, or vice versa, something is very wrong).

The Gemara states one of the items that did not warrant rabbinical rebuke was “wrapping the Shema”.  This refers to reciting “Hear Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4) the credo of the Jewish people, with something missing.  Saying the “Shema” is a critical commandment that Jews do every single day, and “Shema” is often a Jew’s dying words.  So how could the men of Jericho leave a part out?

Rabbi Yehuda explains that what was missing was the sentence we recite after Deut 6:4: “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.”  This line does not appear in scripture, so the Talmud explains the origin of why we add it to our Jewish mission statement of “Shema”:

As Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said it is written: “And Jacob called his sons and said, Gather around and I will tell you what will occur to you in the end of days” (Genesis 49:1).  Jacob wanted to reveal to his sons when the complete redemption would arrive at the end of days (see Daniel 12:13), but the Divine Presence left him, so he was unable to.  Jacob said: Perhaps the Divine Presence has abandoned me because, Heaven forfend, one of my sons is unfit, as was the case with my grandfather Abraham, from whom Ishmael emerged, and like my father Isaac, from whom Esau emerged.  His sons said to him: “Hear Israel, our father, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One”. They said: Just as there is only one God in your heart, so too, there is only one in our hearts. At that moment Jacob our father said in praise: “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever!”

It turns out that Jacob was unable to prophesize because God did not want him to reveal the time and manner of the ultimate Messianic redemption.  So Jacob gives his sons special blessings.  Instead of revealing the future on his deathbed, Jacob confronts his own personal past and his legacy.

Naturally, when Jacob’s plan was ruined, he thought there may be someone else at fault.  This is a common human response: when it goes wrong we look for another man to blame.  Be aware of your own inclination to do the same when your plans do not come to fruition.  Work to change your attitude to “Fix the problem, not the blame”.

His sons reassured Jacob that they were believers, loyal to his mission of monotheism even in Egypt.  His response is to bless God and refer to His eternal kingship over the world.  Jacob demonstrates that he realizes that it was God Himself who blocked his plans and required him to shift his focus on his sons’ needs for blessings and guidance before his passing.

Thus Jews now include Jacob’s answer after Shema, to remind us that only do we believe in God, we also believe everything in life is from God.

Aside from learning not to blame reflexively, there is a deeper wisdom in Jacob’s response.  Jacob is a believer, he realizes that everything that happens in his life is a message from God for him to analyze and then act on.  Nothing is random and meaningless, every event has purpose.  Therefore, when he was unable to prophesize he got the message to switch gears to blessing his sons.

If you go through life with the attitude that the universe is random and everything that happens to you is happenstance, then you will miss a lot of opportunities.  You don’t have to believe in God or fate to realize that “the universe” is sending you specific messages that enable to you reconsider and realign your actions to become more successful.

This can be something as serious as failing in your business, which can be a message to try again with a different focus.  Or it can be as simple as a young woman making eye contact with you on street.  Whatever happens to you is impetus for you to act, improve, and optimize your own life.

Everything can be a message for introspection and action if you are open to the possibility that the universe is not random.  Our Patriarch Jacob displays this attitude, developed over his life.  We discussed this idea in depth in “the revealed world“:

You don’t even have to believe in God.  You can assume that the universe is non-random, and therefore the situations you are in are appropriate for you and there is a way for you to succeed and grow wherever you are.  Even if the universe is random, you can make a valid assumption that randomness sometimes works in your favor and puts you in the right place to seize success, if you act with the appropriate wisdom, strength and resolve.  After all, luck favors the bold.

I’m not trying to talk you into believing in God.  Or anything really.  Maybe believe in yourself. That’s more than most men do.  Why does this even matter if it doesn’t matter?

I won’t judge you by your beliefs.  Beliefs can be totally irrational and it’s pointless to argue them with true believers.

I will judge you by your actions.  Are they rational, effective, and appropriate?  Consistent?  Premeditated and planned out?  To the extent that your actions are reflecting your beliefs, evaluating your actions is a valid way to judge your beliefs and if they work in your environment.

If you believe that the world is not entirely random, and challenges can be seen as tests and opportunities to grow, then to the extent that you internalize this belief you will enjoy the mindset that you can pass this test.  The belief assists you in rising to your challenges and succeeding in life’s tests.  This belief leads to a positive action.  So having the belief, which may seem to you completely irrational, has a rational effect since it leads to positive results in this observable world.

We again study the second weekly reading in the Book of Exodus (6:2-9:35).  Last year we discussed how Pharaoh got himself into the habit of dismissing the signs and wonders that Moses and Aaron performed, so that even when the miracles became undeniable, he was still in that stubborn mindset.

This reading features Moses’ repeated appeals to Pharaoh to let the Jews go into the wilderness to worship God, and Pharaoh’s refusals, resulting in the first seven plagues: water turned to blood, frogs, lice, wild animals, disease of livestock, boils, and hail.

Pharaoh replies to Moses that he does not even know God (Ex 5:2).  The Bible emphasizes the theme of “knowing” God, 6:7, 7:5, 7:17, 8:18, 9:14, 10:2.  The miracles and plagues in Egypt were to get the people, both Egyptian and Jewish, to open their eyes, their hearts, and most of all their minds to know that God was causing supernatural events.

While Pharaoh first dismisses the signs as mere magic, it becomes more and more obvious that God is unleashing Divine vengeance on the Egyptians.  And Moses keeps reminding Pharaoh that these plagues are coming for a specific goal of letting the Jews serve God.  However, Pharaoh still clings to the delusion that this was nothing special.  His magicians were able to perform similar signs.

In addition, he could have attributed the miracles to natural causes.   Sometimes water can be infected with red algae*.  Stagnant water can cause extra frogs, the lack of water to use for washing clothing can increase lice.  Attacks by rabid wild animals could cause domesticated animals to die, and disease in animals can cause boils on humans.  Pharaoh was no idiot, he may have come up with intelligent explanations to explain away all of the signs and wonders.

(*A similar red bacteria that reproduces quickly is thought to be the basis for the European blood libels.  Communion wafers were found dripping with red gunk that looked like blood, which was colonies of red bacteria.  Local Jews were blamed and murdered for this, accused of stabbing the communion wafers, which were believed to be able to bleed).

Pharaoh was too smart for his own good, relying on intellectual pontification to continue ignoring a changing reality.  He also wanted to keep the Jews enslaved and enjoy the financial benefits of keeping the status quo.  Modern men have a similar weakness.  Important events occur in our lives, not just on the national or historical but also on the personal level.  It is easy to dismiss them as coincidence, and just keep going with the flow.

However, everything that happen during your lifetime is a message to you.  God (or fate, the universe or evolution if you prefer) put you on this planet at this time.  You have a unique ability and destiny that corresponds to the generation you live in.

It feels safer to double down on your previous habits and activities, and dismiss everything going on as just more things happening like they always do.  But we are living in truly historic times, on political, economic, technological, and spiritual levels.  There are major upheavals going on in every area of humanity.  And you are here now and can do something about it.

Focused awareness

The first step is knowledge – the Bible emphasizes that you have to know that everything that happens is not coincidence or mere magic tricks.  The universe is unfolding history before you eyes so you can observe, orient, decide, and act to change you life for the better.  However, you must filter the myriad of messages so you have the ability to analyze and act on what is vital to your own life.

When something is changing in the outside world, ask yourself if and how it affects you personally.  Sometimes people get bent out of shape over events that have no actual impact on their life.  We discussed this human habit in responsibility to brothers:

There is a common problem in modern society today when people get the order of responsibility flat wrong.  They purport to assume responsibility for the world in general before they fix their own life.  We see this with people obsessed with saving the environment, or committing to social justice, feminism, or some cause du jour.  Then we find out some of these people have horrible personal or family issues…

These personalities never fixed themselves or owned their own actions before they started their crusade to change other people.  Their need to control others has eclipsed their faculty of self control.  As one of my own rabbis taught us: “People who cannot control themselves feel the need to control others ”.  If you can’t realize that you need to work on yourself first, then trying to work on the entire world is the greatest hubris.

You must realize that there are forces at work in the world on which you have very little or zero influence.  Focusing your valuable attention on those will leave you without the resources to work on improving yourself and on local issues.

Many modern men spend hours analyzing and debating about international events but very little time noticing what is going on in their own backyard.  Part of this is due to the mass media focusing on dramatic and violent events, since covering those wins the media companies more eyeballs, influence and revenue.  However, this is leading men to ignore the local issues they can actually do something about.

Be honest about the messages coming to you.  You may need to change your focus and start paying attention to the items that are within your own sphere of influence.  When you pay more heed to things you can actually do something about, you now have the challenge to take action.  Be specific about your goals and the changes you want to see.

Pharaoh’s problem was that he got himself into the habit of explaining away clear messages to change his mind.  He kept doubling down on his desire to maintain the status quo, even when the plagues hitting Egypt were clearly supernatural.  Today modern men have an additional problem.  We don’t just need to get the message and decide how to act, we also have to filter out the extra messages about topics we cannot truly change.

Today we examine the rules of working on Passover eve, just before the holiday begins, and on the fast day of the 9th of Av.  Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel states that even in a place where most people do their regular work, a regular person could act like a sage and refrain on those days.

The Gemara contrasts this with what Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said about a man on his wedding night: that he should not recite the famous “Shema Yisrael” verses because he is preoccupied with the obligations of the wedding, especially thoughts of sleeping with his new wife.  The other sages had advised that a man who knew he would concentrate on “Shema Yisrael” on his wedding night could do so, while Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said that would appear as presumptuousness and bragging that he is like a big sage.

First of all, it should be very interesting to modern men that in ancient times a young man was advised by religious leaders to focus and plan how he would engage in intimacy for the first time with his wife.  In Judaism, sexuality is a key component of marriage.  As such an important element of a man’s life, the first time takes on critical value.  Our sages would instruct their students in how to proceed so it would be a special and enjoyable union for both.

Don’t make it appear like you are on a higher level than other men.  Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel did not want the groom to look like a show off on his wedding night, since everyone knows what he and the bride will be doing (but it was not talked about in a lewd manner).  But he allowed refraining from work on certain days because not every man has work do to anyway.