2,711 pages of Talmud. A gem a day.

Today is another fabulous daf. It focuses in on all the calamities that happened on the 9th of Av and why this is a day of mourning for the Jewish people. The gem is a surprising story about a righteous gentile sacrificing himself to save Rabban Gamliel.

The mishna taught that on the Ninth of Av the city of Jerusalem was plowed. It is taught in a baraita: When the wicked Turnus Rufus plowed the Sanctuary, a decree was issued against Rabban Gamliel for execution. A certain Roman officer came and stood in the study hall and said surreptitiously: The man with the nose is wanted; the man with the nose is wanted. This was a hint that Rabban Gamliel, who stood out in his generation like a nose protruding from a face, was sought by the government. Rabban Gamliel heard and went into hiding.

Now, this already is worth mentioning – he already has secured himself as an ally and on the side of justice – but he goes much further.

The Roman officer went to him in private, and said to him: If I save you from death, will you bring me into the World-to-Come? Rabban Gamliel said to him: Yes. The officer said to Rabban Gamliel: Swear to me. He swore to him. The officer ascended to the roof, fell, and died. And the Romans had a tradition that when they issued a decree and one of their advisors died, they would cancel the decree. The officer’s sacrifice saved Rabban Gamliel’s life. A Divine Voice emerged and said: That officer is designated for the life of the World-to-Come.

When we remember genocides and other crimes against humanity, we also remember those brave souls who could have turned their backs but who didn’t. Those who stood up to injustice and those who martyred themselves rather than participate in such unholy acts.

May they have a place in the World-to-Come.

Today’s gem is, again, reminiscent of Hanukkah. It discusses a time when the Jews were under Greek control and unable to practice our faith. The broader context are the honor given to families who went above and beyond to make sure the Temple was able to function. Breaking the law to uphold God’s law.

They said in explanation: Once, the evil kingdom of Greece issued a decree of apostasy against the Jews, that they may not bring wood for the arrangement of the altar and that they may not bring first fruits to Jerusalem. And they placed guards on the roads, in the manner that Jeroboam, son of Nevat, placed guards, so that the Jews could not ascend for the pilgrim Festival.

What did the worthy and sin-fearing individuals of that generation do? They brought baskets of first fruits, and covered them with dried figs, and took them with a pestle on their shoulders. And when they reached the guards, the guards said to them: Where are you going? They said to them: We are going to prepare two round cakes of pressed figs with the mortar that is down the road before us and with the pestle that we are carrying on our shoulders. As soon as they passed the guards, they decorated the baskets of first fruits and brought them to Jerusalem.

A Sage taught: This was something that was performed in a similar manner by the descendants of Salmai of Netophat. The Gemara explains this comment by quoting a baraita. The Sages taught: Who are the descendants of Salmai of Netophat? They said in explanation: Once, the evil kingdom of Greece issued a decree of apostasy against the Jews, that they may not bring wood for the arrangement of the altar. And they placed guards on the roads, in the manner that Jeroboam, son of Nevat, placed guards, so that the Jews could not ascend for the pilgrim Festival.

What did the sin-fearing individuals of that generation do? They brought their pieces of wood and prepared ladders [sulamot], and they placed the ladders on their shoulders and went off to Jerusalem. When they reached the guards, the guards said to them: Where are you going? They said to them: We are going to bring down doves from the dovecote that is located down the road before us and with these ladders that are on our shoulders. As soon as they had passed the guards, they dismantled the ladders and took them up to Jerusalem. The name Salmai alludes to the Hebrew word for ladder, sulam.

And about these families who provided these donations and others like them, the verse says: “The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing” (Proverbs 10:7).

I love this text. It reminds me of conversos telling me stories of growing up and seeing their mothers cover their heads and light candles, but not knowing what she was doing (As they were Catholic to the outer world). It reminds me of my grandfather marking the Jewish holidays while in Auschwitz. And it reminds me of revolutionaries standing up against unjust laws – not because of their own interests, but because of a greater good.

How do we continue to speak to our Higher Power, especially when the law conflicts with God’s law?

Today’s gem recognizes how radically Judaism changed from Abraham to the time of the Talmud.

Abraham said: Master of the Universe, perhaps the Jews will sin before You. Will You treat them as You did the generation of the flood and the generation of the dispersion, and destroy them? God said to him: No. Abraham said before God: Master of the Universe, tell me, with what shall I inherit it? How can my descendants be sure that you won’t destroy the earth again? God said to Abraham: “Take for Me a three-year-old heifer, and a three-year-old goat, and a three-year-old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon” (Genesis 15:9).

God says: they will know because of their close relationship with me when they offer sacrifices in the Temple. This will assure them that we are still in relationship and that I won’t destroy them. Remember, Abraham did not live in the times of the Temple – but this imagines him knowing that, one day, the Temple would stand and that there would be regular sacrifices. But apparently, Abraham can also see that the Temple won’t always stand:

Abraham said before God: Master of the Universe, this works out well when the Temple is standing, but when the Temple is not standing, what will become of them? God said to him: I have already enacted for them the order of offerings. When they read them before Me, I will ascribe them credit as though they had sacrificed them before Me and I will pardon them for all their transgressions.

This is our sacrifice of the mouth. As long as we read these passages before God, it’s as though we offered sacrifices, and God can forgive us, and our relationship stays intimate.

How incredibly different worship was to our nomadic forefathers, then to our established ancestors who offered sacrifice in the Temple, then what we experience today. Our rituals have needed to evolve while still fulfilling our need for proximity to God, community, and our inner selves.

What does that look like now? How does ritual activate your senses? When do you feel closer to God? To community? To your best self? How, when this doesn’t happen, do we experience it as destruction?

Today we move on to a new Mishnah. The Mishnah discusses two of the saddest days on the Jewish calendar, Tisha B’Av and 17 of Av , and teaches us that our joy decreases in the month of Av . . . except for one day, our gem:

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: There were no days as joyous for the Jewish people as the fifteenth of Av and as Yom Kippur, as on them the daughters of Jerusalem would go out in white clothes, which each woman borrowed from another. Why were they borrowed? They did this so as not to embarrass one who did not have her own white garments. All the garments that the women borrowed require immersion, as those who previously wore them might have been ritually impure.

And the daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyards. And what would they say? Young man, please lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself for a wife. Do not set your eyes toward beauty, but set your eyes toward a good family, as the verse states: “Grace is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30), and it further says: “Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates” (Proverbs 31:31).

The 15th of Av, or Tu B’Av, is celebrated today in Israel much like a Valentines Day. It’s a day of love, of dancing, or romance. I love seeing the women be the initiators of the relationships on this day. Nowadays, it’s just as likely a woman will make the first move as a man. But in this patriarchal world, this holiday was pretty radical. While a “Sadie Hawkins dance” became an annual tradition in many places inspired by a 1937 comic strip encouraged women to flip the gender norms and ask men to the dance – this tradition truly goes back MUCH further.

So, ladies, don’t wait.

I love Ta’anit (not actually fasting, but this section of the Talmud). The whole first side of today’s daf is telling fabulous stories about Hanina ben Dosa and how God loves him and his incredible poverty. Yesterday’s daf ended with: Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: Each and every day a Divine Voice emerges from Mount Horeb and says: The entire world is sustained by the merit of My son Ḥanina ben Dosa. Today we get examples from his wife bruning fire even though she had no bead to bake (because she did not want her neighbors to know how poor they were) and it magically filling with bread. Then, she is so distraught over their poverty that he prays and the palm of a hand emerged and gave him one leg of a golden table. Realizing this was their table from the world to come, she tells him to pray that heaven takes it back. But miracles are not only granted on account of his wife – his daughter accidentally fills a lamp with vinegar instead of oil on Shabbat, yet the oil burns throughout the entire day of rest. His goats bring miracles, he prays and a roof appears on someone else’s home for them . . . just one story from this passage is asking, why, if he was so poor, did he have goats for the miracle described on the daf?

And Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa, from where did he have goats? Wasn’t he poor, as stated above? And furthermore, the Sages have said: One may not raise small, domesticated animals in Eretz Yisrael, as they destroy the fields and property of others. How, then, could Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa raise goats? Rav Pineḥas said that this is how it came to pass: An incident occurred in which a certain man passed by the entrance of Rabbi Ḥanina’s house and left chickens there. And Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa’s wife found them and cared for them.

And Rabbi Ḥanina said her: Do not eat of their eggs, as they are not ours. And the chickens laid many eggs, and chickens hatched from the eggs. And as the noise and mess of the chickens were distressing them, they sold them and bought goats with their proceeds. Once that same man who lost the chickens passed by and said to his companion: Here is where I left my chickens. Rabbi Ḥanina heard this and said to him: Do you have a sign by which to identify them? He said to him: Yes. He gave him the sign and took the goats.

This is a very valuable lesson in Judaism about how we treat other people’s property and how honest Hanina ben Dosa was in that he gave back, not only the chickens, but all the profit made from their multiplication. He is a wonderful example of righteous living and generosity even while living in poverty.

One quick extra gem – the source of the Aveinu Alkeinu prayer is also on our daf today:

There was another incident involving Rabbi Eliezer, who descended to serve as prayer leader before the ark on a fast day. And he recited twenty-four blessings, but he was not answered. Rabbi Akiva descended before the ark after him and said: Our Father, our King, we have no king other than You. Our Father, our King, for Your sake, have mercy on us. And rain immediately fell. The Sages were whispering among themselves that Rabbi Akiva was answered while his teacher, Rabbi Eliezer, was not. A Divine Voice emerged and said: It is not because this Sage, Rabbi Akiva, is greater than that one, Rabbi Eliezer, but that this one is forgiving, and that one is not forgiving. God responded to Rabbi Akiva’s forgiving nature in kind by sending rain.

On today’s daf, we get one of my favorite texts about teachers. The daf is discussing phenomenal rabbis and how they’re prayers for rain are answered by God. But, Rav, the greatest rabbi of his generation, prays for rain but it does not fall. Then, a man begins to lead prayers and God listens. Why? Is this man greater than Rav? What is it about him that’s deserving of merit?

Rav happened to come to a certain place where he decreed a fast but rain did not come. The prayer leader descended to lead the service before him and recited: He Who makes the wind blow, and the wind blew. He continued and said: And Who makes the rain fall, and the rain came. Rav said to him: What are your good deeds? He said to him: I am a teacher of children, and I teach the Bible to the children of the poor as to the children of the rich, and if there is anyone who cannot pay, I do not take anything from him. And I have a fishpond, and any child who neglects his studies, I bribe him with the fish and calm him, and soothe him until he comes and reads.

Why were his prayers answered but not Ravs? Because he was a teacher. And not just a teacher, but a teacher who educated every child, no matter their parents ability to pay. And I LOVE how he is with the child who doesn’t do his work – he feeds them, he gives calms and soothes them.

What if all teachers approached their students this way? Wanting to know the why behind why they did not do their work instead of being accusatory. Listening to them, soothing them, making them feel safe. And the food may be little treats to bribe them, but they may have also been food for those poor students. According to a 2017 study, 13 million children showed up to school hungry. During Covid, there was such worry since 22 million students in the US public school receive free or reduced lunches and we had to figure out how to get those meals the students and their families rely on to those kids. When people are hungry, they cannot concentrate – how can they be expected to do school work? Hunger also affects a person’s mood (studies show that judges give out harsher sentences before lunch than after). Here, this teacher is responding to the whole child.

Thank God for these kinds of teachers. They are deserving of having their prayers answered.

Okay, one of my favorite stories is on today’s daf, so I have to share it. I also want to share a lesson from another story at the end.

First, a Honi the Circle Drawer story that we often tell on Tu B’shevat:

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All the days of the life of that righteous man, Ḥoni, he was distressed over the meaning of this verse: “A song of Ascents: When the Lord brought back those who returned to Zion, we were like those who dream” (Psalms 126:1). He said to himself: Is there really a person who can sleep and dream for seventy years? How is it possible to compare the seventy-year exile in Babylonia to a dream?

One day, he was walking along the road when he saw a certain man planting a carob tree. Ḥoni said to him: This tree, after how many years will it bear fruit? The man said to him: It will not produce fruit until seventy years have passed. Ḥoni said to him: Is it obvious to you that you will live seventy years, that you expect to benefit from this tree? He said to him: That man himself found a world full of carob trees. Just as my ancestors planted for me, I too am planting for my descendants.

Ḥoni sat and ate bread. Sleep overcame him and he slept. A cliff formed around him, and he disappeared from sight and slept for seventy years. When he awoke, he saw a certain man gathering carobs from that tree. Ḥoni said to him: Are you the one who planted this tree? The man said to him: I am his son’s son. Ḥoni said to him: I can learn from this that I have slept for seventy years, and indeed he saw that his donkey had sired several herds during those many years.

This is often where we stop telling the story, especially on Tu B’shevat where we are stressing planting for the next generation, but it’s not the end!

Ḥoni went home and said to the members of the household: Is the son of Ḥoni HaMe’aggel alive? They said to him: His son is no longer with us, but his son’s son is alive. He said to them: I am Ḥoni HaMe’aggel. They did not believe him. He went to the study hall, where he heard the Sages say about one scholar: His halakhot are as enlightening and as clear as in the years of Ḥoni HaMe’aggel, for when Ḥoni HaMe’aggel would enter the study hall he would resolve for the Sages any difficulty they had. Ḥoni said to them: I am he, but they did not believe him and did not pay him proper respect. Ḥoni became very upset, prayed for mercy, and died. Rava said: This explains the folk saying that people say: Either friendship or death, as one who has no friends is better off dead.

Wow, how sad! Imagine a world where no one knew you anymore, where your friends have all passed away, where your family does not recognize you nor your colleagues value you. I love this ending because it shows us the incredible value of relationships. It also breaks my heart, as this often happens to our elderly. I see so often people who are treated as infants in their old age – those who care for them don’t realize the sages they have before them, the life stories, the wisdom. In the social justice commentary on Ta’anit, this story is a smack in the face about the elder abuse and neglect that is so commonplace in our society.

Now, the second story I wanted to share, it teaches us the valuable lesson that we should be careful what we wish for (a very popular theme in Jewish story telling):

Rabbi Mani was frequently found before Rabbi Yitzḥak ben Elyashiv, a well-known miracle worker. Once, Rabbi Mani said to him: The wealthy members of my father-in-law’s house are persecuting me. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: May they become poor, so they will no longer lord over you. And indeed, they became poor.

You would think that now Rabbi Mani would be happy, but no:

Some time later, Rabbi Mani said to his teacher: Now that they are poor they are pressuring me for financial support. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: May they become rich again. And indeed, they became rich.

Did he learn his lesson? Not yet.

Rabbi Mani said to his teacher: The members of my household, i.e., my wife, are not acceptable to me, as she is not beautiful. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: What is her name? Rabbi Mana replied: Ḥana. Rabbi Yitzḥak declared: Let Ḥana grow beautiful, and indeed she grew beautiful.

Now, surely Rabbi Mani will be happy! But, no.

After a while, Rabbi Mani said to Rabbi Yitzḥak: She acts haughtily toward me, due to her great beauty. He said to him: If so, let Ḥana return to her homely appearance, and she returned to her homely appearance.

What do we learn? Things could always be worse and that we should be happy with our lot. A good lesson for the last day of Hanukkah.

Another great day for stories – Ta’anit is full of them. In this one, Rabbi Beroka is walking through the market with Elijah the prophet and asking who is deserving of a share in the wold-to-come (the after-life)? Rabbi Beroka is surprised to hear that a prison guard was the only person deserving (and not for guarding people), until these two brothers enter the market . . . today’s gem:

In the meantime, two brothers came to the marketplace. Elijah said to Rabbi Beroka: These two also have a share in the World-to-Come. Rabbi Beroka went over to the men and said to them: What is your occupation? They said to him: We are jesters, and we cheer up the depressed. Alternatively, when we see two people who have a quarrel between them, we strive to make peace. It is said that for this behavior one enjoys the profits of his actions in this world, and yet his reward is not diminished in the World-to-Come.

Yep. Being able to put a smile on someone else’s face – making peace within a person and between people – that is deserving of an after-life.

So, try to make someone smile, or laugh, today.

The stories continue. Oh and today we have SUCH GEMS!!!

To understand the first story, you must understand that, in Hebrew, gam zeh – means also this and is often said as a short form of gam zeh l’tov – this also is for the good. We say this when bad things happen knowing that some sort of good may result of what looks like a bad thing.

They said about Naḥum of Gam Zu that he was blind in both eyes, both his arms were amputated, both his legs were amputated, and his entire body was covered in boils. And he was lying in a dilapidated house, and legs of his bed were placed in buckets of water so that ants should not climb onto him, as he was unable to keep them off in any other manner. Once his students sought to remove his bed from the house and afterward remove his other vessels. He said to them: My sons, remove the vessels first, and afterward remove my bed, as I can guarantee you that as long as I am in the house, the house will not fall. Indeed they removed the vessels and afterward they removed his bed, and immediately the house collapsed.

His students said to him: Rabbi, since you are evidently a wholly righteous man, as we have just seen that as long as you were in your house it did not fall, why has this suffering befallen you? He said to them: My sons, I brought it upon myself. Naḥum of Gam Zu related to them the following: As once I was traveling along the road to my father-in-law’s house, and I had with me a load distributed among three donkeys, one of food, one of drink, and one of delicacies. A poor person came and stood before me in the road, saying: My rabbi, sustain me. I said to him: Wait until I unload the donkey, after which I will give you something to eat. However, I had not managed to unload the donkey before his soul left his body.

(He delayed in giving tzedakah and clearly believes this man dies as a result.)

I went and fell upon his face and said: May my eyes, which had no compassion on your eyes, be blinded; may my hands, which had no compassion on your hands, be amputated; may my legs, which had no compassion on your legs, be amputated. And my mind did not rest until I said: May my whole body be covered in boils. Naḥum of Gam Zu prayed that his suffering might atone for his failure. His students said to him: Even so, woe to us that we have seen you in this state. He said to them: Woe is me if you had not seen me in this state, as this suffering atones for me.

Wow! Talk about the importance of not delaying doing a mitzvah. But that was just our first story of this man. The next asks about his name:

The Gemara inquires: And why did they call him Naḥum of Gam Zu? The reason is that with regard to any matter that occurred to him, he would say: This too is for the good [gam zu letova]. Once, the Jews wished to send a gift [doron] to the house of the emperor. They said: Who should go and present this gift? Let Naḥum of Gam Zu go, as he is accustomed to miracles. They sent with him a chest [sifta] full of jewels and pearls, and he went and spent the night in a certain inn. During the night, these residents of the inn arose and took all of the precious jewels and pearls from the chest, and filled it with earth. The next day, when he saw what had happened, Naḥum of Gam Zu said: This too is for the good.

When he arrived there, at the ruler’s palace, they opened the chest and saw that it was filled with earth. The king wished to put all the Jewish emissaries to death. He said: The Jews are mocking me. Naḥum of Gam Zu said: This too is for the good. Elijah the Prophet came and appeared before the ruler as one of his ministers. He said to the ruler: Perhaps this earth is from the earth of their father Abraham. As when he threw earth, it turned into swords, and when he threw stubble, it turned into arrows, as it is written in a prophecy that the Sages interpreted this verse as a reference to Abraham: “His sword makes them as the dust, his bow as the driven stubble” (Isaiah 41:2).

There was one province that the Romans were unable to conquer. They took some of this earth, tested it by throwing it at their enemies, and conquered that province. When the ruler saw that this earth indeed had miraculous powers, his servants entered his treasury and filled Naḥum of Gam Zu’s chest with precious jewels and pearls and sent him off with great honor.

When Naḥum of Gam Zu came to spend the night at that same inn, the residents said to him: What did you bring with you to the emperor that he bestowed upon you such great honor? He said to them: That which I took from here, I brought there. When they heard this, the residents of the inn thought that the soil upon which their house stood had miraculous powers. They tore down their inn and brought the soil underneath to the king’s palace. They said to him: That earth that was brought here was from our property. The miracle had been performed only in the merit of Naḥum of Gam Zu. The emperor tested the inn’s soil in battle, and it was not found to have miraculous powers, and he had these residents of the inn put to death.

What incredible, stories! Here, a great evil done to Nahum of Gam Zu resulted in a great miracle being done for him (Elijah doesn’t show up for just anyone). While the end is certainly too gory for most readers – it’s a wonderful story of miracles and making the best out of bad situations.

There is one more story I want to share from this daf but I also have to sneak in this phenomenal teaching. Remember how in Musicals they say, “There are no small parts, only small actors”? Well, this is somewhat like that. It’s not the position, it’s the person.

Rav Naḥman bar Rav Ḥisda said to Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak: Let the Master arise and come to live with us as our community leader. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said to him: We already learned in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei says: It is not the place of a person that honors him; rather, the person honors his place,

And our final story for the day (there are more on this daf full of gems, but I will end with this one). It asks: How great does one have to be to deserve Divine favor? What is true greatness? What can we do?

Once there was a plague of pestilence in Sura, but in the neighborhood of Rav there was no pestilence. The people therefore thought that this was due to Rav‘s great merit. However, it was revealed to them in a dream that Rav’s merit was too great and this matter too small for the merit of Rav to be involved. Rather, his neighborhood was spared due to the acts of kindness of a certain man, who would lend his hoe [mara] and shovel [zevila] to prepare sites for burial. . . In Drokart there was a fire, but in the neighborhood of Rav Huna there was no fire. The people therefore thought that this was due to Rav Huna’s great merit. It was revealed to them in a dream that this matter was too small for the merit of Rav Huna to have played a role. Rather, it was due to a certain woman who heats her oven and lends it, i.e., the use of her oven, to her neighbors.

It’s not the great leaders, although we certainly want great leaders, that make a place – it’s the actions of the regular people. Be kind, help those in need, share. That’s what really deserves blessing.

Two phenomenal stories from today’s daf. The first began on the bottom of 19b and continues on our daf today:

The Sages taught: Once all the Jewish people ascended for the pilgrimage Festival to Jerusalem and there was not enough water for them to drink. Nakdimon ben Guryon, one of the wealthy citizens of Jerusalem, went to a certain gentile officer [hegemon] and said to him: Lend me twelve wells of water for the pilgrims, and I will give back to you twelve wells of water. And if I do not give them to you, I will give you twelve talents of silver. And the officer set him a time limit for returning the water.  

When the set time arrived and no rain had fallen, in the morning the official sent a message to Nakdimon: Send me either the water or the coins that you owe me. Nakdimon sent a message to him: I still have time, as the entire day is mine. At noontime the official again sent a message to him: Send me either the water or the coins that you owe me. Nakdimon sent a message to him: I still have time left in the day. In the afternoon he sent a message to him: Send me either the water or the coins that you owe me. Nakdimon sent a message to him: I still have time left in the day. That officer ridiculed him, saying: Throughout the entire year rain has not fallen, and now it will rain? He entered the bathhouse in a state of joy, anticipating the large sum of money he was about to receive. As the master entered the bathhouse in his joy, Nakdimon entered the Temple in a state of sadness. He wrapped himself in his prayer shawl and stood in prayer.  

He said before God: Master of the Universe, it is revealed and known before You that I did not act for my own honor, nor did I act for the honor of my father’s house. Rather, I acted for Your honor, so that there should be water for the Festival pilgrims. Immediately the sky became overcast and rain fell until the twelve cisterns were filled with water, and there was even more water, so that they overflowed.  

As the master left the bathhouse, Nakdimon ben Guryon left the Temple. When they met one another, Nakdimon said to him: Give me the money you owe me for the extra water you received. The official said to him: I know that the Holy One, Blessed be He, has shaken His world and caused rain to fall only for you. However, I still maintain a claim against you, by which I can legally take my coins from you, as you did not pay me on the agreed date, for the sun had already set, and therefore the rain fell onto my property.  

Nakdimon went back and entered the Temple, wrapped himself in his prayer shawl, and stood in prayer. He said before God: Master of the Universe, let it be known that You have beloved ones in Your world. Immediately, the clouds scattered and the sun shined. At that time, the master said to him: If the sun had not broken through the clouds, I would have had a claim against you, by which I could have taken my coins from you. 

Wow! Miracles wrought on behalf of a righteous man who wants to make sure that pilgrims coming to Jerusalem for the holiday have enough to drink. It’s fabulous.

This next story is one I used just this past Rosh HaShanah in my sermon. It warns us to remember that each and every one of us is created in the image of God – and that when we insult God’s creation, we insult the Maker as well.

The Sages further taught in praise of the reed: A person should always be soft like a reed, and he should not be stiff like a cedar. An incident occurred in which Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, came from Migdal Gedor, from his rabbi’s house, and he was riding on a donkey and strolling on the bank of the river. And he was very happy, and his head was swollen with pride because he had studied much Torah.

He happened upon an exceedingly ugly person, who said to him: Greetings to you, my rabbi, but Rabbi Elazar did not return his greeting. Instead, Rabbi Elazar said to him: Worthless [reika] person, how ugly is that man. Are all the people of your city as ugly as you? The man said to him: I do not know, but you should go and say to the Craftsman Who made me: How ugly is the vessel you made. When Rabbi Elazar realized that he had sinned and insulted this man merely on account of his appearance, he descended from his donkey and prostrated himself before him, and he said to the man: I have sinned against you; forgive me. The man said to him: I will not forgive you go until you go to the Craftsman Who made me and say: How ugly is the vessel you made.

I absolutely adore this story. Yes, even those of us seeped in Torah sometimes miss the point of what we are reading and act with cruelty. Yes, we all get a little full of ourselves sometimes and need to be corrected. Yes to this man who puts the rabbi in check – good for you!

During the High Holidays I used this text to talk about how we are constantly looking at ourselves on social media and zoom and how it’s tearing apart our self-esteem (there is a boom in plastic surgery and tweaks as well as make-up for women and men). When we insult ourselves and call ourselves ugly – we are insulting our maker.

So, treat yourself well, as well as others.