Mishnah Yoma Chapter 2 Mishnah 2 Pt. 3

I’m a self-professed word nerd, and have been since as early as I can remember talking. I remember being about 5ish years old, playing in a friend’s backyard, while their mom watered the nearby shrubbery. We were prattling and storytelling as newly post-toddlers have a habit of doing, and I said, “Well! He has bats in his belfry!!” My friends mom asked me if I knew what that meant and I said, “Yes, he is being too silly!” which elicited a surprised, delighted, and impressed response from the above mentioned parent. I’ll never forget discovering the power and pleasure that surfaced for me that day vis-a-vis having a versatile vocabulary. And so it continues!! Today’s snippet contains a wonderful linguistic relic לִידֵי/ l’yadei. If we break it down literally it means: to/towards/for/at + hands + of… and as a idiom it means near or close to, which is how it is usually translated into English, but my inner poindexter bristles as such a plebian rendition when “into the hands of…” or “within an arm’s length” are indubitably finer and poetically grander!!

Oh my!! There is sooooooo much subtext in this seemingly silly snippet!! Top of mind for me is how the rabbis, who are having this conversation, are asserting some of their biggest critiques about the Priesthood and Temple hierarchy. Here we see priests who are more concerned with their own glory than being of service; who are so self-absorbed that they willfully hurt each other in their pursuit of victory, and who are cut throat enough to sully themselves even for what, one might surmise, is an entry level position. If there is this degree of corruption and vicious competition amongst the ash sweepers, one shudders to think how nasty it could get amongst the upper echelon priests who were wielding blades massive, razor honed, and keen enough to do in a freaked out bull….

I also wonder if with this scenario the rabbis are trying to provoke some big questions about where personal liberty and communal responsibility meet and what role does legislation or well considered judgment play in setting the norms? For one thing, there is the insinuation that this foot racing behavior is dangerous (according to the gemara, lethal) not in an of itself, but because of the ruthlessness it inspires between competitors, who, instead of running to serve the community, are competing with each other to the point of violence. Hence the beit din is summoned to adjudicate the situation. So many perspectives arise from this situation!! What role does or should the law have in determining acceptable risk for the rank and file? Where do we draw the lines between personal liberty and social safety? What do we, as a society, deem a reasonable balance between autonomy and community? Does consent to engage in dangerous activity make it acceptable? To whom? Where are the lines of authority drawn? What factors are considered when social contracts are created? And how do we deal with the inevitable conflicts that arise when they are implemented? Kinda puts the 100m dash in a whole new light, dun’ it???? Tell ya what, let’s all get take a lil’ break from the race this Shabbat, ‘k? <3