Shabbos 53
“A donkey, even in the summer season of Tammuz, is cold.”
What an odd assortment of tales today: there are donkeys, men growing breasts and one-armed women.
We learned in Berakhot that one must feed his animals before himself. Today we learn that animals are provided with a day of rest like humans and are relieved from their burden of service on Shabbat. The Rabbis debate the meaning of a burden placed upon an animal and what is permissible on Shabbat. The general principle to follow is that it is permissible to provide for an animal’s comfort.
Shmuel and Rav, who have wandered through many of the readings so far debating matters both large and small, discuss if a donkey may go out on Shabbat wrapped in a saddlecloth. Shmuel says yes, while Rav offers qualification and says it is only permissible if it is not tied to the animal’s back. The saddlecloth provides warmth to the donkey and it is allowed to be placed on the animal out of concern for its well-being. We are also told that a donkey’s body temperature runs cold and that even on a hot summer day the animal would benefit from some warmth. (But it is not permissible to cool him down if he becomes overheated.)
Young foals, who are gangly during their adolescent stage, are allowed to have baskets of food hung around their neck on Shabbat. This allows them to eat without bending down because their legs are long, and necks are short. There were goats that belonged to a house in Antioch whose udders were so enormous that they dragged upon the ground. As a result, pouches were made to provide them with some comfort, and this is presumed to be allowable by extension of the scenario involving young foals. In both cases, the actions on Shabbat are to offer comfort to the animals.
And here is where the text takes a really odd turn. The mention of goats with unusually large udders leads to the tale of a man whose wife died and left him with an infant who required nursing. The grief-stricken man could not afford a wet nurse to nourish his son. An odd miracle occurred. Instead of delivering food or money to the man, he developed breasts that allowed him to nurse his son. The Rabbis debate the meaning of this miracle. Rav Yosef proclaims it to be a great miracle while Abaye says it is demeaning. Rav Yehuda turns the discussion into a teachable moment and says it demonstrates “how difficult it is to provide for a person’s sustenance. It is so difficult that the order of creation had to be altered on his behalf, which was apparently easier than providing him a source of financial support.” Rav Naḥman adds additional commentary: “Know that it is so, as miracles are often performed on a person’s behalf; however, it has not yet happened that food was miraculously created in a person’s home.”
We are told another tale about a man who did not realize that his wife of many years had only one arm until after she died and her body was prepared for burial. We are told that this is not surprising because a woman is expected to cover herself to the extent that one would not notice that she is missing a limb. Rav praises the woman’s modesty for living her life covered up according to Rabbinical expectations. Rabbi Hiyya praises the husband for his modesty and refuses to give any credit to the wife’s behavior. We were told in an earlier reading that a woman’s vows account for nothing without her husband’s approval. And now we are told that essentially her husband is responsible for her behavior. I wonder if women were prohibited from reading the Torah so that they would not know what was being written about them. Otherwise, maybe they would have hit their husbands over the head with the pots they were prohibited from insulating on Shabbat.
What resonated with me today is the analysis of how hard it is to provide for a person’s sustenance. Some people have put all their heart and soul into starting small businesses that not only provide sustenance for their families but are labors of love and fulfill their human drive to create something that is their very own. It is the American dream to be one’s own boss. My heart goes out to these people whose livelihood and everything they have worked for is being destroyed by the coronavirus. It is devastating to work so hard for something and to finally make ends meet and have some measure of success and see it all unravel so quickly. I am hoping that all the small business owners can somehow hang on throughout this period of sheltering in place so that they can come back for all of us who are desperate for their coffee and haircuts and pet grooming and yoga classes and handmade gifts and homemade pies. We will be there for them, if only they can come back to us.