Silence Is Olden

Regenerate This is an important human pattern of how nonverbal attitudes and ideas are transmitted by sages to students who have an open mind and heart.

Beware of Heavenly Bureaucracy

Bava Basra 68

Our Gemara on amud beis quotes a verse in Iyov to prove the definition of a particular word known as “shelachim,” which seems to be certain kinds of fields irrigated by water.

Who gives rain upon the earth and sends [sholeacḥ] waters upon the fields (Job 5:10).

The Gemara (Ta’anis 10a) uses the same verse to draw a distinction between how the land of Israel is supported by rain versus other lands:

Eretz Yisrael is watered by the Holy One, Blessed be He, Himself, and the rest of the entire world is watered through an intermediary, as it is stated: “Who gives rain upon the land, and sends water upon the fields” (Job 5:10).

The implication of this verse is that G-d himself gives water to Israel, while he “sends” water to other countries.

What is the theological significance between G-d’s providence that comes directly, versus through one of G-d’s messengers and intermediaries? Presumably, if it is through an intermediary, it is harder to ask for mercy or exceptions to the rule.

Anybody that has had to work with a lower clerk and bureaucrat has experienced the difference between working with somebody who has the authority to say yes or no, versus somebody who is a lower functionary and has little latitude. A good tip for anybody in such a frustrating situation is to ask the person directly, “Are you empowered to give a different answer other than no? Do you have the authority, at your discretion, to make exceptions to the rule?” If the answer is negative, don’t waste your time, and respectfully and courteously ask for a supervisor. At that point, the person won’t have much of a reason to object, although they will try to save face and say, “Oh, he or she won’t be able to give you a different answer.” Don’t believe it for a minute, because life experience has taught many that the supervisor absolutely has the ability to make an exception to the rule. If not, they aren’t really a supervisor.

One more thing to keep in mind is that nowadays, everybody is a manager. You go to the chain store, and there’s somebody called a “manager” who makes 50 cents more an hour than the other workers. That’s not a person who’s authorized to make decisions, you can be sure of that.

Enough of this digression – let’s get back to the theological significance of what we are learning. As we saw in our discussion of Bava Basra daf 66, all these archetypes of relating to G-d as a king and such are there to help us understand the gravity, the humility, but also the beneficence of an omnipotent being. If we throw ourselves at the mercy of G-d, especially at times or situations where there is no intermediary, exceptions to the rule can be made. We only need to pray for it.

It is interesting to note that there are certain aggados that perhaps playfully describe a heavenly bureaucracy (Shabbos 88b and Chagigah 15a, where Moshe and other mystics encounter angels and forces who seem to be invested in technical rules which thwarted their spiritual progress). The sages of the Talmud were quite familiar with bureaucracy in terms of the governmental authorities from Athens and the like. They sometimes used that to their advantage to work around oppressive decrees such as what is described in Gemara Kesuvos (3b), where they simply switched the customary days of a Jewish wedding to a different day in order to avoid an anti-religious mandate.

We are heading toward the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, a time traditionally understood as when G-d is closer and more receptive to our prayers and repentance (see Rosh Hashana 18a.) Of course, repentance is important, but they are two other pillars of godly pardon in the liturgy: charity and prayer. Presumably, each of these have a power separately, aside from jointly. I believe this is what is meant by the line in Avinu Malkeinu in which we ask to be written in the “Scroll of Forgiveness and Pardon.” Why is there a separate scroll for forgiveness and pardon? Obviously, we are asking for forgiveness and pardon in order that we be written in the Scroll of Life, the Scroll of Success, etc.

I believe the answer is that there is a separate scroll and decree for those who pray for pardon and forgiveness, even if they otherwise would not deserve such an outcome as their deeds and misdeeds are reviewed.

(By the way, it is a scroll, not a book. The heavenly magistrate operated way before the codex was invented. And if you’re going to argue that the heavenly court updated itself with new technology, then we might as well say the “Spreadsheet of Forgiveness.” Personally, I’m happy with sticking with the imagery of a scroll.)