A Parable: The Man with a Fine Beard
This parable is quite short and, by itself, rather uninteresting. However, the background situation and Rabbi Ishmael’s response to the parable set the stage for a lesson in wisdom. The translation by McArthur and Johnston is given below along with the original in Hebrew. (My goal is to learn a little more of the Hebrew of these parables, when available, and become a little more familiar with the Talmud). I have broken up the text in such a way that will be easier to see some of its structure. After the parable, I will make a few comments.
R. Ekazar b. Azariah; ca. 80; B. Berakoth lla
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וקורין ומעשה ברבי ישמעאל ור’ אלעזר בן עזריה שהיו מסובין במקום אחד והיה ר’ ישמעאל מוטה ור’ אלעזר בן עזריה זקוף
כיון שהגיע זמן קריאת שמע הטה רבי אלעזר וזקף ר’ ישמעאל אמר לו רבי אלעזר בן עזריה לר’ ישמעאל ישמעאל אחי אמשול לך משל למה הדבר דומה משל לאחד שאומרים לו זקנך מגודל אמר להם יהיה כנגד המשחיתים אף כך אתה כל זמן שאני זקוף אתה מוטה עכשיו כשאני הטתי אתה זקפת אמר לו אני עשיתי כדברי ב”ה ואתה עשית כדברי ב”ש ולא עוד אלא שמא יראו התלמידים ויקבעו הלכה לדורות |
Once R. Ishmael and R. Eleazar b. Azariah were dining at the same place, and R. Ishmael was reclining while R. Eleazar was standing upright.
When the time came for reciting the Shema, R. Eleazar reclined, and R. Ishmael stood upright. Said R. Eleazar b. Azariah to R. Ishmael: Brother Ishmael, I will parable you a parable. Unto what is the matter like? A parable. It is like one to whom people say: You have a fine beard. And he says: Let this go to meet the destroyers. [By these words the man rejects the compliment.] So with you. As long as I was upright, you were reclining, and now that I recline, you stand upright! He replied: I have acted according to the rule of Beth Hillel, and you have acted according to the rule of Beth Shammai. And what is more (I had to act thus), lest the disciples should see and fix the halakah so for future generations! |
The introductory scene draws the reader in by describing in a few words the odd behavior of the rabbis. The reader should wonder why in the world R. Ishmael acts the way he does. Does R. Ishmael think it is inappropriate to recite the Shema while reclining? Is he chiding R. Eleazar?
The parable is then used by R. Eleazar as a way to confront R. Ishmael’s odd behavior. The parable itself is short and to the point, but the man’s response to the people who praised his beard is a little puzzling: יהיה כנגד המשחיתים (may it [the beard] be against the destroyers). What does that mean? McArthur and Johnston make the observation that the man’s remark was a rejection of the compliment. What seems a bit odd is that the whole point of the parable should be to show R. Ishmael that he had refused to follow R. Eleazar just to spite him or to make a point about Shema recitation protocol. But perhaps the point of the parable was to show that the man chose to be “contrary” and go against conventions instead of accepting the compliment and even thanking the people, which is what one would expect. Regardless of what יהיה כנגד המשחיתים means, R. Eleazar explains that R. Ishmael did the same thing with his behavior.
- מְסֻבִּים diners, participants in a meal
- זָקוּף erect, straight ; vertical, steep ; upright
- מֻטֶּה leaning, tilted ; slanted, biased
- שֶׁמָּא (literary) in case, so as not to ; (literary) could it be that (beginning of a question supplying a possible reason) ; (flowery) perhaps
- מְגֻדָּל grown, grown up ; long (hair) ; (biblical) nurtured
קָבַע to decide, to rule ; to determine, to set ; to declare, to announce, to state, to assert ; to make (an appointment) ; to affix
It is R. Ishmael’s response that gives the punchline that one would expect from the parable itself. By acting the way he did, he showed that although the two rabbinic schools had different protocols for reciting the Shema, neither could claim to be the correct one. What looked in the beginning to be a protest or spite turned out to be exactly the opposite! The reversal you would expect from the parable actually came from R. Ishmael’s response. In this sense, one would not be blamed to think that the background “story” is the parable.
This parable showcases some of the recurring phrases that we find in the telling of other parables: אמשול לך משל (I will tell you a parable), למה הדבר דומה (what does the matter compare to?) and the single word משל (mashal = parable). It is interesting that the word mashal stands between the question (למה הדבר דומה) and the beginning of the parable, perhaps to create a sense of suspense or expectation. The parable proper is the answer to what the situation compares to, so the beginning could be …הדבר דומה לאחד. Besides the word incline, another prominent word in this story is זקף (to raise) which is used only twice in the Hebrew Bible: Psalm 145:14 (The LORD supports all who stumble, and makes all who are bent stand straight) and Psalm 146:8 (The LORD restores sight to the blind; the LORD makes those who are bent stand straight; the LORD loves the righteous). I find the phrase ולא עוד אלא a little puzzling, and, although McArthur and Johnston translated it “and what is more,” I can’t account for the negation. Another observation is זקנך מגודל (your beard is grown/long); the translation “you have a fine beard” lets modern readers know that this is supposed to be a compliment, making it a very fine dynamic translation.
The point of the story is quite applicable to our times. We all have our heroes and role models. Students of the bible also have their heroes, be they biblical scholars, pastors, theologians, etc. How easy it is for students to take tangential matters and ideas from the people they admire when those things are either unimportant or accidental. That’s why I get a little leery of people who try, for example, to exegete a theologian by picking apart every little syllable in his works. Sometimes the details are important, but sometimes they are just…details. It is important then to keep in mind that although there are things that should be fixed לדורות (throughout generations), we must be careful lest we create and follow traditions that were never meant to exist.
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