Torah in an Ugly Container — BT Ta’anit 7a (part 3) — #124

R. Chanina bar Idi said, “Why are the words of Torah compared to water, as it is written, All who are thirsty, go to water (Isaiah 55:1)? This is to tell you that just as water flows from a high place to a low place, so too are the words of Torah retained only by someone of humble spirit.” And R. Oshaya said, “Why are the words of Torah compared to these three liquids: water, wine, and milk, as it is written, All who are thirsty, go to water (Isaiah 55:1) and it is written, Come, buy food and eat; buy food without money, [buy] wine and milk without cost (Isaiah 55:1)? This is to tell you that just as these three liquids are stored only in the least of vessels, so too words of Torah are stored only in someone of humble spirit.”

 This is illustrated by a story about the daughter [of the Roman emperor] and R. Yehoshua b. Chananiah. She said to him, “Alas, glorious wisdom in an ugly vessel!” He said to her, “Does your father put wine in earthenware vessels?” She said to him, “What else should we put it in?” He said to her, “Your [father] who is so important, should put [his wine] in vessels of gold and silver.” She went and said to her father and he put [his] wine in vessels of gold and silver and it turned sour. They [the emperor’s servants] came and told him that the one had gone sour. [The emperor] said to his daughter, “Who told you to do this?” She said, “R. Yehoshua b. Chaniah.” He summoned [him] and said to to him, “Why did you say this?” [R. Yehoshua] said to [the emperor], “I said to her what she said to me.” [The emperor said], “Surely there are are good looking people who are learned!” [R. Yehoshua replied], “If they had been ugly they would have been more learned.”

Another explanation: Just as these three liquids can be spoiled by inattention, so too words of Torah can be forgotten through inattention

INTRODUCTION

This is the third in a series of issues of TMT exploring Torah learning (see TMT 121 and TMT 122). The Sages’ use of “water” as a metaphor for Torah in TMT 122 continues here. In the previous passage, which immediate precedes this one in the Talmud, two sages spoke those who are “worthy” and those who are “unworthy” to study Torah. The exclusionary and elitist taste that leaves in one’s mouth is now balanced out by a third R. Chanina whose teaching is a paean to humility, which he cites as a crucial attribute for retaining Torah learning.

COMMENTARY

R. Chanina bar Idi uses Isaiah 55:1, the same verse R. Chanina bar Pappa used (TMT 122) to teach an altogether different point. The phrase “go to water” suggests the well-observed physical phenomenon that water runs downhill, covering—and staying with—that which is at the lowest elevation. Following the metaphor, R. Chanina bar Idi interprets: Torah learning is best retained by one who, like water, runs downhill—i.e., who is humble.

R. Oshaya now becomes the third sage to quote the first half of Isaiah 55:1 in this section of Talmud. He expands the metaphor, however, by quoting also the latter half of the verse, which includes wine and milk in the list of available liquids God makes available to those in need and says “Come” to acquire them. R. Oshaya tells us that Torah is symbolized not only by water, but also by wine and milk. R. Oshaya does not focus on the attributes of water, wine, and milk and how they reflect the attributes of Torah or those who learn Torah (as we might expect) but rather observes that each of the three is stored in an inexpensive, common container—a “humble” vessel—just as Torah learning is best preserved in a “humble container.”

Where R. Chanina bar Pappa and R. Chanina bar Chama were concerned with whether students are worthy to learn Torah or not (TMT 122), R. Chanina bar Idi and R. Oshaya are focused on the importance of humility in the enterprise of acquiring—and retaining—Torah learning.

The Talmud illustrates R. Oshaya’s point with a famous story about R. Yehoshua, a tanna who, (according to many stories) interacted with numerous Roman nobles. R. Yehoshua was not a candidate for the cover of GQ. The emperor’s daughter wonders how he could be considered a vaunted scholar given what a plain, and even ugly, man he is. R. Yehoshua responds in way that accords perfectly with R. Oshaya’s teaching: wine is kept in cheap earthenware vessels. He challenges the emperor’s daughter to store them in silver and gold containers, which turn the wine sour. Her father, no doubt displeased by the destruction of a good deal of his wine cellar, asks R. Yehoshua why he instructed his daughter to have the wine rebottled in silver and gold. R. Yehoshua, we can imagine, shrugs as he says, “I just told her what she told me.” This allows the emperor to ask the question hanging in the air: Does this mean a good looking person could not be a Torah scholar? Surely not, R. Yehoshua responds, but without the distractions that come with good looks, such a person would be an even better Torah scholar.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER AND DISCUSS

1. Which do you value more—beauty or erudition? Why? Which trait is more important to you personally—your looks or your intelligence? Why?
2. Is there a way in which humility and learning go hand in hand? If so, why? Does humility promote learning, and even more, the retention of learning, as R. Chanina bar Idi claims, or do humble people have fewer egotistical distractions to interfere with learning?
3. Human beauty is a subject discussed in every age and in every society. How is it valued? How ought it be valued? Do you think the answer to the question #1 above is different for people who are considered (or view themselves as) beautiful or good looking, than it is for people who are not?