Daf Yomi, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Torah and Psychology, Marriage Counseling, Psychotherapy
Our Gemara on Amud Aleph quotes a beraisa that notes that the various fingers on our hands are used for Torah measurements. The full version of this beraisa is quoted in Kesuvos (5a), which discusses the purpose of various digits from a broader perspective:
“Bar Kappara taught: What is the meaning of that which is written: And you shall have a peg among your weapons [azenekha]” (Deuteronomy 23:14, which cites verses that refer to the requirement of a soldier to maintain cleanliness and discipline, (thus having a tool to bury his excrement amongst his instruments)? Do not read it as: Your weapons [azenekha]. Rather, read it: On your ear [oznekha], meaning that if a person hears an inappropriate matter, he should place his finger, which is shaped like a peg, into his ears.”
“And that is what Rabbi Elazar said: Why are the fingers of a person similar to pegs? The Gemara asks: What is the reason that Rabbi Elazar said that fingers are like pegs? If we say that it is due to the fact that they are discrete from each other, each and every finger was designated for its own discrete, sacred matter, as the Master said: This small finger is for measuring a span, the distance between the little finger to the tip of the thumb, used in measuring the breastplate of the High Priest; this next finger is used for taking a fistful of the meal-offering; this middle finger is used for measuring a cubit, the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger; this one next to the thumb is the finger used to sprinkle the blood of offerings on the altar; this is the thumb, on which the blood and oil is placed in the purification ritual of a leper.”
“Rather, the question is: What is the reason that they are pointed like pegs? It is so that if a person hears an inappropriate matter, he will place his fingers in his ears. Similarly, a Sage of the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: Why is the entire ear hard and the earlobe soft? It is so that if a person hears an inappropriate matter, he will bend his earlobe into his ear to seal it. The Sages taught: A person should not allow his ears to hear idle matters. Because of the fact that ears are very sensitive and are the first of the limbs burned, one should make certain not to expose them to anything problematic.”
The Maharal (Be’er Hagolah, Be’er 31) expands on this idea. What is the relationship between the verse that literally discusses burying excrement? The Rabbis were observing that a perfect designer (God, the Creator) cannot make something for no reason. Why are the ears continually open? Why do they have fleshy lobes? The answer to all these questions lies in the above derash. Excrement is the byproduct of nutritional material after it has been extracted. The ears are designed to be open and take it all in; that is a form of perfection. Nonetheless, there are times when they must reject what is coming in, as we humans must bury our excretions. The lobes and fingers act as these tools to implement the occasional shutting out that is necessary in an imperfect physical world.
The message is that whether it is physical cleanliness or verbal purity, boundaries allow for the presence of the holy and Godly. Man is given physical and intellectual tools on his belt, which he must use to elevate and purify his physical world in order to encounter God.
Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation
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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com