Daf Yomi Yevamos 102
Rabbi
Israel Baal Shem Tov would spend a very long time in prayer. Oftentimes, his students were long done with
their prayers but they would remain in his holy presence until he had concluded
his service. One day, however, they were
feeling hungry and decided to proceed to breakfast. He
would be enraptured in prayer for the next couple of hours and they could
quickly eat and return to his chambers before his completion.
No sooner
had they sat down to eat than their saintly teacher appeared.
“Rebbe,”
they exclaimed, “is everything okay? You
normally continue much longer! And you
are generally so uplifted in prayer that you are oblivious to everything
around! How did you know we left?”
“When I
daven,” explained the Baal Shem Tov, “it’s like a human pyramid of prayer. Each of your prayers – nay, your mere
presence in the room – allows me to climb ever higher in the spiritual
planes. Without you there with me, I
had no stepping stone to the supernal realms and I was unable to accomplish my
spiritual pursuits. I need you; you are
all the building blocks of my prayer service!”
If a woman is widowed and left childless, she
is wed to her husband’s brother in the act of the levirate marriage. Should they wish to annul the marriage, the
Torah declares, “His brother's wife shall draw near unto him in the presence of
the elders, she shall loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face;
and she shall answer and say: So shall it be done unto the man that does not
build up his brother's house.”
Rabbi Judah quoted Rav: The annulment is
complete with the removal of the shoe from the majority of the heel.
The Gemara challenges this ruling from the
Beraisa which states, “If the straps of the shoe or sandal were untied or he removed
most of the leg, her annulment is invalid.”
The reason is because he removed his leg, but if she did so, her
annulment is valid. Furthermore, if it
was most of the leg, it is good, which implies that mere removal of most of the
heel would be ineffective.
The Gemara responds: No! Most of the leg and
most of the heel are the same thing! Why
did they say ‘most of the leg’? For the
entire pressure of the leg is supported by the heel.
Sometimes
we think that we are unimportant in the grand scheme of things. It
always seems to be the machers who are in the limelight. But remember, the head is held up by the
neck, which is held up by the torso, which is held up by the legs. And the leg is held up by the heel! No matter where you feel your place is in
life, you are incredibly important! And
indeed, in many ways, the ‘lowly’ heel is the most important part of the
body. The heel is the support for every
other part of the body. If you sometimes
feel like the heel of the community or society, know that you are holding up
the world!
When you
embrace your role as the heel, the support upon which society leans, you become
the macher. Instead of ruing your place
in life, recognize that is an honour to be “well-heeled”! Well-heeled doesn’t mean being rich and
famous; it means becoming the strength and support for those around you. You are the heel – the person that’s always
there in times of need, the one that never misses a minyan, the first one to
raise their hand when something needs to get done in shul but nobody else seems
to have the time for such a ‘menial’ task.
Without you, all the “machers” would be worthless!
Our
forefather, Abraham, was told to abandon his original name, Abram. Jacob, in contrast, who became known as
Israel, continued to use his original name.
And that’s why we continue to name our children either Jacob or
Israel. Why? Jacob comes from the word ekev, meaning ‘heel’. In terms of support and foundation, the heel
is the most important part of the body.
It provides the strength and basis for every other part of your body to
function!
