Variety is the Spice of
Productivity (Shabbos 49)
In the early centuries of the
common era, the Roman empire treated the Jews of Israel with contempt and
cruelty. Life in Israel under the Romans
was often spiritually unbearable. At one
point, they issued an antisemitic decree, forbidden the wearing of tefillin, on
penalty of death.
Elisha the Man of Wings was
fearless. Each day, he would don his
tefillin and go out into the marketplace defiantly. One day, he was spotted by
a Roman officer. Elisha ran away from
him, and the police officer ran after him. But the Torah scholar’s speed was no match for
the athletic young Roman.
When the officer reached him,
Elisha removed the tefillin from his head and hid them in his hand. The Roman
asked him, “What is that in your hand?”
Elisha replied, “All I have here are dove wings.”
“Sure thing,” said the Roman. “Open your hand!” he ordered.
A miracle occurred. He opened his hand, and,
indeed, inside there were dove wings. In
commemoration of this miracle, from then on, everyone would call him Elisha the
Man of Wings.
אָמַר רַבִּי יַנַּאי:
תְּפִילִּין צְרִיכִין גּוּף נָקִי כֶּאֱלִישָׁע ״בַּעַל כְּנָפַיִם״. מַאי הִיא?
אַבָּיֵי אָמַר: שֶׁלֹּא יָפִיחַ בָּהֶן. רָבָא אָמַר: שֶׁלֹּא יִישַׁן בָּהֶן.
וְאַמַּאי קָרֵי לֵיהּ ״בַּעַל כְּנָפַיִם״? — שֶׁפַּעַם אַחַת גָּזְרָה מַלְכוּת
רוֹמִי הָרְשָׁעָה שְׁמָד עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁכָּל הַמַּנִּיחַ תְּפִילִּין
יְנַקְּרוּ אֶת מוֹחוֹ, וְהָיָה אֱלִישָׁע מַנִּיחָם וְיוֹצֵא לַשּׁוּק. רָאָהוּ
קַסְדּוֹר אֶחָד רָץ מִפָּנָיו וְרָץ אַחֲרָיו. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁהִגִּיעַ אֶצְלוֹ
נְטָלָן מֵרֹאשׁוֹ וַאֲחָזָן בְּיָדוֹ. אָמַר לוֹ: מַה זֶּה בְּיָדְךָ? אָמַר לוֹ:
כַּנְפֵי יוֹנָה. פָּשַׁט אֶת יָדוֹ וְנִמְצְאוּ כַּנְפֵי יוֹנָה. לְפִיכָךְ
קוֹרִין אוֹתוֹ ״אֱלִישָׁע בַּעַל כְּנָפַיִם״. וּמַאי שְׁנָא כַּנְפֵי יוֹנָה
מִשְּׁאָר עוֹפוֹת? מִשּׁוּם דְּאִמְּתִיל כְּנֶסֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל לְיוֹנָה,
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״כַּנְפֵי יוֹנָה נֶחְפָּה בַכֶּסֶף וְגוֹ׳״ — מַה יּוֹנָה
כְּנָפֶיהָ מְגִינּוֹת עָלֶיהָ, אַף יִשְׂרָאֵל מִצְוֹת מְגִינּוֹת עֲלֵיהֶן
כנפיה
מגינות עליה - אור"י דאמרינן במדרש כל העופות כשהן יגעין נינוחין ע"ג
סלע והיונה בשעה שהיא יגעה פורחת באחת ונינוחת באחת
Rabbi Yannai said: Donning tefillin requires a clean body, like that of
Elisha, Man of Wings. What does that mean?
Abaye said: It means that one may not pass wind in them. Rava said: It
means that one may not sleep in them. And
why did they call him Elisha Man of Wings? Because the Roman empire once
issued an antisemitic decree against the Jews forbidden the wearing of
tefillin, on penalty of death. . . In commemoration of this miracle, from then on, everyone would call
him Elisha the Man of Wings. And what is different about doves such
that Elisha chose to describe his tefillin as dove wings specifically? Because the congregation of Israel is likened
to a dove, as it is stated: “You shall shine as the wings of a dove covered
with silver”. Just as the dove is protected
by its wings, so too the Jewish people are protected by their performance of mitzvos
(such as tefillin).
Tosfos: What is the meaning of ‘protected by its wings’? R”Y says it refers
to the teaching of the Midrash that says when all other birds are tired, they
rest on a rock (and run the risk of being attacked). When the dove, however, is tired, it uses one
wing to fly while the other rests (thus, being constantly protected from harm).
How do some people accomplish so much while others don’t have enough time
to get half as much done? We all have
twenty-four hours in the day, no more, no less.
Do they sleep less? How are they
able to achieve what they achieve in the same amount of time?
The key to maximizing productivity lies in the secret of the dove. No individual, whether man or beast can continue,
non-stop, without taking a break. While
all other birds will take the occasional rest on a rock along the way, the dove
juggles their wing performance, so that each side takes turns flying, while the
other wing rests. That way, it never
needs to stay still.
While human beings don’t have wings, we do have different brain
hemispheres. Each side of our brain
serves a different function. Emotional
activity originates in the right side of the brain. Speech production is more
dominant in the left hemisphere. Certain
aspects of logic and creativity also stem from either side of the brain.
Contrary to popular myths, we all utilize both sides of our brain. Nobody can fly with only one wing. Nevertheless, each of us has different
proclivities. Some people enjoy some
activities more than others. And so you
end up using certain parts of the brain more regularly than others. Nevertheless, no matter how much you love
something, after a while it gets exhausting.
And so you take a break to recuperate.
That’s the mistake. You don’t need
to settle on a rock – or throw your feet up on the couch – to rest. The longer you remain in that position, the
likelier you will run the risk of danger.
While the danger of the dove is physical attack by another bird or animal,
the danger to a human being is becoming engrossed in non-productive
activity. You tell yourself you need a
short break. Just a half hour Netflix hit. And then you’ll get right back to your
studies or work. Before you know it,
you’ve let your defenses down, and half an hour has turned into three hours. In fact, you are now more exhausted and
distracted than you were before you sat down to rest!
The dove’s approach is to rest one wing while the other continues to soar,
which for us translates to resting one side of the brain while the other
continues to fly. That means engaging in
activities that you would ordinarily postpone or avoid because you don’t really
like doing them. The truth is, you’ve
probably never really given them a proper shot.
You’ve focused on activities that you enjoy and convinced yourself that
you’re a right-brained or left-brained person.
When you get tired of engaging in certain activities, the key to
productivity maximization is to switch to other activities. Of course, that’s easy to define if you’re a
student. When you get bored of English,
switch to Mathematics. When that gets a
little exhausting, switch to Art or History.
That’s all well and good for students, how about for everyone else?
We all have various tasks to perform in our lives. From work to family commitments to shopping
to household chores to community volunteering, each aspect of your life is very
different to the next. When you think
about everything you need to get done, it can feel daunting before you’ve even
started. But when you focus on one task
at a time, you’ll find that the next task feels like a breath of fresh air, a
welcome relief from your previous engagement.
As the classic adage goes, ‘a change is as good as a holiday’!
It’s especially important to separate your various tasks during the current
corona-crisis. Working from home,
shopping online, home-schooling, and cleaning the house all seem to blend into
one overwhelming nightmare. If you want
to stay on an even keel and be as productive as you can under the
circumstances, the key is to endeavour to stay focused on one task at a
time. That’s not always easy with babies
screaming and children struggling with virtual classwork. But wherever possible, maintaining a schedule
assigning specific and differentiated tasks to each hour of the day will
increase your efficiency and productivity.
During challenging times like these, think about Maimonides who wrote his
Commentary to the Mishnah while he was escaping the destruction of the
Almohads. On the run with his family, he
wasn’t going to let the storm around overwhelm him. While everyone else was struggling to
survive, he remained focus on maximizing every day of his life.
It's tempting to want to just switch off and perch on that rock for a while
until the rough winds subside. But you
know that you have the inner strength to overcome any adversity and accomplish
great things in life. May the Almighty
grant you the energy to stay focused, levelheaded, and variegated every moment
of your day!
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