2025/5785

Ketubot 66b-67a records the shockingly extreme fall of the daughter of the extremely wealthy Nakdimon ben Gurion (from the William Davidson edition of the Talmud):

The Sages taught: There was an incident involving Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai. When he was riding on a donkey and leaving Jerusalem, and his students were walking after him to learn from him, he saw a certain young woman who was gathering barley from among the dung of the animals of Arabs. She was so poor that she subsisted on the undigested barley within the dung. When she saw him, she wrapped herself in her hair, as she had nothing else with which to cover herself, and stood before him. 

She said to him: My teacher, sustain me. He did not recognize her, so he said to her: My daughter, who are you? She said to him: I am the daughter of Nakdimon ben Gurion. He said to her: My daughter, the money of your father’s household, where did it go? How did you become so poor? She said to him: My teacher, is it not that they say such a proverb in Jerusalem: Salt for money is lacking [ḥaser]? There is nothing with which to preserve it and prevent it from being lost. And some say the proverb asserts that kindness [ḥesed] is salt for money, i.e., using money for acts of kindness preserves it. He continued to ask her: And the money of your father-in-law’s house, which was used properly, for benevolent acts, where is it? She said to him: This one came and destroyed that one; all the money was combined, and it was all lost together.

She said to him: My teacher, do you remember when you signed on my marriage contract? He said to his students: I remember that when I signed on the marriage contract of this woman, and I read in it, it listed a thousand thousands, i.e., one million gold dinars as a dowry from her father’s house, aside from that which was promised her from her father-in-law. Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai cried and said: How fortunate are you, Israel, for when Israel performs the will of the Omnipresent, no nation or tongue can rule over them; and when Israel does not perform the will of the Omnipresent, He delivers them into the hand of a lowly nation. Not only are they delivered into the hand of a lowly nation, but even into the hand of the animals of a lowly nation, as in the pitiful instance of Nakdimon’s daughter.

The recorded incident implies that Nakdimon lost all of his wealth after having failed to use it for acts of kindness. The Gemara asks: And did not Nakdimon ben Gurion perform charity? Isn’t it taught in a baraita: They said about Nakdimon ben Gurion that when he would leave his home to go to the study hall, there were fine woolen garments his attendants would

spread underneath him to walk on, and with his blessing, the poor would come and fold them up from behind him for themselves? Clearly he gave abundant charity. The Gemara offers two possible explanations: If you wish, say that he acted that way for his own honor, to demonstrate that he considered the exorbitant expense trivial. And if you wish, say that as he should have done, he did not do. As people say, according to the camel is the burden. The stronger the camel, the heavier the load it must bear. Even if he gave altruistically, Nakdimon ben Gurion did not give as much as he was expected to give.

A People of Extremes

Why does Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai proclaim How fortunate are you, Israel?  An answer may be derived from Megillah 16a's description of the Jewish people: 

“But you shall fall [nafol tippol] before him” (Esther 6:13). Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai interpreted a verse homiletically: Why are these two fallings, nafol and tippol, mentioned here? The wise men said to Haman: This Jewish nation is compared in the Bible to the dust of the earth and it is also compared to the stars in heaven. This teaches you that when they descend, they descend to the dust, and when they rise, they rise to the stars.

We are a people of extremes, since we don't function naturally.  Even at our extreme low, we perceive divine intervention.  How else does one account for the sudden and inexplicable shifts from one extension to another?  Although the suffering is immense, we recognize Hashem has not abandoned us. We do not function according to nature; instead we are guided by Hashem supernaturally.

Umah Shefeilah

Bnei Yishmael are unapologetically described as an Umah Shefeila, a degraded people.  Rashi explains that they are described as such since they live in tents. Hashem (BeReishit 1:28) mandates mankind to conquer the world.  Ramban explains that we are bidden to develop the world and progress. Bnei Yishmael's resistance to advance marks them as an umah shefeilah. This designation sadly persists as Bnei Yishmael have won a paltry amount of Noble Prizes and despite their large size, have contributed little to human progress. 

Sadly, in our times, it is easy to understand why Chazal refer to Bnei Yishmael as an umah shefeila. Their tragic propensity to unprovoked violence lives up to Yishmael's legacy of being a Pere Adam, wild and untamed (Breishit 16:12). 

Finally, the overwhelming majority of Bnei Yishmael who reside in Yehuda,  Shomron, and Aza’s support for Hamas' extreme atrocities of October 7, 2023, is utterly despicable.  Their awful attitude and behavior sadly qualifies them as an umah shefeila.

In the end, Yishmael did Teshuva (Rashi to Breishit 25:9). As such, Bnei Yishmael are not beyond redemption. Yishmael eventually freed himself from being a pere adam. So can his descendants.

According to the Camel it's Load 

The Gemara makes a dramatic statement that the greater one's capacity, gifts, and wherewithal, the more is expected of him. This not only applies to wealth but to all gifts. The Vilna Gaon explains the term Din V'cheshbon, judgment and reckoning to which each person must give to our Creator (Avot 3:1). Din refers to being judged for what one did. Cheshbon refers to judgment for what one could have accomplished but did not. Nakdimon ben Gurion contributed mightily to our people (Taanit 19b-20a and Gittin 56a). Yet, his descendants are subject to deep distress because he fell short if what he could have done further. 

Conclusion – Aggada’s High Demands 

Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik observes that often Aggada demands more than Halacha. Our story is an excellent example of this phenomenon.  Recognizing Hashem’s involvement in our lowest moments, unabashedly describing Bnei Yishmael as an Umah Shefeila, and holding people accountable for not doing their best, are textbook examples of Aggada's very high expectations.