One
Should
Always
Sell
the
Beams
of
His
House
Article
No.
9,
1984
“Rabbi
Yehuda
said,
‘Rav
said,
‘One
should
always
sell
the
beams
of
his
house
and
put
shoes
on
his
feet’’”
(Shabbat,
129).
We
should
understand
the
precision
about
the
beams
of
one’s
house
and
the
great
importance
of
shoes,
to
the
point
that
it
is
worth
selling
the
beams
of
his
house
for
it,
meaning
to
have
the
ability
to
put
shoes
on
his
feet.
We
should
interpret
it
in
the
work.
The
Korot
[beams]
of
his
house
comes
from
the
word
Mikreh
[incident/event],
meaning
everything
that
a
person
experiences
in
his
home.
We
perceive
man
by
two
discernments—by
knowledge,
meaning
with
the
intellect,
and
by
emotion,
meaning
what
we
feel
in
our
hearts—whether
we
are
happy
or
unhappy.
These
incidents
that
we
experience
evoke
questions
in
our
everyday
lives.
This
applies
between
a
person
and
his
Creator,
and
between
a
person
and
his
friend.
Between
a
person
and
the
Creator
means
that
he
has
complaints
that
the
Creator
is
not
satisfying
all
his
needs.
In
other
words,
the
Creator
should
fulfill
what
the
person
thinks
he
needs
because
the
rule
is
that
the
conduct
of
the
Good
is
to
do
good.
And
sometimes
he
complains
as
though
he
feels
the
opposite—that
his
situation
is
always
worse
than
that
of
others,
who
are
at
a
higher
degree
than
he
is.
It
follows
that
he
is
in
a
state
called
“spies,”
who
slander
Providence
because
he
doesn’t
feel
that
delight
and
pleasure
in
his
life
and
it
is
hard
for
him
to
say,
“Only
goodness
and
grace
will
follow
me
all
the
days
of
my
life.”
Thus,
at
that
time
he
is
in
a
state
of
“spies.”
Our
sages
said
about
that
(Berachot
[Blessings],
54),
“One
must
bless
for
the
bad
as
he
blesses
for
the
good,”
since
the
basis
of
Judaism
is
built
on
faith
above
reason.
This
means
not
relying
on
what
the
intellect
compels
one
to
think,
say,
and
do,
but
on
faith
in
a
benevolent,
higher
Providence.
And
precisely
by
justifying
Providence,
one
is
later
rewarded
with
feeling
delight
and
pleasure.
Baal
HaSulam
gave
an
allegory
about
a
person
who
had
complaints
and
demands
of
the
Creator
that
He
wasn’t
granting
all
his
wishes.
It
is
like
a
person
who
is
walking
on
the
street
with
a
little
child,
and
the
child
is
crying
bitterly.
All
the
people
on
the
street
are
looking
at
the
father
and
thinking,
“How
cruel
is
this
man
who
can
hear
his
son
crying
without
paying
any
attention?
The
child’s
cries
make
even
people
on
the
street
feel
sorry
for
the
child,
but
this
man,
who
is
his
father,
doesn’t.
And
there
is
a
rule,
‘As
a
father
has
compassion
on
his
children.’”
The
child’s
cries
made
people
go
to
his
father
and
ask,
“Where
is
your
mercy?”
Then
his
father
replied,
“What
can
I
do
if
my
son,
whom
I
keep
like
the
apple
of
my
eye,
demands
of
me
to
give
him
a
pin
so
he
can
scratch
his
eye
because
he
has
an
itch
in
his
eyes?
Can
I
be
called
“cruel”
for
not
granting
his
wish,
or
is
it
for
mercy
that
I
will
not
give
it
to
him
so
he
will
not
poke
his
eye
and
remain
blind
forever?”
Therefore,
we
must
believe
that
everything
that
the
Creator
gives
us
is
for
our
own
good,
although
we
must
pray,
just
in
case,
that
the
Creator
will
lift
these
troubles
from
us.
However,
we
must
know
that
the
prayer
and
the
granting
of
the
prayer
are
two
separate
issues.
In
other
words,
if
we
do
what
we
must,
then
the
Creator
will
do
what
is
good
for
us,
as
with
the
above
allegory.
It
is
said
about
that,
“And
the
Lord
will
do
that
which
seems
good
to
Him.”
The
same
principle
applies
to
a
person
and
his
friend,
meaning
that
he
should
sell
the
beams
of
his
house
and
put
shoes
on
his
feet.
In
other
words,
a
person
should
sell
the
beams
of
his
house,
meaning
all
the
incidents
that
his
house
experienced
in
regards
to
love
of
friends.
One
may
have
questions
and
complaints
about
his
friend,
since
he
is
working
devotedly
in
love
of
friends,
yet
he
sees
no
response
on
the
part
of
the
friends
that
would
help
him
in
any
way.
They
are
all
behaving
not
according
to
his
understanding
of
how
love
of
friends
should
be,
meaning
that
each
one
will
speak
to
his
friend
in
a
respectable
manner,
as
it
is
among
distinguished
individuals.
Also,
regarding
actions,
he
sees
no
action
on
the
part
of
the
friends
that
he
can
look
at
in
relation
to
love
of
friends.
Instead,
everything
is
normal,
as
it
is
among
ordinary
people
who
still
did
not
have
an
interest
in
coming
together
and
deciding
to
build
a
society
where
there
is
love
of
friends,
where
each
cares
for
the
well-being
of
the
other.
Thus,
now
he
sees
that
there
is
no
one
to
look
at
who
engages
in
love
of
friends.
And
since
he
feels
that
he
is
the
only
one
who
is
walking
on
the
right
path,
and
he
is
looking
at
everyone
with
contempt
and
scorn,
this
is
called
“spies.”
That
is,
he
is
spying
on
his
friends
to
see
if
they
are
behaving
properly
toward
him
in
regards
to
“Love
thy
friend.”
And
since
he
constantly
hears
that
the
friends
are
preaching
all
day
long
that
love
of
others
is
the
most
important,
he
wants
to
see
if
what
they
say
is
what
they
do.
And
then
he
sees
that
it
is
all
lip
service.
He
finds
that
even
in
speaking
there
is
no
love
of
others,
and
this
is
the
smallest
thing
in
love
of
others.
In
other
words,
if
he
asks
someone
a
question,
he
answers
him
offhandedly,
indifferently,
not
in
the
way
one
answers
a
friend.
Rather,
it
is
all
cold,
as
though
he
wants
to
get
rid
of
him.
And
don’t
ask
me,
“If
you’re
thinking
about
love
of
others,
why
are
you
criticizing
if
your
friend
loves
you,
as
though
love
of
friends
is
established
on
the
basis
of
self-love,
and
this
is
why
I
want
to
see
what
my
self-love
gained
from
this
engagement?”
These
are
not
my
thoughts.
Rather,
I
truly
want
love
of
others.
This
is
why
I
was
interested
in
establishing
this
society,
so
I
would
see
that
each
and
every
one
is
engaging
in
love
of
others,
so
that
through
it,
the
little
bit
of
force
that
I
have
in
love
of
others
would
increase
and
grow,
and
I
would
have
the
strength
to
engage
in
love
of
others
more
powerfully
than
I
could
by
myself.
But
now
I
see
that
I
have
gained
nothing
because
I
see
that
not
even
one
is
doing
good.
Thus,
it
would
be
better
if
I
weren’t
with
them
and
hadn’t
learned
from
their
actions.
To
that,
there
is
the
reply
that
if
a
society
is
established
with
certain
people,
and
when
they
gathered,
there
must
have
been
someone
who
wished
to
establish
specifically
this
“bunch.”
Thus,
he
sorted
out
these
people
to
see
that
they
were
suitable
for
each
other.
In
other
words,
each
of
them
had
a
spark
of
love
of
others,
but
the
spark
could
not
ignite
the
light
of
love
to
shine
in
each,
so
they
agreed
that
by
uniting,
the
sparks
would
become
a
big
flame.
Hence,
now,
too,
when
he
is
spying
on
them,
he
should
overcome
and
say,
“As
all
of
them
were
of
one
mind
that
they
must
walk
on
the
path
of
love
of
others
when
the
society
was
established,
so
it
is
now.”
And
when
everyone
judges
his
friends
favorably,
all
the
sparks
will
ignite
once
more
and
again
there
will
be
one
big
flame.
It
is
as
Baal
HaSulam
once
said
when
he
asked
about
the
covenant
that
two
friends
make,
as
we
find
in
the
Torah
(Gen
21:27),
“And
Abraham
took
sheep
and
oxen,
and
gave
them
unto
Abimelech;
and
they
two
made
a
covenant.”
He
asked,
“If
the
two
of
them
love
each
other,
of
course
they
do
good
to
each
other.
And
naturally,
when
there
is
no
love
between
them
because
the
love
has
waned
for
some
reason,
they
do
not
do
good
to
one
another.
So
how
does
making
a
covenant
between
them
help?”
He
answered
that
the
covenant
that
they
do
is
not
for
now,
since
now
when
the
love
is
felt
between
them,
there
is
no
need
to
make
a
covenant.
Rather,
the
making
of
the
covenant
is
done
purposely
for
the
future.
In
other
words,
it
is
possible
that
after
some
time,
they
will
not
feel
the
love
as
they
do
now,
but
they
will
still
keep
their
relations
as
before.
This
is
what
the
making
of
the
covenant
is
for.
We
can
also
see
that
although
now
they
do
not
feel
the
love
as
it
was
when
the
society
was
established,
everyone
must
still
overcome
his
view
and
go
above
reason.
By
that,
everything
will
be
corrected
and
each
will
judge
his
friend
favorably.
Now
we
can
understand
the
words
of
our
sages,
who
said,
“One
should
always
sell
the
beams
of
his
house
and
put
shoes
on
his
feet.”
Min’alim
[shoes]
comes
from
the
word
Ne'ilat
Delet
[locking
a
door],
meaning
closing.
Once
a
person
has
spied
on
his
friend—and
Rigel
[spied]
comes
from
the
word
Raglaim
[feet/legs]—he
should
“Sell
the
beams
of
his
house,”
meaning
all
that
has
happened
to
his
house
in
the
connection
between
him
and
his
friend,
meaning
the
spies
that
he
has,
who
slander
the
friends.
Then,
“Sell
everything”
means
remove
all
the
incidents
that
the
spies
have
brought
to
him
and
put
shoes
on
his
feet,
instead.
The
meaning
is
that
he
should
lock
away
the
spies
as
though
they
no
longer
exist
in
the
land,
and
he
will
shut
away
all
the
questions
and
demands
that
he
has
about
them.
And
then
everything
will
come
to
its
place
in
peace.