ARE YOU A SHEEP OR A GOAT?

Sidney Cohen was thinking about how good his wife had been to him, and how fortunate he was to have her.

He asked God, "Why did you make her so kind-hearted?"

The Lord responded, "So you could love her, my son." "Why did you make her so good looking?"

"So you could love her, my son."

"Why did you make her such a good cook?"

"So you could love her, my son."

Sidney thought about this. Then he said, "I don't mean to seem ungrateful or anything, but why did you make her so stupid?"

"So she could love you, my son."

It is one of those bizarre and absurd Talmudic tales, at least at first glance. The king and queen they were from the Hasmonaean dynasty, ruling during the Second Temple era—sat and debated which food is preferable, the sheep or the goat. The king said, “Goats are better.” The queen said “No! Sheep are better.” They decided to seek the judgment of the High Priest of the Temple, because of his familiarity with these animals which regularly served as sacrifices. The High Priest was the man who cooked and consumed the most lamb and goat in the entire Jewish world; he would be the expert.

They summoned the High Priest, Named Yissachar, who came from the town of Barkaei. He insolently waved his hand in a gesture that demonstrated disdain to the king. How can the king even consider such a foolish idea that goat meat was superior, said the High Priest, when the daily communal sacrifice was brought from sheep? Yissachar was arguing, if the lamb was not superior to goat meat, why would G-d ask for a daily feast of lamb, rather than a goat?

The king was furious at the insult and the denigrating wave of the hand. The king declared: Since this man, the High Priest, has no reverence for the king, his right hand should be chopped off, making him unfit to serve at all in the Holy Temple (the Temple service was done primarily with the right hand). The High Priest bribed the executioner to cut off his left hand instead. When the king found out, he had his remaining hand chopped off as well.

The Talmud then goes on to explain how the High Priest erred. For both the Torah and the Mishnah intimate that, from the Torah perspective, sheep and goats are equal.

What are we to make of this apparently absurd tale? Should we laugh or cry? Is this a humorous tale? A parable? Or a reflection on the monstrous behavior of the monarchs of yore?

And how about the story itself? Do kings and queens have nothing better to do than argue if lamb chaps are superior to goat meat? Anyhow, how can you argue about the taste of a meal?

You cannot argue objectively about taste or smell, as everyone has different preferences.

If you might suggest they were not arguing about taste, but about the sheep and goats themselves, the question is even stronger. What type of foolish argument is this? What is better, a goat or a sheep? What is better, a cow or a donkey? A chicken or a duck? A bull or a camel? Who cares? What does this even mean? Each one has its own strengths and advantages!

Furthermore. This king is usually identified to be Alexander Yannai, or in his Greek name Alexander Jannaeus, who reigned over Judea for 27 years, c. 103 – 76 BCE, around 170 years before the destruction of the Second Temple. He was a son of Yochanan, High Priest (the son of Shimon, one of the five sons of Matityahu, who led the Chanukah story), or in Greek, John Hyrcanus, who became a Hellenist. Alexander inherited the throne from his brother Aristobulus I and married his brother's widow, Queen Salome Alexandra, known as Shlom Tzion Hamalkah. From his conquests to expand the kingdom to a bloody civil war, Alexander's reign has been generalized as cruel and oppressive with never-ending conflict. He was a ruthless tyrant who attempted to murder every last Talmudic sage of his time. He married his brother’s widow, in public desecration of Halacha, and once had 6,000 Jews murdered by his soldiers in the Temple courtyard on the holiday of Sukkot. Hence his barbaric cruelty in chopping off the High Priest’s hand.

It was the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, who suggested what the Maggid might have explained.

What is the difference between a goat and a sheep? Although sharing many external characteristics, they are fundamentally different in behavior and disposition. Sheep are docile, submissive, and shy. Goats are aggressive, shrewd, and stubborn. They are also naturally curious and independent, while sheep must be part of a flock; they tend to remain in the herd. There is no such thing as wild undomesticated sheep, but there are many wild and untamed goats. Sheep are meek and tame, consistent and dependable, while goats are tough, abrasive and not always predictable

Their very names testify to this. In Hebrew, a goat is called an Ez, which means strength, aggression, audacity, or chutzpah. Sheep are called “soft speech.” They are softer animals.

This is true also about their meat. Goat meat is tougher than lamb or sheep. It needs to cook longer to soften up.

These two lovely animals represent two types of people. There are those types of people who are reliable, steady, consistent and solid. What they did yesterday, they will do today, and again tomorrow. They never rush into anything, and they never have to run away from anything. They don’t make rash decisions and then live in regret. They are traditional and follow the tried and tested paths of life. They follow the “herd” and the directives.

Then there are goats. They are wild, independent, original, and stubborn. They are not afraid to always try new things, although they inevitably will make mistakes and then wallow in regret. They can be incredibly stubborn, as the phrase is: a real ‘old goat.’ They do not follow the herd, and indeed they run from it. They must experiment on their own, and will not easily submit and surrender. They are excited to be around and full of energy and enthusiasm. They have a hard time keeping their appointments, schedules, and commitments.

Are you a sheep or a goat?  

This was the difference between Jacob and Esau. Esau is defined in the Torah as a hairy man but also means a goat-like man, while Jacob is associated with the Torah with sheep. The Torah described Jacob, as a “quiet man, dwelling in the tents,” while Esau as a “skilled hunter, a man of the field.” They were opposites in their nature.

Esau also struggles. It is not easy for him to live a disciplined, moral, restrained, and systematic life, governed by the blueprint of his family’s values. Already in the womb of his mother, the Sages teach, Jacob gravitated to centers of Torah study, while Esau little body was gravitating to places of idolatry. This was not his choice. This was the playing field designed for him; he would need to struggle against all types of impulses. He had the soul of an addict: He was extreme, deeply sensitive, very passionate, intense and powerful.

Was he a bad kid? No. He was just a different type of kid. He was a goat, not a sheep. Nothing came easy for him. Today he would have been diagnosed as the ultimate ADD, ADHD, PDD, and many more titles. Esau is the child who at the age of 14 has already been expelled from six schools…

The king and the queen in the Talmud are a parable for Isaac and Rebecca. The queen says the sheep are superior; the king says, the goats are superior. This is moving and profound. Rebecca, the practical woman who comes from a family of idolatry, favors the disposition of the sheep, the straight shooter, “the good boy,” the disciplined tzaddik. Isaac, though, has a special place in his heart for Esau. It is not that he does not appreciate Jacob, but he has a special feeling for Esau, the struggling soul, who has so much energy but does not know where to place it. Isaac feels that Esau is really a giant if he can only learn to harness his unbridled intensity, passion, and energy into building the world. Esau can become a powerhouse of goodness, a beacon of light if we can help him integrate his goat-like forces and help him realize his potential.

Jacob, Isaac argued, is the tzaddik, but Esau was destined to be the ultimate Baal Teshuva—the profile of a person who struggles with demons, skeletons, addictions, and immoral cravings, but never give in to superficiality, despair, and impulse. He is the ultimate warrior, the person who transforms darkness into light, struggle into opportunity, chaos into a deeper, infinite rainbow.

Isaac craves to give his deepest blessings to Esau. Isaac believes in this boy. If the goat is sublimated, it will become a source for infinite light. Esau, the potential Baal Teshuvah, can create radical change, can take quantum leaps. His unbridled passion can inspire quantum change in the world.

This is why the animal that was brought on Yom Kippur to atone for the sins of the entire nation was specifically a goat, which was sent to the Azazel mountain. The goat embodies the passion and strength which can result in sin, but hen also in transformation.

The king and the queen summon the High Priest, the great spiritual Jewish authority, to determine the answer to this question. Who is greater, Jacob or Esau? The goat or the sheep? Which soul does Judaism cherish more? Who does G-d love more? Which one is better for Judaism and for the world?

The High Priest laughs at the question. It is a non-starter. Of course, G-d favors the lamb to the goat. The daily offering comes from sheep, not goats. The goats are the second tier. We love, respect and admire the sheep: the obedient children, who follow on the straight path, never deviating. But such a man cannot serve as the High Priest of Israel, as the ultimate Jewish leader. He missed the boat! Symbolically, he has forfeited his right arm—the right arm representing the attribute of loving-kindness. This high priest, who cannot truly appreciate and respect the soul of an Esau, the journey of a goat, is lacking in his true love for his people. He cannot represent the people of Israel.  

And as it, sadly, turns out, he forfeits even his left arm, symbolizing the attribute of strength and discipline. For in Judaism, even strength, discipline, and strictness must always be coupled with deep empathy, understanding, and sensitivity to the challenges and unique circumstances of the person we are trying to discipline. A high priest who looks down at a “goat” like soul, who has no space in his heart for the journey of an Esau, lacks both chesed and gevurah; neither his love or discipline can be trusted. Both of his spiritual arms are missing.

As the Talmud relates earlier, this high priest was someone who always wore gloves during the service in the Temple. He never wanted his hands to get dirty with the blood and the fat of the sacrifices. This represents the person who never wants to get dirty with real people and real challenges. He wants to live in an ivory tower and lead the people from his comfortable throne. He is not ready to touch the texture of pain, the soil of struggle. He lacks true empathy. Such a person can’t serve as our High Priest, as a true Jewish leader, mentor, and teacher.

The Talmud now wants to know who was right? The king or the queen? Rebecca or Isaac?

And the answer is, that the Torah sees the goat and lamb as equals; one does not have preference over the other, and whenever one can bring a sheep or a goat as an offering, it does not give priority to one over the other. The High Priest was wrong.

To be sure, the daily offering was brought from sheep, not goats. Because Jacob captures the consistency and stability that must characterize a wholesome life. A healthy human being, a healthy home, school, community, and world must be constructed on solid, consistent foundations. The offering of consistency must be brought from the sheep. We need to build our homes and lives on strong, firm, unchanging values and morals. If not, life becomes chaotic and it disintegrates.

That is why Rebecca insists that the blessings must go to Jacob, as she fears that Esau would take the gift and squander it (not unlike giving money to an addict for rehabilitation, and he goes and uses it to buy more.) She felt that we have to begin by blessing Jacob. Jacob will then be able to construct the framework, through which Esau can be sublimated. Creativity, passion, vitality, the attributes of Esau are all tremendous things, but only if they emerge from a true and proper structure set forth by Jacob. He must set the standards, he must create the vessels, and then he can be the one to fill them with Esau's energy. Isaac wanted to bypass this arduous process of transforming Esau slowly and methodically, he wanted to overwhelm him with light in one fell swoop, yet that would not work. Rebecca was correct.

Tzvi Freeman describes how he, a hippy, a rebel from Vancouver in the 1970s found guidance in the teachings of the Rebbe:

As for my rebellious spirit, in the Rebbe, I found the ultimate rebel. I could even say, you don't submit to the Rebbe — you rebel with him. It's a long tradition of the Rebbes of Chabad to defy the monster, to follow an inner vision, rather than the superficial perception of the flesh eyes.

The Rebbe was an orthodox rebel, a traditional radical. In the sixties, the rest of the Jewish Establishment looked on in disdain at what was happening to their youth and cried, "Student unrest! Hippies and Freaks! This is certainly a deranged and lost generation."

The Rebbe declared, "Finally the iceberg of America is beginning to melt! Finally, its young people realize they do not have to conform! They have smashed the idols of their parents — they need now only be led back to the living waters of their great-grandparents."

The Rebbe told his Chassidim to go out and bring Jewish youth in touch with their roots. He was ridiculed for it for years. Only after the strategy began to work did those who had mocked him jump on the bandwagon as well.

He was always a maverick, not consulting with others on his strategies and campaigns often ridiculed for what they considered outrageous decisions.

There were never any followers of the Rebbe — followers couldn't keep up. The Rebbe had only leaders. Those who rebelled with him.

Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov and Happy Thanksgiving,
Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky