#Dafyomi (15a-b) Thought for the Day.

One of the wonders of the Talmud is that it allows itself to follow its train of thought and go off on a tangent. In between some rigorous explanation of who holds what position with regard to the person who says the Shema so quietly they themselves cannot hear it, we get an incredible foray into a completely different topic - that of wombs and tombs.
Out of nowhere we are suddenly discussing in what way a womb (the giver of life, and creator of the human body) is similar to the afterlife/ underworld/ hell / a grave (the receiver of the body when life is no more). The quote from Proverbs (30:15-16) is not easy to understand even before it has been decontextualised by the rabbis. But here - in this painstaking discussion of who said what and who believes what, we are confronted with some stark truths:
A womb will always want to create life. A tomb will always want to receive more bodies. Life and Death (and taxes) are the eternal certainties of this world along with this earth - ever seeking more water to nourish it. Life, Death and the land on which we stand. This is what we can be sure of.
In the original quote from proverbs, objective truth is being laid down - the boundaries of life are being examined. It always begins with a womb and ends with a grave. And it takes place on this land, in this world.
But the Rabbis take the objective and make it subjective. While discussing who holds what position and deciding on this, hundreds of years after the rabbis spoke their words, the editors of the Talmud are resuscitating these rabbis and replaying their conversations, so that death is truly not the end of their life. And what objectively was said by whom is no longer the determining factor for us reading - but rather the subjective thinking of the editors.
The objective becomes subjective. Reality becomes malleable. The womb and the tomb are interchangeable. The Talmud creates its own reality, which we can choose to inhabit if we wish. So that we too may join the conversation with those who are already in their tombs - awaiting the resurrection, which may happen through the coming of the messiah, or the more mundane reading of the Talmud by a student and the replaying of their conversation.
Another week begins - another opportunity to resurrect worlds previously inhabited. May we take our place in the world and in the text and bring to life the worlds and words that came before us.