“Any man from the house of Israel who will slaughter a bull, or a sheep, or a goat, in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp” (Leviticus 17:3). “Any man from the house of Israel who will slaughter a bull, or a sheep, or a goat” – that is what is written: “The advantage of land is in every way” (Ecclesiastes 5:8). Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda said: Even matters that you consider to be superfluous for the world are beneficial for the world; palm fiber to make rope; a thorn bush to fence a garden, “A king is subservient to a field” (Ecclesiastes 5:8); even if he is king and he rules from one end of the world to the other, “he is subservient to the field.”
If the field produces, he will be successful; if the field does not produce, there is nothing. Therefore, “one who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver” (Ecclesiastes 5:9); one who loves money will not be satisfied with money, “nor one who loves abundance, with produce…” (Ecclesiastes 5:9), as anyone who avidly pursues money, but has no land, what benefit does he have? Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Tanḥum and Rabbi Ḥanin son of Rabbi in the name of Rabbi Yirmeya: It is written: “They will disembark from their ships…they will stand on the ground” (Ezekiel 27:29).
Do we not know that they would stand on the ground? Rather, one whose ship sinks at sea and he has land on the shore, he will recover. If he does not have land, you do not have any greater futility.1If someone’s livelihood is entirely dependent on trade, he can easily lose everything if his ship goes down at sea. If he also owns land, he can plant crops and be sustained in a less risky manner.
Rabbi Neḥemya said: “The advantage of land is in every way” – even matters that you consider superfluous to the giving of the Torah, e.g., the halakhot of ritual fringes, phylacteries, and mezuza; they, too, are included in the giving of the Torah, as it is stated: “The Lord gave me the two tablets of stone inscribed with the finger of God and on them were all the matters [kekhol hadevarim]” (Deuteronomy 9:10).
And it is written: “All the mitzva [hamitzva] that I [command you this day you shall take care to perform]” (Deuteronomy 8:1). Kol, kekhol; devarim, hadevarim; mitzva, hamitzva2These words contain superfluous prefixes, as the verses could have said kol, devarim, and mitzva, but instead says kekhol, hadevarim, and hamitzva. All these prefixes are amplifications that serve to include the types of Torah study detailed in the midrash. – [to teach that] Bible, Mishna, halakha, Talmud, addenda, aggadot, and even what a distinguished disciple is destined to say before his teacher, all these were stated to Moses from Sinai, as it is stated: “There is a matter regarding which one would say: See, this is new” (Ecclesiastes 1:10), his counterpart responds to him: “It has already been, in the ages [that were before us]” (Ecclesiastes 1:10).
“A king is subservient to a field,” Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda says: “King,” this is an expert in Talmud; “is subservient to a field,” this is an expert in Mishna, as he arranges the halakha before him. Rabbi Neḥemya says: “King,” this is an expert in Mishna; “is subservient to a field,” this is an expert in Talmud, as he receives the halakha before him.3The expert in Mishna must sit before the expert in Talmud in order to receive practical instruction.
Therefore, “one who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver,” – one who loves Torah will not be satisfied with Torah. “Nor one who loves abundance, [with produce]” as anyone who avidly pursues Torah, but does not have Talmud, what benefit does he have? Rabbi Elazar says in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: One who studied but does not teach, you have no greater futility than this.