Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Song of Songs, uses this very image to explore how we approach challenges, particularly the challenge of learning Torah.
Rabbi Yoḥanan of Tzippori, as quoted in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, presents two characters facing a massive mound of dirt, teluliyot in Hebrew. The fool throws up their hands: "Who can possibly clear all this?" But the wise person? They say, "I'll remove two containers during the day and two at night, and the same tomorrow, until I clear it all." It's all about breaking down the seemingly impossible into manageable steps.
Doesn't that ring true in so many areas of life? The fool is daunted by the sheer size of the task. Think of someone saying, "Who can study the entire Torah?" After all, the tractate of Nezikin (dealing with damages), covering Bava Kama, Bava Metzia, and Bava Batra, is thirty chapters alone! And the tractate of Kelim (dealing with ritual objects) is another thirty chapters. Daunting. But the wise person, they chip away. "I will study two halakhot (Jewish laws) today and two tomorrow," they say, "until I learn it all." It's the power of consistency, the magic of small, persistent effort.
Rabbi Yannai offers another analogy: a perforated loaf suspended in the air. The fool cries, "Who can take this down?" But the wise one reasons, "Someone put it up there, didn't they? I'll find two sticks and connect them to reach it." It’s about resourcefulness and believing in your ability to find a solution. It also highlights the chain of tradition – the teacher learned from another, and so on. You aren't starting from zero.
Rabbi Levi gives us the image of a leaky basket. Workers are hired to fill it with water, but the water just pours out. The fool despairs: "What am I accomplishing?" But the wise worker focuses on the reward: "Do I not collect my wage from my employer for each and every barrel?" Even if the knowledge seems to leak away, the effort itself is valuable, the act of learning is itself a blessing.
Rabbi Levi then makes a powerful point: Even seemingly insignificant details – kotzim, "dots" – in the Torah are actually tilei tilim, "heaps upon heaps" of importance. They have the power to build or to destroy. : a tiny shift in perspective can change everything.
He then gives concrete examples based on single-letter changes in Biblical verses. Take the Shema, "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one (eḥad)." (Deuteronomy 6:4). What if you changed the dalet in eḥad to a resh? Suddenly, "one" becomes "other" (aḥer). A declaration of unity turns into heresy with the smallest change. It's a powerful reminder of the weight of each letter, each word, each idea in our sacred texts.
He runs through several more examples, showcasing just how a single letter switch can completely alter the meaning of a verse (Leviticus 22:2, (Isaiah 8:17), (Psalms 150:6), (Jeremiah 5:12), Hosea 5:7), turning praise into profanity, waiting into striking, and faith into denial.
Finally, Rabbi Abbahu bar Kahana quotes I (Samuel 2:2): “There is no one as holy as the Lord, as there is none like You (biltekha)." He emphasizes that everything else wears out, but God does not. God's endurance is unmatched.
So, what’s the takeaway here? Don’t be daunted by the enormity of the task. Break it down. Find your sticks to reach the loaf. Remember that even when things seem to leak away, the effort matters. And never underestimate the power of the smallest detail. The wisdom of the Torah, like clearing that mound of dirt, is revealed one small step at a time.
Rabbi Yoḥanan of Tzippori interpreted the verse regarding mounds [teluliyot] of dirt. One who is foolish, what does he say? Who can completely remove this? One who is wise, what does he say? I will remove two containers during the day and two containers at night, and the same tomorrow, until I clear it all. So too, one who is foolish says: Who can study the entire Torah? Nezikin47Bava Kama, Bava Metzia, and Bava Batra are each ten chapters long and are considered one integrated tractate (see Bava Kama 102a). is thirty chapters, Kelim is thirty chapters. The wise man says: I will study two halakhot today and two tomorrow, until I learn it all. Rabbi Yannai said: “Wisdom is lofty to a fool” (Proverbs 24:7) – this is analogous to a perforated loaf that is suspended in the air in a room. The fool says: Who can take this down? The wise man says: Did another not suspend it? I will bring two sticks and attach one to another until I take it down.48If one stick is not enough to enable me to reach the loaf, I will tie two sticks together. So too, the fool says: Who can learn all the Torah that is in the heart of my teacher? The wise man says: Did he not learn it from another? I will study two halakhot today and two tomorrow, until I learn all the Torah of this Sage. Rabbi Levi said: [This is analogous] to a perforated basket whose owner hired workers to fill it with water. The fool says: What am I accomplishing? I fill it from here and it flows out from there. The wise man says: Do I not collect my wage? Do I not collect a wage from my employer for each and every barrel? So too, the fool says: I study Torah and forget it; what am I accomplishing? The wise man says: Does the Holy One blessed be He not give me reward for my effort? As Rabbi Levi said:49The text should state: “Another matter: Rabbi Levi said” (Etz Yosef). Even matters that you see as dots [kotzim] in the Torah, they are heaps upon heaps [tilei tilim]; they have the capability to destroy the world and to render it a mound [tel], just as it says: “It shall be an eternal mound” (Deuteronomy 13:17). It is written: “Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one [eḥad]” (Deuteronomy 6:4); if you transform the dalet into a resh you will destroy the world.50The word one [eḥad] will become other [aḥer], turning this affirmation of faith into a declaration of heresy. This occurs by merely erasing one small dot of the dalet, thereby turning it into a resh. “For you shall not prostrate yourself to another [aḥer] god” (Exodus 34:14) – if you replace the resh with a dalet you will destroy the world.51The verse would then state: You shall not prostrate yourself to the one [eḥad] God, which is a heretical statement. It is written: “They shall not profane [yeḥalelu] My holy name” (Leviticus 22:2); if you replace the ḥet with a heh, you will destroy the world.52Profane [yeḥalelu] would become praise [yehalelu]. It is written: “I will wait [veḥikiti] for the Lord” (Isaiah 8:17); if you replace the ḥet with a heh, you will destroy the world.53Wait [veḥikiti] would become strike [vehikeiti]. It is written: “Let all who breathe [tehalel] praise the Lord” (Psalms 150:6); if you replace the heh with a ḥet, you will destroy the world.54Praise [tehalel] would become profane [teḥalel]. It is written: “They have denied the Lord” (Jeremiah 5:12); if you replace the bet with a kaf, you will destroy the world.55“The Lord [baHashem]” would become: Like the Lord [kaHashem], which implies that the Lord also denies truths. It is written: “They have betrayed the Lord for they have begotten foreign children” (Hosea 5:7); if you replace the bet with a kaf, you will destroy the world.56“The Lord [baHashem]” will become: Like the Lord [kaHashem], implying that the Lord betrays others. It is written: “There is no one as holy as the Lord, as there is none like You [biltekha]” (I Samuel 2:2) – Rabbi Abbahu bar Kahana said: Everything wears out but You do not wear out, “as there is none like you,” there is none to outlast you [levalotekha].
