The Torah of Character: Parshat Vayakhel : Motivated action

Abstract

Rabbi Aviad Tabory opens his excellent new book State of Halakha: Israel's History in Jewish Law (Maggid) with a discussion of the sanctity of Yom Ha'atzma'ut, Israel's Independence Day. In support of its holiness, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, son of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, the first chief rabbi of Palestine, cites the Talmud that when a shepherd rescues one of his flock from the clutches of a lion or a bear, it is a miracle (BT Bava Metzia 106a). One can argue that the most basic responsibility of a shepherd is to protect his flock; the shepherd is just doing his job. What's the miracle here?

Commentators on the Talmud explain that although protection is a fundamental role of a shepherd, the decision to take on a ferocious animal expresses the "spirit of courage and willingness to fight." This decision is itself a miracle each and every time. (from Introduction)