The importance of mindfulness TB Haggigah 20

The Mishnah on daf TB Haggigah 18b lists in ascending order five different levels of holiness (kedusha-קדושה). This is the order from lowest to highest kedusha: non-sacred food (hullin-חוּלִּין), ma’aser sheni (מַּעֲשֵׂר שֵנִי-a tithe that must be eaten in Jerusalem), terumah (תְּרוּמָה-the tithe given to the priest for officiating in the Temple), sacrificial food (kodesh-קּוֹדֶשׁ), and the red heifer water purification (mei hatat-מֵי חַטָּאת).

Today’s daf TB Haggigah 20 reinforces the importance of mindfulness when to make sure that the item being guarded doesn’t become ritually unready, tamai (טָמֵא). Inattentiveness (heskh hada’at-הֶיסֶח הָדָעָת) even for a moment can potentially change the status of the item by making it tamei.

“Rabbi Yonatan ben Elazar said: If the shawl of one who was stringent with regard to ritual purity fell off of him, and he said to another person: Give it to me, and he gave it to him, the shawl is impure. Even if the other individual is himself pure, since his attention was diverted at that moment from being cautious with regard to impurity, it is as though the shawl were rendered impure. Similarly, Rabbi Yonatan ben Amram says: If one’s Shabbat clothes were switched for his weekday clothes and he wore them, they are impure. His assumption that they were different clothes than the clothes he had intended to wear is enough of a distraction to spoil his caution against impurity.

“Rabbi Elazar bar Tzadok said: There was an incident involving two women who were wives of ḥaverim, who are meticulous in observance of halakha especially with regard to matters of impurity, whose clothes were switched in the bathhouse; and the incident came before Rabbi Akiva and he declared the clothes impure. This demonstrates that an unintentional act is considered a lapse of attention, which renders the items impure, even if there was no other reason to consider them impure.

“The Gemara clarifies: Granted, according to Rabbi Elazar bar Tzadok there is no difficulty, as in the case of the two wives of ḥaverim whose garments were switched it can be said that each of them says to herself: My colleague is the wife of an am ha’aretz, and not a ḥaver. And she diverts her mind from her garments, as she is certain that they have already been rendered impure, and a distraction of this kind makes it likely that the garment contracted impurity. It is therefore considered impure.

“Likewise, according to Rabbi Yonatan ben Amram there is no difficulty either, as with regard to the case of one who switched his Shabbat clothes with his weekday clothes, it can also be said that since he is more protective of Shabbat clothes, he will divert his mind from that higher level of protection if he thinks that they are weekday garments. A distraction of this kind makes it likely that the garment contracted impurity, so it is considered impure. But according to Rabbi Yonatan ben Elazar, who deals with the case where one’s shawl fell and another person lifts it up, why should this be considered a distraction? Let him guard his garments from ritual impurity while they are in the other person’s hands; why should they be considered impure?

“Rabbi Yoḥanan said: It is a presumption that a person does not guard that which is in another’s hand. Since the object is in the hands of another, he will inevitably be distracted from guarding it.” (Sefaria.org translation)

The Gemara leaves us with the following rule: a person does not guard that which is in another’s hand (אֵין אָדָם מְשַׁמֵּר מַה שֶּׁבְּיַד חֲבֵרוֹ).

Although everything on today’s daf is theoretical because these levels of holiness no longer apply ever since the Temple was destroyed. Nevertheless, we can apply the above rule and say that we cannot expect anybody even the rabbi to experience prayer for us. Mindfulness and inattentiveness either enhances or lessens our own prayer experience.

My friend and colleague Jonathan Slater in his book Mindful Jewish Living: Compassionate Practice teaches this about the importance of mindfulness.

(The Meor Eineyim writes:) “A saying of the Baal Shem Tov (May his soul rest in celestial repose and may his merit protect us) was based on the verse, ‘lest you turn away (from God) and worship other gods’ (Deuteronomy 11:16). That is, at the moment you allow your awareness to wander from the Holy One, immediately it will be as if you are worshiping other gods. This is the ultimate goal of understanding: to know that all of your powers and your very essence are from the Holy Creator-that He is the power, the capacity, and the force in all things, they makes all things move, even you. When you let your mind wander from this thought, you become like an idolater, worshiping forces other than the Holy One, since you no longer hold fast to the thought that all of your power in essence are from the Holy One.

“This text reminds us that in the midst of our inner experience of unity with God, we are constantly at risk of leaving that awareness. As much as attaining that state is the product of mindfulness practice, we also depend on that practice to help sustain our attachment to God in the moment. Over and over as we practice, we will carefully look to see what is happening, what are inner state is, what our physical state is, what prompts distancing or discursive thoughts. Out of that experience were able to bring ourselves back to full awareness of the truth of the moment. We can then act to sustain our concentration, bringing our attention back to a moment-to sensing our oneness with God.” (Page 193)