To Be Or Not To Be? Two Paths Diverged in Judaism - By Rabbi YY Jacobson

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Reb Yehuda and Reb Shimon Debate Rome, Shabbos, Chametz, the Ego, and Moshiach. For Source Sheets: https://www.theyeshiva.net/jewish/2423 “I will terminate (v'hishbati) evil beasts from the land,” the Torah states in Bechokosei. The precise meaning of the Hebrew word hashbatah, rendered here as “terminate,” is debated by our sages. According to Rabbi Judah, the term implies the utter cessation of a thing’s existence. Thus, Rabbi Judah understands the divine promise to “terminate evil beasts from the land” to mean that in the harmonious world of Moshiach all destructive creatures and forces will be “removed from the world.” Rabbi Shimon disagrees: in his opinion, hashbatah implies only the termination of a thing’s particular characteristics—in this case, the destructive nature of “evil beasts.” It is this feature of their being that G-d will eliminate, while they continue to exist in their new harmless and gainful cast. The class explores that this is the root of several other debates between Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Shimon, concerning the elimination of Chametz, rest on Shabbos, Moshiach, the nature of the Roman Empire and many other themes in Jewish law. The class goes on to explore the debate on a physiological and spiritual level. How do we deal with children who are “wild animals?” How do we deal with our ego and arrogance? And how do we view the essential nature of the world?