The Letter and the Spirit¹

Do Other than the Law to Do Good

(From the Talmud [Baba Metzia 83a])

RAB HANAN’S SON, Rabbah, hired a few day laborers to move some barrels of wine. While working, they accidentally dropped a barrel, which broke, and the wine spilled onto the ground. To punish the men, Rabbah confiscated their coats.

The workers went to Rab to complain about the way they were being treated. After listening to their complaint, the great sage advised his son to return the men’s coats.

“But is this what the law would rule?” Rabbah protested.

“Do it in spite of the law,” Rab replied, “and give the coats back to these men. Follow the path of goodness.”

Once their coats were returned, the men said, “Look here, we are only poor laborers. We worked an entire day and we have families to support. Should we not receive payment for our labor?”

Rab said to his son, “Go and pay them.”

Again, Rabbah asked, “But what does the law require?”

“Do it in spite of the law,” his father advised. “Maintain the way of righteousness, my son, and do not expect to always find life according to the letter of the law. Understand that the spirit of justice is often of greater value. Pay your workers anyway!”

Endnotes

¹ Rabbi Bradley R. Bleefeld and Robert L. Shook, Saving the World Entire and 100 Other Beloved Parables from the Talmud (New York: Plume Books, 1998), 174. ⇑