RAV KOOK ON Vayigash Part 1: The Shepherd-Philosopher

Fourth-century scholar Rabbi Zeira once found his teacher Rabbi Yehudah in an unusually good mood. Realizing that it was a propitious time to ask whatever he wanted, Rabbi Zeira posed the following question: “Why is it that the goats always stride in front of the herd, to be followed by the sheep?” Perhaps the last thing we would expect Rabbi Zeira to ask would be a mundane fact of animal husbandry. Rabbi Yehudah, however, was not fazed. Good-humoredly, he explained that this phenomenon reflects the order of creation. “It is like the creation of the universe: first there was darkness [the goats, who are usually black], and afterwards light [the white sheep]” (Shabbat 77b). A treasure-trove of wisdom had opened up for Rabbi Zeira — he had the opportunity to inquire into the deepest secrets of the universe! — and instead he quizzed his master about goats and sheep?