Mishlei 14:4 - Dealing with Ox-Filth

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Mishlei 14:4 - Dealing with Ox-Filth

משלי יד:ד

בְּאֵין אֲלָפִים אֵבוּס בָּר וְרָב תְּבוּאוֹת בְּכֹחַ שׁוֹר:

Mishlei 14:4

Where there are no oxen, the trough is clean; but many crops come [through] the power of an ox. 

There is one major question on this pasuk: 

1. Duh! This pasuk is obvious! Of course if there are no oxen then your trough will be clean, and of course the only way to produce many crops is through the power of an ox. What is the chidush (new insight) here? What would we have thought?

Most meforshim (commentators) interpret this pasuk metaphorically, but not us! This type of pasuk is a real test for our Mishlei methodology of taking every pasuk as literally as possible.

[Okay - time to think! Read on when ready.]

Here's my four-sentence summary of the main idea of this pasuk:

The only way to have abundant crops is by harnessing the power of an ox, but if you have an ox, you’ll have to deal with all of the filth it produces. The same is true in all other areas of life: if you desire an end, not only will you have to deal with the hassle of implementing the means, such as using the ox to plow your field, but you will also have to deal with the byproducts of the means, such as cleaning up the filth produced by the oxen. To desire or expect to benefit from an end without needing to deal its means and their byproducts is to desire an impossible fantasy, and will only increase your frustration and misery. Just as one cannot “have a cake and eat it, too,” one cannot expect to have abundant crops and a clean trough.

The answer to our "duh!" question is that this pasuk is not a response to a logical hava amina (false presupposition), but to a psychological hava amina - namely, the feeling/wish that the ends can be achieved without dealing with any "ox-filth" (i.e. annoying byproducts, costs, and other negative features of the means). 

Let's walk this through the example in our pasuk. The farmer wants crops, and he psychologically accepts the fact that the only way to get crops is to use his ox to plow. This is an easy reality to accept because it's evident that the ox's plowing directly contributes to the increase in his crop yield. 

But cleaning up the ox-filth in his barn? That doesn't directly produce crops. Taking his ox to the vet when it's sick or injured? That doesn't directly produce crops. Making sure that the ox doesn't damage any property? That doesn't directly produce crops. All of this makes it much easier to entertain the wish of: "If only I had an ox that didn't require all of this upkeep!" The problem is that there is no such thing, and the more attached a person becomes to this fantasy, the more frustrated he will be with the reality of his ox and its filth.

To fully appreciate this idea, we must consider examples from other areas of life. For example, I am a high school teacher. My goal is to teach. That is the end which I seek. In order to teach, I need to prepare my lessons. Those are the means by which I achieve that end. Psychologically, it is easy for me to accept the fact that the only way to achieve that end is through those means. But being a high school teacher also involves a fair share of "ox-filth," such as grading, proctoring, sitting through faculty meetings, dealing with irate parents, etc. I might fantasize about being a high school teacher who doesn't have to deal with any of this ox-filth, but from a practical standpoint, that would be impossible. 

Here's another example: having a car to drive. The only way to achieve that end is to pay for the gas. Fine: driving is the end I seek, and filling my car with gas is the only means that would enable me to achieve that end. But there's plenty of other "ox-filth" involved in owning a car: paying for insurance and car repairs, finding parking, maintaining up-to-date state inspections and registrations, worrying about the car getting damaged, etc. None of these "ox-filth" responsibilities directly enable me to drive my car - and yet, it is impossible for most people to own a car without having to deal with this upkeep.

Like all pesukim in Mishlei, our pasuk applies to a wide range of practical decisions in everyday life, but unlike many pesukim in Mishlei, our pasuk prompts us to change our thinking rather than our actions. That type of change is far more difficult to achieve, but the payoff is enormous.