Daf Ditty Moed Katan 6: ‫ָהִאישׁוּת ְוֶאת ָהַﬠְכָבּ ִרים‬

The Mole and His Mother Aesop’s Fables

1
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1988-28690-001

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There is an old Cherokee legend called, “Why the Mole Lives Underground.” This legend
involves a man who was hopelessly in love with a woman. However, the woman would have
nothing to do with him.

As the man was depressed and sad, a mole came along. He found the man in such a low
state of mind that he asked the man what was wrong. The man told the mole the whole story.
The mole agreed to help him and that night the mole burrowed his way underground to
where the girl was in bed, and he took out her heart. He returned the heart to the man and
told him to swallow it to make the woman fall in love with him.

When she woke, she fell instantly in love with him, and they were married. When magicians
in the nearby villages heard of what the mole had done, they were jealous and threatened to
kill him. So, the mole hid underground and has never since dared to return to the surface.

Perek Shira

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MISHNA: Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov says: In a field that is filled with trees, one may draw
water via channels from one tree to another tree on the intermediate days of a Festival because
trees are in dire need of water. And this is permitted provided that in doing so he does not water
the entire field. With regard to plants that were not watered prior to the festival, one may not
water them on the intermediate days of the festival because they do not need the water. But the
Rabbis permit watering in this case, i.e., trees, and that case, i.e., plants.

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GEMARA: Rav Yehuda said: If the field was moist [metunenet] before the Festival but in the
meantime it dried up, it is permitted to water the entire field even according to Rabbi Eliezer ben
Ya’akov. That ruling is also taught in a baraita: When they said that it is prohibited to water
them on the intermediate days of a Festival, they said this only with regard to plants that were
not watered at all before the festival. However, with regard to plants that were already watered
before the festival and had begun to grow, it is permitted to water them on the intermediate
days of the festival because failure to water them would lead to substantial financial loss.

And if the field was moist before the festival, it is permitted to water it even if the field had not
been watered prior to the festival. And one may not water a dry field on the intermediate days
of a Festival. But the Rabbis permit watering this and that, i.e., plants that were not watered
before the festival and a dry field.

Ravina said: Learn from here that one is permitted to sprinkle a garden [tarbitza] with water
on the intermediate days of a Festival. Ravina explains how he arrived at this conclusion: What
is the reason that the Rabbis permit one to water a dry field despite the fact that the plants will
not die from a lack of moisture? This is because watering the field in advance turns a late crop
into an early crop. It can be understood from this that the late ripening of a crop is considered a
substantial financial loss that serves as a reason to permit labor that would otherwise be prohibited
on the intermediate days of a Festival. Here too, in the case of a garden, sprinkling it with water
turns a late crop into an early crop, and so it is permitted on the intermediate days of a Festival.

MISHNA: One may trap moles [ishut] and mice in an orchard and in a field of grain in his
usual manner, i.e., as he would trap them all year round, both on the intermediate days of a
Festival and during the Sabbatical Year. But the Rabbis say: In an orchard he may trap them

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in his usual manner, but in a field of grain, where there is no danger of substantial financial loss,
he may only trap them in a way that is not his usual manner.

And one may seal a breach in the wall of his garden on the intermediate days of a Festival, and
during the Sabbatical Year one may even build a wall in his usual manner, as this is not
considered an agricultural labor. Consequently, despite the fact that this benefits the garden by
offering it protection, it is not prohibited during the Sabbatical Year.

GEMARA: The Gemara asks: What is meant by the term ishut? Rav Yehuda said: An ishut is
a creature that has no eyes, a rodent that digs holes in the ground and can cause damage to root
and vegetables. Rava bar Yishmael said, and some say that it was Rav Yeimar bar Shelamya
who said: What is the verse that indicates the identity of the ishut?

‫ ֶתֶּמס ַיֲה\]; ֵנֶפל‬,‫ ט ְכּמוֹ ַשְׁבּלוּל‬9 Let them be as a snail which melteth and passeth away; like the
.‫ָחזוּ ָשֶׁמשׁ‬-‫ ַבּל‬,‫ֵאֶשׁת‬ untimely births of a woman, that have not seen the sun.
Psalm 58:9

“As a snail that melts and disappears; like the fall of a young mole [eshet] that has not seen the
sun” It is understood that this creature has not seen the sun because it does not have eyes.

The Gemara expands upon the halakha recorded in the mishna. The Sages taught the following
baraita: One may trap moles and mice in a field of grain and in an orchard in his usual

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manner, and one may destroy ant holes so that the ants will cause no damage. How does one
destroy ant holes? Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: One brings soil from this ant hole and
places it in that ant hole, and since the ants from the two nests are not familiar with each other,
they strangle each other.

Rashi

Steinzaltz

Orach Chayim 357

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13. Moles and mice in an orchard can be trapped the normal way - by digging a hole and hanging
a trip in there. It is even permitted to normally trap [rodents] in a vegetable field that is adjacent
to an orchard, because they leave the field and destroy trees. If it is not adjacent to an orchard,
we do not trap there using the normal procedure: one should stick a pole in the ground and shake
it to and fro until a hole is made in which the trap can be hung. There are some who say that in a
vegetable field adjacent to an orchard, the normal way is not allowed, and if it is not adjacent to
an orchard, it is forbidden even with a change.

Rambam ‫ הלכות שביתת יום טוב ח׳‬,‫משנה תורה‬

We may trap mice that ruin trees, on the festival. In a field of trees, one traps them in his customary
way. How is that? He digs [a pit] and suspends the trap [over it]. But if was in a field of grain
adjacent to to a field of trees, one may [only] trap them in the field of grain with an alteration, in
order that they do not go into the field of trees and destroy it. And how does one trap with an
alteration? He sticks a skewer into the ground and strikes it with a spade; and then he removes
it—and it comes out that its place is a hole.

Summary

Introduction2

This mishnah returns to the subject of irrigating during the festival. As an aside, the fact that the
first three mishnayot of this tractate are dedicated to this subject testifies to how crucial irrigation
was in Israel, especially during Sukkot and Pesah.

Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: they may draw water from [one] tree to [another] tree, as
long as they don’t water the whole field.

2
https://www.sefaria.org/Moed_Katan.6b.5?lang=bi&p2=Mishnah_Moed_Katan.1.3&lang2=bi&w2=English%20Explanation%2
0of%20Mishnah&lang3=en

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Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov holds that if a lot of water had collected around one tree, they were
allowed to draw the water from that tree to another tree, because this is not a lot of work. However,
one cannot use this way of watering to water the entire field, because that would be too much work.

Seeds that have not had [any] drink before the festival, he may not water them during the
festival. The sages however allow it in both cases.

If he planted seeds before the festival but had not yet watered them, then he cannot water them
during the festival, because they will do fine without being watered. The seeds don’t start to open
until the first time they are watered. However, if he has watered them already, then he may continue
to water them during the festival, because if he does not, they will die. This illustrates an important
principle if something will be lost, it is usually permitted to do that given work on the festival. The
sages allow the seeds to be watered even if they had not yet been watered before the festival. They
allow this for one of two reasons: 1) they think the seeds will be lost; 2) they think that it is not a
significant amount of work.

The first section of the next mishnah deals with trapping pests in a field and the second half deals
with repairing breaches in a fence surrounding a field. Both of these may need to be done in order
to protect the crops and therefore they may be permitted.

They may trap moles and mice in a tree-field or a white field in an unusual way during the
festival and in the sabbatical year. But the sages say: in the tree-field in the usual way and in
the white field in an unusual way.

According to the first opinion in the mishnah (this is probably Rabbi Eliezer b. Yaakov, the sage
from yesterday’s mishnah), one can trap moles and mice in the normal way of trapping them, from
both a field of trees and a field of produce (called a white field). The normal way of trapping them
seems to have involved digging a hole so that they would fall in. We might have thought that this
was prohibited on the sabbatical year because it looks like plowing. On the festival it might have
prohibited because it is a lot of work.

The sages are stricter. In a tree-field, where the moles and mice can do more damage, one can trap
them in the usual way. However, in a white field, where the loss that they cause is more minor,
they can only trap them in an unusual way. According to the Talmud this means that they dig the
hole in an unusual way so that everyone will know that the person is cognizant of the fact that it is
either the Sabbatical year or the festival. This is another general principle we will see frequently
in Moed Katan. Work which is forbidden may sometimes be done with a change, even though this
change may cause the work to be more laborious. This seems to me to be a way that the rabbis
could allow people to prevent a financial loss, while still making sure that they knew that it was a
festival.

And they may block up a breach in a wall during the festival, and in the sabbatical year they
may build it in the usual way.

If a wall has opened up on the festival and the crops are left exposed to wild animals, it is permitted
to make a temporary wall to close it up during the festival. It is forbidden, however, to build a

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more permanent wall because this is too much work. This is with regard to the festival. During the
Sabbatical year it is permitted to build even a new wall because this is not similar to plowing. Only
plowing and activities similar to it were prohibited during the sabbatical year, not all work involved
in maintaining a field.

What is Permitted? Irrigation, Trapping Moles, and Destroying Anthills

We learn about three topics today.3 First, the rabbis discuss gravesite markers such as stones
marked with lime. They consider whether or not fields have been ploughed, the edges of the field,
the likelihood of unknown corpses in a field. All of these considerations help us to determine
whether or not we might contract ritual impurity through contact with that field.

The second topic regards irrigation on intermediate Festival Days and during Sabbatical
years. Their overriding concern is to minimize any damage done to plants. In particular, they are
very concerned about the viability of young trees. If irrigation might help avoid financial crisis
after the intermediate days or after the Sabbatical year, the rabbis find ways to ensure that irrigation
is permitted.

Finally, the rabbis take apart a Mishna regarding trapping animals on these special
days/years. They note that trapping moles and mice in orchards and/or fields of grain should be
permitted. However, some rabbis believe that this should be done in an unusual manner when
practiced on special days. I am very fond of this principal in Talmudic thought: the importance of
doing things differently on Shabbat and other special days. Difference in our actions represents
our understanding that the days are different from regular weekdays. Personally, I find this
particular halacha very attractive and much more palatable than many other guidelines and laws
regarding special days. It digs down to the meaning of special days: thoughtfulness, conscious
awareness of difference, presence in the moment.

One funny and helpful piece of advice was shared by Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel. He teaches us
how to destroy an ant colony - which is permitted on our special days. We should trade earth from
two ant hills and share them with each other. The ants will then fight with each other and
die. Abaye further elucidates on anthill destruction. He reminds us to choose anthills that are at a
great distance from each other. If those anthills are somehow connected to each other, the ants
will recognize their long-lost cousins and continue to thrive.

3
http://dafyomibeginner.blogspot.com/2014/08/

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Rabbi Seth Adelson writes:4

The gemara tells us that it is permissible to trap moles and to destroy ant holes on Hol Hamoed,
the intermediate days of a Festival (i.e., either Sukkot or Pesah), to prevent these pests from
causing damage to valuable crops. And then, the gemara takes an unexpected dip into entomology
(on Moed Katan 6b):

Now, I must say that I know very little about ants. (I once stumbled onto a fire ant mound in Texas,
wearing sandals, and I quickly discovered why they call them fire ants.) And I certainly do not
know if this is true.

I am certain, however, that the rabbis of the Talmud knew much more about the natural world than
many of us do today since they were much closer to it. They knew the flora and fauna of their
surroundings because they were not as isolated from the environment as we are today. If they
themselves were not agricultural folk, they certainly knew personally people who made their living
off the land.

Nonetheless, the behavior of ants here prompts a human take-away: that metaphorical bridges
between individuals or between groups prevent people from fighting, and perhaps even killing
each other.

Just as familiarity in the ant world leads to peaceful coexistence, dialogue and breaking bread
together leads to neighborly outcomes among people.

4
https://bethshalompgh.org/learning-ants-moed-katan-6b/

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Rav Avrohom Adler writes:5

The braisa concluded with the words of Rabbi Yehudah: We assume that a beis haperas field
includes an intact grave, unless an elderly man or a Torah student informs us that it has been
plowed since not everyone is an expert regarding this issue. Abaye said: It can be learned from
here that if there is a young Torah scholar in the city, all the city’s issues are incumbent on him. (

Rav Yehudah said: If one finds an individual stone that has been marked with lime, it is evident
that the area underneath the stone is tamei (people can see the stone due to its height and it will be
noticed from a distance). If he finds two lime-marked stones, we rule as follows: If there is lime
found on the ground between the two stones, that area is tamei, if not, it is tahor. The Gemora
questions this ruling from a braisa which states that the area between two stones is deemed to be
tahor if the area has been plowed, but otherwise it is tamei. Rav Pappa answers: The braisa is
referring to a specific case where the lime has fallen from the top of the stones. If there is plowing
in between the stones, the area is judged to be tahor because we assume the lime has fallen because
of the plow; otherwise, the area between the stones is tamei.

Rabbi Assi said: If one boundary is marked, that side alone istamei, but the rest of the entire field
is tahor. If two are marked, those alone are tamei, but the rest of the entire field is tahor. If three
are marked, those are tamei, but the rest of the entire field is tahor. If the four boundaries are
marked, they are tahor and the entire field surrounding it is tamei, for a master said: Nor is the
marking place far away from the spot, in order to avoid wasting space of Eretz Yisroel.

The Mishna had stated: During Chol Hamoed, agents of Beis Din are sent out to inspect the fields
for kilayim (the prohibition against planting together different species of vegetables, fruit or seeds
– agents of beis din would be sent out at this time to warn the people to uproot any shoots of other
seeds that appear among the grain). The Gemora asks from a Mishna in Shekalim (which indicates
that they were sent out before Chol Hamoed Pesach).

The Mishna states: On the first of Adar proclamation is made regarding the shekalim and kilayim.
On the fifteenth of adar, they read the Megillah in the walled cities and they would be sent out then
to remove the thorns from the roads, fix the streets, measure the mikvaos (ensuring that they
contained forty se’ah of water), attend to all the needs of the public and they would inspect the
fields for kilayim. Why does our Mishna state that they would be sent out for kilayim on Chol
Hamoed Pesach? Rabbi Elozar and Rabbi Yosi bar Chanina each suggest an answer: Either the
Mishna is referring to the early crops or it is referring to grains. Our Mishna is referring to the late
crops or to vegetables. Rabbi Assi said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: The agents are not sent
out earlier only when their sprouts are not recognizable, but if their sprouts are recognizable (even
earlier than the prescribed dates), they go out even earlier.

The Gemora asks: Why would the agents be sent out on Chol Hamoed and not any other time?
Rabbi Yaakov answers in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: We can find cheaper workers at this time
(since people are not performing their usual work on Chol Hamoed). Rav Zevid, and according to
others, Rav Mesharshiya said: From this explanation, you may infer that when pay was given, it

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http://dafnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Moed_Katan_6.pdf

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was given them out of the chamber (of the Temple treasury), for if you should suppose that they
(the owners of the fields) themselves paid, what difference does it make to us? Let them pay
whatever they (the inspectors) request.

The Gemora asks: And how much constitutes kilayim (that it is required to uproot; for a small
number of variant seeds that were planted inadvertently with other species are nullified)? Rav
Shmuel bar Yitzchak said: The same as we learned in a Mishna: Every se'ah (of seeds) that contains
one quarter of a kav (of a different species), one must reduce (the amount of foreign matter to a
degree that there is now less than that amount contained in the mixture). The Gemora states: If the
inspectors would find kilayim growing in the fields, they would remove the foreign growth.

The Gemora asks: We have learned in a braisa that if kilayim is found, the inspectors would
proclaim that the entire field in considered ownerless?

The Gemora answers: Our Gemora is referring to the time period before the decree that the fields
should be considered ownerless was enacted. The Gemora elaborates by citing another braisa:
Initially, the inspectors would remove the kilayim and feed the animals with it. The owners of the
fields were happy with this arrangement. Their fields would be weeded, and their animals would
be fed. Subsequently, the Rabbis issued a decree that the inspectors would throw the kilayim into
the streets. The owners were still happy on the account that their fields were being weeded. The
Rabbis issued a final decree that if they would find kilayim, the field would be declared ownerless.
(6a – 6b)

The Mishna states: Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov said: One is permitted to draw water from one tree
to contained forty se’ah of water), attend to all the needs of the public and they would inspect the
fields for kilayim. Why does our Mishna state that they would be sent out for kilayim on Chol
Hamoed Pesach? Rabbi Elozar and Rabbi Yosi bar Chanina each suggest an answer: Either the
Mishna is referring to the early crops or it is referring to grains. Our Mishna is referring to the late
crops or to vegetables. Rabbi Assi said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: The agents are not sent
out earlier only when their sprouts are not recognizable, but if their sprouts are recognizable (even
earlier than the prescribed dates), they go out even earlier.

The Gemora asks: Why would the agents be sent out on Chol Hamoed and not any other time?
Rabbi Yaakov answers in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: We can find cheaper workers at this time
(since people are not performing their usual work on Chol Hamoed). Rav Zevid, and according to
others, Rav Mesharshiya said: From this explanation, you may infer that when pay was given, it
was given them out of the chamber (of the Temple treasury), for if you should suppose that they
(the owners of the fields) themselves paid, what difference does it make to us? Let them pay
whatever they (the inspectors) request.

The Gemora asks: And how much constitutes kilayim (that it is required to uproot; for a small
number of variant seeds that were planted inadvertently with other species are nullified)? Rav
Shmuel bar Yitzchak said: The same as we learned in a Mishna: Every se'ah (of seeds) that contains
one quarter of a kav (of a different species), one must reduce (the amount of foreign matter to a
degree that there is now less than that amount contained in the mixture).

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The Gemora states: If the inspectors would find kilayim growing in the fields, they would remove
the foreign growth. The Gemora asks: We have learned in a braisa that if kilayim is found, the
inspectors would proclaim that the entire field in considered ownerless? The Gemora answers: Our
Gemora is referring to the time period before the decree that the fields should be considered
ownerless was enacted.

The Gemora elaborates by citing another braisa: Initially, the inspectors would remove the kilayim
and feed the animals with it. The owners of the fields were happy with this arrangement. Their
fields would be weeded, and their animals would be fed. Subsequently, the Rabbis issued a decree
that the inspectors would throw the kilayim into the streets. The owners were still happy on the
account that their fields were being weeded. The Rabbis issued a final decree that if they would
find kilayim, the field would be declared ownerless.

The Mishna states: Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov said: One is permitted to draw water from one tree
to another on Chol Hamoed by creating a path from the tree that has water underneath it; however,
one is forbidden to water his entire rain-watered field (since the watering is beneficial for the grain
growing between the trees and not to prevent a loss.) Plants that were not watered on a consistent
basis before the festival may not be watered during Chol Hamoed. The Chachamim disagree with
both halachos and state that one is permitted to water a rain-watered field and the plants can be
watered even if they had not been previously watered.

Rav Yehudah qualifies the first halachah mentioned in the Mishna. One would be permitted to
water the entire rain-watered field if the field was originally moist and presently dried up. (This is
because if it wouldn’t be watered now, there would be a tremendous loss to the produce.) The
Gemora cites a supporting braisa: When they said that it is forbidden to water them during Chol
Hamoed, they referred only to plants that had not been watered before the festival; but plants that
had Been watered before the festival may be watered again during Chol Hamoed; and if the field
was originally moist (but had now dried up), it is permitted to water it. And a naturally dry field
may not be watered during Chol Hamoed, but the Sages allow it in the one case and in the other.

Ravina said: You may infer from here that a garden patch may be sprinkled (with water) during
Chol Hamoed. For in the case of a naturally dry field, why is it permitted? It is because it (the
irrigation) just quickens a late crop into an early crop; here (by a garden patch) too, it just quickens
a late crop into an early one.

The Gemora cites a braisa: One is permitted to sprinkle water on a field of grain during Shemitah
but not during Chol Hamoed. The Gemora questions this from a braisa which explicitly permits
sprinkling a field even during Chol Hamoed. Rav Huna answers: The braisa which prohibits
sprinkling reflects the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer ban Yaakov cited in our Mishna and the other
braisa follows the opinion of the Chachamim.

The Gemora cites another braisa: A field of grain may be sprinkled in the pre-Shemittah year, so
that the vegetables may sprout in the Shemittah year. And furthermore, a field of grain may be
sprinkled in the Shemittah year, so that the vegetables may sprout better in the post-Shemittah
year. (6b) The Mishna states: One may trap the ishus and the mice from a field of trees and from
a grain field in the usual manner on Chol Hamoed and during Shemitah. The Chachamim maintain

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that one can trap them from a field of trees in a usual manner, but in an unusual manner from a
grain field. (The potential loss in a grain field is relatively minor.) One may close a breach on Chol
Hamoed, and during Shemitah, he may build in the usual manner. The Gemora states that ishusis
a creature that has no eyes (and burrows under the ground).

It was taught in a braisa: One may trap the ishus and the mice from a grain field and from a field
of trees in the usual manner and one can destroy ant holes on Chol Hamoed. How do we
accomplish that? Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: One should bring dirt from one ant hole and
put it in the other and the ants will choke each other (by smelling the unrecognizable dirt). Rav
Yeimar bar Shlamya said in the name of Abaye: This method works only when the two holes are
situated on two sides of a river, and only when there isn’t a bridge or a plank or a rope stretched
across it. (Otherwise, the ants will recognize the dirt.) The Gemora asks: Until what distance (are
the holes regarded as too close together)? The Gemora answers: Until a parsah.

CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SHEKALIM AND KILAYIM

The Mishna states: On the first of Adar proclamation is made regarding the shekalim and kilayim.
What is the connection between the shekalim and kilayim? The Satmar Rebbe used to say: It is
well known that the obligation to donate a half-shekel to the Beis Hamikdosh and not a whole
shekel implies that a person is not complete by himself. He must join together with other Jews and
only then will he be considered a whole person. At the same time, one must be wary about bonding
with a wicked person.

It is written in Avos d’Reb Nosson (30:3): One who unites with an evil person even if he himself
does not engage in the same manner as him will receive punishment similar to the retribution that
will be administered to the wicked person. One who unites with a righteous person even if he
himself does not perform virtuous acts will receive reward similar to the reward of the righteous
person. The proclamation and inspecting of the kilayim is to promote this concept. The Torah
prohibits various mixtures of crops from growing together, so too, one must be careful as to whom
his friends are.

Rabbi A. Leib Scheinbaum quotes from Horav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld. He explains that a person
must strive to cultivate relationships. As the Tanna says in Pirkei Avos 1:6, Knei lecha chaver,
"Acquire for yourself a friend." One who lives as an individual lives as an incomplete person. He
is missing a part of himself. Nonetheless, one must maintain criteria with regard to his
relationships. He must be sure to associate only with those people who are appropriate. Just as
certain admixtures of crops are forbidden, so, too, is it unwise to develop an affiliation with people
of questionable or incompatible character. The positive effect of a good friend - and, conversely,
the negative effect of a bad friend - cannot be emphasized enough.

Dr. Nosson Chayim Leff cites a Sfas Emes who offers a different explanation. "On the first day of
Adar, we inform people about their obligation to donate a half shekel to the Beis HaMikdosh and
about kilayim (that is, the obligation, when planting one's field, to avoid mixing seeds of different
plants, such as grapes and wheat)." The Sfas Emes poses a basic question: Why were these
announcements made specifically in the month of Adar? The Sfas Emes answers that the month
of Adar resembles the month of Elul in certain important ways. We know that Elul is the month

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before the end of one year and the beginning of a new year that begins with Rosh Hashana. Thus,
its position as a potential turning point in our lives makes Elul a propitious time for doing teshuva,
for repenting.

So, too, the Sfas Emes tells us, the month of Adar immediately precedes the new year that begins
in Nisan. Thus, Adar is also well placed for a person to look inside himself and do teshuva. Because
of its importance, Adar is a good time for making the key announcements mentioned in the Mishna.
But notes the Sfas Emes, there is an important difference between teshuva in Adar and teshuva in
Elul. In Elul, we do teshuva from yirah (fear or a sense of awe). By contrast, in Adar, we can more
easily do teshuva out of a sense of love (ahava) for HaShem. Indeed, that is why we experience
heightened joy? simcha - in Adar.

When Adar comes, our expansiveness and good feeling toward HaShem increase. That is the
reason for our obligation to donate half a shekel to the Beis HaMikdosh. Obviously HaShem does
not need our donations. What He wants is to give us the opportunity to awaken our good feelings
and dedication toward Him. (Note, incidentally, that the Sfas Emes has just given us a whole new
perspective on giving tzedaka.

The conventional view sees us giving tzedaka because of our commitment to observe mitzvos.
Ultimately, love for HaShem may enter the process. But that happens only if we work on ourselves
diligently enough to do the mitzva not by rote and or out of social pressure but rather because of
our love for HaShem.

By contrast, the Sfas Emes sees the process as beginning from our love and good feelings to
HaShem.) Every Jew has within him a latent devotion to HaShem. What we need is an activity to
express that devotion. The obligation to give the half shekel to the Beis Hamikdosh provides such
an opportunity. And because Adar gives us an opportunity to express that love for HaShem, we
feel more joy! At this point, the Sfas Emes injects a note of severe caution into the ma'amar by
citing a dvar Torah from his grandfather, the Chidushei Harim.

The pasuk in Shir HaShirim (7:2) says: "Mah yafu pe'ahmayich bane'alim, bas nadiv." "But
your footsteps were so lovely when shod in pilgrim's sandals, O daughter of nobles.").

The Chidushei HaRim read this pasuk in the following non-pshat manner: The generosity and
expansiveness of spirit (he is reading "pe'ahmahyich as "pulse rate," i.e., "spirit") of the Jewish
people as the descendants of Avraham Avinu (who’s great chesed and magnanimity entitled him
to the sobriquet "the Nadiv," i.e., the "benefactor") is so great that it must be locked up ("min'al"
= lock). That is, this love can be so overpowering that it has to be watched and controlled lest it
go outside, i.e., be misdirected. (Anyone familiar with the devotion and love that too many Jews
in Russia and Poland harbored for communism will concur in this comment of the Chidushei
HaRim.)

The Sfas Emes continues, addressing a question that may have bothered you earlier. The Mishna
quoted above juxtaposes two things. First, it specifies awakening people’s hearts to nedivus,
expansiveness. The Mishna conveys his message by requiring all of us to donate to the Beis
Hamikdosh. Then the Mishna warns us to be careful to avoid kilayim. What is the connection

15
between these two items in the Mishna? The Sfas Emes answers this question by offering us a non-
pshat reading of the word 'kilayim'. He reads the word as an allusion to "locking up" (as in "beis
ha'kela" = prison). People must be warned to be careful with their idealism and generosity.

The Sfas Emes concludes: Every year when we read the parsha of Shekalim, our hearts are
awakened to give all to HaShem. Unfortunately, we do not have the Beis HaMikdosh and thus
cannot give our all as an offering. But in any case, HaShem's love for us is awakened, and we can
do teshuva with simcha.

I saw another explanation offered by the members of the St. Louis Kollel.

The Talmud in Megillah 13b states in the name of Rish Lakish, "It was well known beforehand to
Him at Whose word the world came into being, that Haman would one day pay shekels for the
destruction of Israel. Therefore, he anticipated his shekels with those of Israel, and so, we have
learned "on the first of Adar, a proclamation is made regarding the shekalim and the mixed seeds
(kilayim).

The Shem MiShmuel explains the connection between the shekels of Bnei Yisroel and those of
Haman. He cites his father who says that the mitzvah of shekalim alludes to the giving over of a
person's ten powers for the love of Hashem. (See Gur Aryeh, beginning of Parshas Terumah.) The
shekel weighed ten gairah, an allusion to these ten powers a person possesses. It was from silver,
kesef, which comes from the word nichsapha, desire or longing. The giving over the silver shekel
represented the desire to give over, in love these ten powers.

Haman's main intent was not to merely wipe out Bnei Yisroel for the sake of eradicating them.
Rather, his intent was that the seventy nations of the world should take over Bnei Yisroel's role in
the world and replace them in their special relationship to Hashem. His shekalim therefore, were
very similar in intent to Beni Yisroel's. He handed over a fortune to Achashverosh in order to bring
about the replacement of Bnei Yisroel by the 70 nations.

His shekalim were also given over, as if to say, in love of Hashem. "Shekalim" comes from the
word "to weigh." Hashem weighed the pure intent of Bnei Yisroel, in contrast to Haman's intent
that was not completely pure. His underlying intent was really to destroy Yisroel, and it was only
clothed with the intent of the 70 nations gaining a closer relationship with Hashem. This explains
the connection in the Mishna between shekalim and the prohibition to mix seeds (kilayim). The
shekalim have to be pure without any mixed intentions.

Our avoda during Adar is to purify our intentions that we should truly desire to give over of
ourselves all our powers for Hashem's service, without any selfishness.

16
 A ROCK WITH A "TZIYUN" OF A GRAVE

Rav Mordechai Kornfeld writes:6

Rav Yehudah says that one who finds a stone marked with a Tziyun for Tum'ah may assume that
only the area directly beneath the stone contains the grave.

How does Rav Yehudah understand the Beraisa earlier (5b) which states that a marker of Tum'ah
is placed in front of the area which contains the grave and not directly above it? According to the
Beraisa, one who finds a marked stone should assume that the grave is behind the stone and not
directly beneath it.

(a) RASHI answers that a Tziyun normally is placed in front of the site of the grave, as the Beraisa
says, because a person tends not to notice the Tziyun until he is standing directly over it. If an
ordinary Tziyun would be placed directly on top of a grave, it would be ineffective in preventing
people (and objects) from becoming Tamei; a person would not notice it until he is already standing
over the grave. However, when the Tziyun is placed on a stone which is higher than the ground, a
person notices the Tziyun before he walks over the stone. Therefore, a Tziyun on a stone may be
placed directly over the source of Tum'ah. (In fact, it is even preferable to place it there, in order
to minimize the area designated as Tamei, as the Gemara says earlier (5b).)

(b) The TOSFOS HA'ROSH quotes the Yerushalmi in Shekalim which explains that when the
Beraisa says that a Tziyun should not be placed directly over the Tum'ah, it means that it should
be placed not only on the area of the Tum'ah but even past the area of the Tum'ah. The periphery of
the Tziyun is outside of the Tum'ah, but the Tum'ah indeed is under the marked area of the Tziyun
itself.

Accordingly, both statements are true. The outer edge of the Tziyun is beyond the Tum'ah, while
the inner part of the Tziyun is directly above the Tum'ah. This is also the opinion of
the RAMBAM (Hilchos Tum'as Mes 8:9).

WATERING A "SEDEH GRID"

In the Mishnah, Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov and the Chachamim argue about the Halachah in two
cases. In the first case, Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov maintains that when one waters the trees in his
field, he is prohibited from watering the rest of his field, while the Chachamim maintain that he is
permitted to water the rest of the field. In the second case, Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov prohibits
watering seeds which received no water before Chol ha'Mo'ed, while the Chachamim permit it.
The Beraisa mentions a third case in which the Tana Kama (presumably Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov)
and the Chachamim argue: the Tana Kama prohibits watering a "Sedeh Grid" and the Chachamim
permit it.

What is a "Sedeh Grid" and what are the reasons to permit or prohibit watering it?

6
https://www.dafyomi.co.il/mkatan/insites/mo-dt-006.htm

17
(a) TOSFOS, the NIMUKEI YOSEF, and other Rishonim explain that "Sedeh Grid" is another
term for a Beis ha'Ba'al, a field which does not need artificial irrigation. The word "Grid" means
"dry" and refers to a field which does not need constant watering. This also seems to be the
intention of Rashi.

They explain (like Rashi) that Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov and the Chachamim in the Mishnah argue
whether Melachah on Chol ha'Mo'ed for the sake of Harvachah, making a profit, is permitted. The
Chachamim -- who permit Melachah for the sake of Harvachah -- follow the view of Rebbi Meir
(2a) who explicitly permits Melachah for the sake of Harvachah. Their argument in the case of a
Sedeh Grid follows logically from their argument with regard to Harvachah. Since watering a Beis
ha'Ba'al is for the sake of Harvachah, Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov prohibits it and the Chachamim
permit it.

(b) TOSFOS cites others who explain that the argument in the Beraisa with regard to a Sedeh Grid
is not related to whether Harvachah is permitted. The Tana Kama in the Beraisa who argues with
the Chachamim is not Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov. The Tana Kama of the Beraisa is a third Tana
who is more stringent than Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov (who would permit watering a Sedeh Grid).
(Accordingly, even though the Halachah follows the view of Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov in the cases
of the Mishnah, one nevertheless is permitted to water a Sedeh Grid.)

These Rishonim define "Sedeh Grid" as a type of field which has characteristics of a Beis
ha'Shalchin and characteristics of a Beis ha'Ba'al. It is not exactly like a Beis ha'Ba'al because
supplying it with more water will not cause it to bear more fruit. However, more water will cause
it to produce fruit faster, and in that sense, it is not exactly like a Beis ha'Shalchin (where more
water merely saves the field from drying out but does not affect the growth of its fruit). The Tana
Kama prohibits watering a Sedeh Grid because he considers the act to be for the sake of Harvachah.
The Chachamim (who permit it) do not consider the act to be for the sake of Harvachah because
fruit which ripens faster is not as tasty (as it does not ripen fully), and thus one does not benefit
from watering such a field. Watering a Sedeh Grid is not considered Harvachah; rather, one merely
"changes" the fruit from one type of fruit to another.

(c) The RITVA, NIMUKEI YOSEF, and TOSFOS HA'ROSH cite a Yerushalmi which says
that the argument in the Mishnah between Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov and the Chachamim is
unrelated to Harvachah. Neither Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov nor the Chachamim permit Melachah
for the sake of Harvachah. Rather, their argument involves whether watering the entire field (or
watering seeds that were not watered before Chol ha'Mo'ed) is considered a Davar ha'Aved.

These Rishonim define a Sedeh Grid as a Beis ha'Ba'al, like Tosfos. Both Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov
and the Chachamim agree with the Beraisa which says that one is not permitted to water a Sedeh
Grid. What is the meaning of the words at the end of the Beraisa, "v'Chachamim Matirin ba'Zeh
uva'Zeh" -- "the Chachamim permit both this and this"? The RITVA explains that these words are
not part of the Beraisa but are a citation from the Mishnah which the Gemara is preparing to
discuss.

18
Alternatively, the NIMUKEI YOSEF explains that these words refer back to the two cases
mentioned in the Mishnah and not to the third case (Sedeh Grid) which is mentioned in the Beraisa.
Hence, everyone agrees that watering a Sedeh Grid is prohibited.

The Tosfos ha'Rosh suggests that even if the Yerushalmi's understanding of the Mishnah is correct,
it still is possible that Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov and the Chachamim argue about a Sedeh Grid.
They do not argue whether or not Harvachah is permitted (as in (a) above), but whether or not a
Sedeh Grid is considered a Davar ha'Aved. The Rosh defines "Sedeh Grid" as a Beis ha'Ba'al which
has not received water for an exceptionally long time (as Rashi on the Rif explains). The
Chachamim maintain that such a field is considered a Davar ha'Aved and they permit watering it
on Chol ha'Mo'ed even though it is a Beis ha'Ba'al. Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov maintains that
watering such a field on Chol ha'Mo'ed is prohibited. His reasoning is that since the field is not
usually watered manually, watering it now will not help it recover.

WATERING A VEGETABLE GARDEN ON CHOL HA'MO'ED

Ravina infers from the laws recorded in the Mishnah and Beraisa that one is permitted to "sprinkle
a Tarbitza" (vegetable garden) with water. He reasons that if one is permitted to water a Sedeh
Grid and thereby cause the fruit to ripen faster, then one also must be permitted to water his
vegetables to make them ripen faster.

The Tana'im in the Beraisa argue with regard to whether one is permitted to water a Sedeh Grid
(see previous Insight). On which opinion in the Beraisa does Ravina rely to prove his ruling?
Moreover, does the fact that Ravina sides with one opinion prove that the Halachah follows that
opinion?

RASHI explains that Ravina proves his ruling from the Chachamim who permit one to water a
Sedeh Grid (which is the same as a Beis ha'Ba'al). (The Chachamim follow the view of Rebbi Meir
who permits one to water his field for the sake of Harvachah, profit).

Rashi implies that the Halachah follows the view of Rebbi Meir. Since Ravina rules like the
Chachamim who agree with Rebbi Meir, one is permitted to water a Beis ha'Ba'al for Harvachah
on Chol ha'Mo'ed.

TOSFOS (DH Shari) suggests that although Ravina adduces proof for his ruling from the opinion
of the Chachamim who permit one to water a Beis ha'Ba'al, this does not mean that Ravina rules
like the Chachamim. Rather, Ravina does not permit one to water a vegetable garden but only
to sprinkle it with water. He proves that one may sprinkle water on a vegetable garden from the
view of the Chachamim who go so far as to permit one to water a Beis ha'Ba'al. If the Chachamim
rule so leniently, then it is logical that no one -- even the Tana who argues with the Chachamim -
- would be so stringent as to prohibit one from sprinkling water in a Beis ha'Ba'al.

Alternatively, Ravina understands that among the Chachamim who permit one to water a Sedeh
Grid is Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov. He permits it because watering such a field is not considered a
genuine form of Harvachah (see (b) of previous Insight). The Tana Kama who prohibits one from
watering a Sedeh Grid is not Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov but another Tana. The Halachah therefore

19
is in accordance with the view of the Chachamim (and Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov) who permit one
to water a Sedeh Grid, but it is not in accordance with the Chachamim who argue with Rebbi
Eliezer ben Yakov in the Mishnah and permit one to water even a Beis ha'Ba'al.

However, RABEINU CHANANEL, the RIF, and most Rishonim explain that Ravina's ruling is
not based on the Halachah of Sedeh Grid at all. Rather, he bases his ruling on the other cases
mentioned in the Mishnah. The RITVA and NIMUKEI YOSEF write that his ruling is based on
the Halachah that one may water a Sedeh Metunenes. RABEINU CHANANEL says that it is
based on the allowance to water seeds that received water before Chol ha'Mo'ed. In these cases,
even Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov permits one to water the plants on Chol ha'Mo'ed.

When, immediately after Ravina's statement, the Gemara compares Ravina's case of a vegetable
garden to the Beraisa's case of Sedeh Grid, it is rejecting (and not supporting) Ravina's ruling. The
Gemara is asking that watering a vegetable garden cannot be compared to the cases in which Rebbi
Eliezer ben Yakov permits watering: in the case of the vegetable garden, one merely causes the
vegetables to ripen earlier, which is a case of Harvachah and not Davar ha'Aved, like the case of a
Sedeh Grid, and therefore it should be prohibited (see (c) of previous Insight). According to this
interpretation, the Halachah will not follow Ravina, but will follow Rebbi Eliezer ben Yakov.

Destroying Pests on Hol HaMoed

Steinzaltz (OBM) writes:7

As noted earlier in this massekhet, although many agricultural activities are forbidden on Hol
HaMoed and during the Sabbatical year, those tasks that are essential for the ongoing upkeep of
fields are permitted. One example presented in the last Mishna on our daf is the need to destroy
pests that would otherwise damage the plants and fields.

The example presented by the Mishna is the need to trap ishut and akhbarim. The Gemara appears
to know that akhbarim are mice. What are ishut? Rav Yehuda claims that they are creatures
without eyes. Although this description sounds strange, it is actually not difficult to identify the
animal discussed in the Mishna. It is likely a type of spalax – a blind mole rat – and specifically
the spalax ehrenbergi, which is the most common type found in Israel.

This rodent, with a round body covered with gray fur, grows to a length of 12-25 centimeters.
Since its small eyes are covered by fur from birth, it is blind. This creature lives underground
where it digs the burrows in which it lives. It eats the roots of plants and can-do serious damage to
produce.

The Gemara quotes a baraita that offers another example of a pest. Ants do occasionally damage
crops, and it is necessary to destroy anthills in order to protect the field. Rabban Shimon ben
Gamliel teaches that the suggested method of controlling the ants is to bring a clod of earth from

7
https://steinsaltz.org/daf/moed6/

20
another field, place it on top of the existing anthill, and the ants will destroy one another. This
method works because every anthill has a particular odor, which develops from the type of earth,
the food that is brought in, the remains of dead ants, etc. Ants recognize one another based on this
particular smell and from bodily secretions. When a “foreign” ant enters an anthill, he is taken for
an enemy and is killed by the ants protecting their home.

Sara Ronis writes:8

Today’s daf continues a discussion that began yesterday, about a field in which someone
has been buried. Graves, as we now know, communicate death impurity to anyone who
comes in contact with them, and to anything that is built nearby or grows on top.
Therefore, graves were marked — often with trees.

Today’s discussion offers us two important principles to consider when thinking about
how and where graves are marked. The first principle emerges from thinking about the
trees that signal death impurity. If trees mark the dead, how close to the graves do they
need to be? The Gemara quotes an earlier tradition to answer this question:

One does not distance the marker from the site of ritual impurity, so as not to cause a
loss of the land of Israel.

According to this tradition, those who mark the site of the dead must recognize that death
impurity renders a place unusable. As such, they must ensure that the markers are close to
the grave in order to leave as much land as possible available for planting.

The language that the Gemara uses, “so as not to cause a loss of the land of Israel” suggests
that death causes a loss not only to potential agriculture but to the integrity of the land.
Death must be marked, but it must not take more space than is necessary. Doing so harms
the material needs of the living.

The second principle emerges from the question of when a tree marks a grave, and when
it is just a tree. After all, often trees grow in fields naturally. To paraphrase Freud,
sometimes a tree is just a tree — but how do we know when it isn’t?

According to an earlier tradition quoted on our daf:

Rabbi Yehuda says: Only when there is an elder or scholar, as not all are well versed in
this matter.

The answer is that most people can’t determine when a tree is just a tree, so these
distinctions can only be made when there is an elder or a scholar who can identify which

8
www.myjewishlearning.com

21
 trees mark graves. The later rabbi Abaye then takes Rabbi Yehuda’s statement not just as
a description of rabbinic expertise but as a prescription:

Learn from this that when there is a scholar in the city, all affairs of the city are thrust
upon him.

A scholar, says Abaye, needs to know not just the law, but also the details of civil
administration. They should take responsibility for knowing where the graves are.

One could read this second principle as an indictment of an ivory tower mentality. For the
rabbis, scholars must not only understand abstract principles and be versed in thick tomes,
but must also know the intricate administrative details that shape their world. They need
to —literally — know where the bodies are buried.

Rabbi Johnny Solomon writes:9

Having been taught in the Mishna (Moed Katan 1:2) that ‫[‘ – ויוצאין אף על הכלאים‬agents of
the court] also go out [to inspect fields] for Kilayim (plant crossbreeding) [on Chol
HaMoed Pesach]’, our daf (Moed Katan 6a) raises the question as to why this is done for
the later crops (according to one opinion) crops, or for the vegetables (according to another
opinion) on Chol HaMoed which is a time when we generally refrain from such activities.
Surely such an inspection would be just as effective were it to be done just a few days
before Pesach?

The answer given by Rabbi Yaakov in the name of Rav Yochanan is that given the greater
availability of human resources on Chol HaMoed, the amount paid to these agents will be
less if they fulfil this task on Chol HaMoed, and since these agents are paid from funds
withdrawn from the Temple treasury, permission is granted for this task to be performed
on Chol HaMoed in order to minimize the expenditure of public funds.10

Today, only part of what is taught here occurs. True, many people who work for the
community are often not paid high salaries – although the difference with this case and
what we see today is that the task of inspecting fields for Kilayim is considered to be one
that could be performed by non-qualified individuals (‫)מעשה הדיוט‬, whereas today, even
highly qualified individuals (‫ )מעשה אומן‬are often unfortunately not paid the salaries they
deserve by the community.

At the same time, what is equally true is that numerous services and organizations which
are supported by public funds are not sufficiently careful in minimizing their expenditure

9
www.rabbijohnnysolomon.com
10
for further discussion about how this principle is concretized in practice, see the Biur Halacha to Orach Chaim 544 DH
Tzorchei Rabim

22
of those public funds – and many effectively waste funds by bad management, poor
decision-making, or their lack of effort to find the most financially effective solutions to
the problems they are trying to solve.

Ultimately, what we learn from our daf is that even the laws of Chol HaMoed can be
overridden to address at least some of the needs of the community and in order to reduce
the expenditure of public funds, and it is an overall lesson which we would do well to
consider still today.

23
Shmuel Ben-Tzion Kraines writes:11

11
https://www.songofexistence.org/assets/Sample%20Preview.pdf

24
25
26
 The snail sings how the merits of the wicked do not prevent Hashem from
removing their
harmful presence from society.

Shmuel Ben-Tzion Kraines writes:12

The snail is particularly sensitive to dehydration, and therefore prefers to seek

food at night and after cooling rain. It excretes moisturizing slime as it slithers,
and effectively melts in hot temperatures. It symbolizes wicked people who are
protected by the merit of the Torah they have learned, in the same way a snail’s
shell protects it and maintains its hydration.

Arrogantly, they move as slowly as

the snail but are just as vulnerable. The snail sings of King David’s unique
prayer regarding his enemies, who were Torah scholars, yet slandered and
hunted him without cause. He requested that they should forget their Torah and
melt like a dehydrated snail, and not merit to enjoy reward for their Torah in
the World to Come, “like a stillborn that does not see the light”
Torah without mitzvos is like power without function.

Hashem gave us the

Torah for us to perfect ourselves and the whole world around us. From the song
of the snail we learn to absorb our Torah into every fiber of our beings and merit
its all-encompassing blessings.

12
The Song of Existence. https://www.theperekofshira.com/snail.html

27
 Perek Shira -The Snail Sings (and hides)13
[continuing on in Perek Shira, we hear the snail sing a verse from Psalms (58:9) that talks
about how our exile will melt away…]

Perek Shira In English

Esther Abta writes:14

Introductory text of the Perek Shira Rabbi Eliezer said:

Anyone who involves himself with Perek Shirah in this world, merits saying it in the World-
to-Come, as it says, “Then Moshe will sing”; it does not say “sang,” but “will sing” in the
World-to-Come.

And Rebbi said: Anyone who involves himself with Perek Shirah in this world — I testify that
he is destined for the World-to-Come, and he is saved from the evil inclination, and from

13
https://jewishspectacles.wordpress.com/2017/01/22/perek-shira-the-snail-sings-and-hides/
14
https://www.emunabuilders.com/perekshira

28
harsh judgment, and from the destroying Satan, and from all types of enemies, and from the
birth pangs of Mashiaḥ, and from the judgment of Gehennom.

and he merits to learn and to teach, to observe and to fulfill and to perform [the Torah], and
his studies are established in him, and his days are lengthened, and he merits life in the
World-to-Come.

The Sages said concerning King David that when he completed the book of Psalms, he became
proud. He said before the blessed Holy One, “Is there any creature you have created in your
world that says more songs and praises than I?”

At that moment a frog happened across his path, and it said to him: “David! Do not become
proud, for I recite more songs and praises than you. Furthermore, every song I say contains
three thousand parables, as it says, ‘And he spoke three thousand parables, and his songs
were one thousand five hundred.'

And furthermore, I am busy with a great mitsvah, and this is the mitsvah with which I am
busy: there is a certain type of creature by the edge of the sea whose sustenance is entirely
from [creatures living in] the water, and when it is hungry, it takes me and eats me, such that
I fulfill that which it says, ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him water
to drink; for you shall heap coals of fire on his head, and YHVH shall reward you'; do not
read ‘shall reward you’ but instead ‘shall make him complete you.’”

To Bring More Light in Order to Extinguish Darkness Altogether

29
Kahane writes:15

In week forty-nine, as we approach the middle of the month of Elul, the snail in Perek
Shirah declares that the enemies of Hashem will melt and will be like a stillborn that does not see
the sun. (Psalm 58:9) The snail seems to be in a position that is even worse than that of the snake
and the scorpion; it is literally fading and melting away. This verse is also deeply connected to the
month of Elul when through our teshuvah we melt away our inner feelings of darkness and sadness
and connect directly to G-d’s light.

The song of the snail comes from a Psalm in which King David refers to the ability to reduce the
evil inclination to nothing, as he himself was able to accomplish. This statement is very appropriate
for this week, given that it is on day forty-nine (or week 49 in this case) that we complete the
Counting of the Omer. With the end of week forty-nine, we conclude the work of self-
improvement of the emotional sefirot for this year. After climbing step by step, week after week,
we hopefully significantly diminished the evil inclination within us.

The lesson from Pirkei Avot for this week is in the words of Shmuel HaKatan (“the Small”), who
teaches us not to rejoice when our enemy falls, lest G-d dislike it, and turn away His wrath from
him (onto us). (Chapter IV: 19; Proverbs 24:17-18) The teaching of Shmuel is connected to how
we ought to behave in the face of the fall of our greatest enemy - our evil inclination. Shmuel
HaKatan was so named because of his great humility. We must seek always to be humble,
especially in these days of Elul.

And completing the cycle, this week the sefirot combination results in Malchut shebeMalchut,
which represents completely majestic behavior still connected to this material world. Malchut is
also called the “poor” sefirah, in that it has nothing of its own – it simply reflects the emanations
of the other sefirot. In that sense, it is very humble, like Shmuel HaKatan.

The lesson for self-improvement derived from the snail is that we must bring the light of the Torah
to all those who are currently in spiritual darkness.

15
https://www.kabbalahoftime.com/2014/09/week-49-from-book-to-bring-more-light.html

30
 What my rat taught me about joy.

My Rat's Tale

Sara Yoheved Rigler writes:16

Early one morning, I entered my kitchen and found a persimmon and an apple partly gnawed. Bits
of persimmon skin were splattered on my kitchen counter. Horrified and disgusted, I shrieked for
my husband. He called the exterminator.

The exterminator verified that it was a rat, not a mouse. He set three rat traps with chocolate,
commenting that rats love chocolate. (A chocoholic myself, I pretended not to hear that I have any
affinity with repulsive rodents.)

Although I'm always the first one up and the first one to enter the kitchen, the next morning I
cowered in our bedroom until my husband went to dispose of the dead rat without my having to
see it. Call me a sexist, but it's manifest to me that removing dead rats is a man's job, and all the
women I know, even staunch feminists, agree.

Finally, my half-asleep, pajama-clad husband dutifully made the rounds of the three traps and
reported to me: No rat.

However, another persimmon had been gnawed. And under the dairy sink, I found droppings. The
rat had entered the under-sink cabinet from below, through the open space around the drainpipe,
and had been feasting on our garbage. I shivered and called the exterminator again.

16
https://www.aish.com/sp/so/48909007.html

31
He moved two of the traps into the cabinet, right next to the drainpipe. The third he left under the
refrigerator.

"No rat is that smart."

The next morning, as I tried to recite my morning prayers in my room, with my mind on the
squished rat under my kitchen sink, my husband again checked and reported: No rat.

"Let's give it another night," my husband suggested. "No rat is that smart."

The next morning, the kitchen was flooded with an inch of water. The rat, apparently thirsty, had
gnawed a hole in the plastic tubing to our water filter. The hole was barely two feet away from the
shunned trap under the refrigerator.

I called the exterminator again. He was baffled. He had been catching rats for 27 years with those
very same chocolate-baited traps. No rat had ever before eluded him.

This time he came with a pump sprayer filled with rat repellent. We knew the rat was living under
the cabinet, in the three-inch space between the cabinet and the floor. First the exterminator put a
trap right in front of the hole near the wall that the rat had been using to enter that space. Then he
started spraying under the sink, right into the circle around the drainpipe. We waited for the rat to
escape out his hole right into the waiting trap.

We waited. And waited. No rat.

Eventually, the exterminator said he had other work to do, and excused himself. My husband went
to his Talmud class. I went to my computer, two rooms away, and tried to work. Two hours later,
I heard a trap spring.

"Finally," I thought. I waited, cringing by my computer, for my husband to come home and remove
the dead rat. When he entered the kitchen, he reported: The trap beside the hole had indeed sprung,
but there was no trace of a rat. Somehow the rat had managed to move the trap, thus setting it off,
and had scampered to freedom -- somewhere else in the house.

For the next two days, there was no sign of the rat. While our nighttime ritual now included locking
our fruit bowl in the oven and the ripening tomatoes in the microwave, I decided to leave one
persimmon on the kitchen floor, to determine whether the rat was still with us.

The next morning, I found the persimmon, gnawed, on the floor on the far side of the meat counter.
At my wits' end, I called the exterminator for the fourth time -- a record in his long career of
eliminating vermin. While we were loath to cause suffering to any of God's creatures -- even a rat
-- and had preferred the traps because they killed quickly, now in desperation I told the
exterminator to bring poison.

He came armed with two glue traps and three kinds of poison. He found a large hole a few inches
away from the gnawed, schlepped persimmon. Clearly, the rat had found a new home beneath the

32
meat counter. It had only one exit. The exterminator put two packets of poison that take three days
to work inside the hole. Then he set the two glue traps outside the hole, so that it would be
impossible to exit the hole without getting caught. Then he put fast-acting poison powder on the
gnawed persimmon, and placed it on the first glue trap, so that the rat, instead of dying a slow and
gruesome death from the glue trap, would eat the poisoned persimmon and die quickly. Just for
good measure, in case the rat was hiding elsewhere, he put another poisoned persimmon on the
other side of the glue traps. It was a comprehensive, foolproof system.

It didn't work. The next morning my husband reported: No rat, and the persimmons had not been
touched.

Incredulous, we stood there staring at our infallible, failed system. Clearly, something uncanny
was happening here. Since God runs the world, and all normal means to eliminate this rat had
failed, perhaps God was trying to tell us something. But what?

I went to ask Rabbi Mordechai Sheinberger, a Kabbalist who lives in our neighborhood. Looking
straight at me, he declared: "You need a tikkun [spiritual rectification]."

"Me?" I asked, chastened. "What tikkun do I need?"

"What does the rat say in Perek Shira?" Rabbi Sheinberger queried. Perek Shira is an ancient
poem, attributed to King David, in which every creature and natural phenomenon, from the sky to
the desert, from rivers to lightening, from snails to whales, praises God with a particular Biblical
verse which hints at the essence of that creation.

A friend closely following my rat saga had called me that morning with the startling news: In Perek
Shira, the rat proclaims, "Kol haneshama tihallel Yah, Halleluyah! -- The entire soul praises God.
Hallelujah!" This is the final, and perhaps most exalted, verse in the Book of Psalms. And it is
ascribed to the rat!

"Your tikkun is to stop complaining."

I dutifully answered Rabbi Sheinberger: "Kol haneshama tihallel Yah, Halleluyah!"

"The tikkun," he said with authority, "is to stop complaining."

I stared at him as if he had uncovered a secret vice hidden even from me. Complain? Me? I'm no
kvetch.

Rabbi Sheinberger continued. "The sages read the verse with slightly different vowels to mean that
with every breath you should praise God. Every one of us has received such a wealth of blessings
that we should be making a feast of gratitude to God every day. If we don't do that, at the very
least we should be praising God with every breath."

I went home, my mind spinning. If I want to get rid of the rat, I need to praise God with every
breath and stop complaining? Do I kvetch that much?

33
That night I removed both glue traps. I left one persimmon laced with the fast-acting poison. In
the morning, there was no sign of the rat, and the persimmon was untouched.

As usual, I walked my nine-year-old son partway to school. My son hates this 40-minute walk,
which his pediatrician recommends for a variety of reasons. As usual, he stalled, and resisted, and
walked at a snail's pace. When my husband returned from synagogue after his morning prayers, I
went to greet him with a report about my frustrating morning.

Somewhere between my bedroom and the front door, Rabbi Sheinberger's words flashed through
my mind. I realized: This is complaining! I turned my frown into a wide smile, and greeted my
husband with an enthusiastic, "Good morning! Isn't it a wonderful morning to be alive? Kol
haneshama tihallel Yah, Halleluyah!"

Five minutes later I found the rat, dead behind our refrigerator.

THE PERKS OF DEPRESSION

I did not realize how much I complained. I thought I was simply reporting: my frustrations with
the children, how difficult it was to find a parking space, how the new cordless telephone, one
week after the warranty expired, stopped working. My newly installed, post-rat complaint radar,
however, detected an incessant habit of framing experiences negatively.

I asked myself, why? Since how we perceive situations is a choice we make, why would anyone
choose misery?

On our Brandeis campus, if you weren't depressed, there was something wrong with you.

The answer is part ego, part culture. In television adventure shows, a character's
cleverness/resourcefulness/heroism stands out only in relation to the difficulty of the problem s/he
faces. The heroes of "Mission Impossible" were heroes only because their mission was almost
impossible.

My ego must have internalized this point early on: If I wanted to be regarded as
clever/resourceful/heroic, I was compelled to emphasize the difficulty of the situation facing me.
After all, how would my husband know what an expert mother I am if I didn't apprise him of the
childrearing calamities I had to deal with today? How would my friend know what a forbearing
and saintly person I am if I didn't tell her the challenges I face from my neighbor?

In addition, my cultural indoctrination insists that people who always smile are somehow shallow.
Don't they keep up with current events -- with current wars, famines, and epidemics? What could
they possibly be happy about?

As a college student in the sixties, studying melancholic poets from Baudelaire to T.S. Eliot, I
somehow assimilated the notion that people who are depressed are deep. In fact, on our Brandeis
campus, if you weren't depressed, there was something wrong with you.

34
JOY AND JUDAISM

Judaism has a diametrically opposite approach. Many think that the Jewish emphasis on joy dates
back to the 18th century advent of Hasidism. In fact, the Torah itself makes a startling
pronouncement. After prophesizing terrible punishments that the Jewish people will have to
endure, the Torah proclaims that all this will come upon us "because you did not serve God, your
Lord, with joy…" [Deut.28:47]

Why should the Torah consider the greatest detriment to divine service to be sadness rather than
sin?

If a Jew is connecting to God through the mitzvot, the result, by definition, will be joy.

The Jewish definition of joy is connection and union, specifically the connection and union of
opposites, such as male and female, heaven and earth, Divine and human [see Alei Shur p. 325).
If a Jew is connecting to God through the mitzvot, the result, by definition, will be joy. Conversely,
if there is no joy, there is no real connection.

Imagine that your beloved surprises you with a getaway to a paradisiacal place. Brightly colored
parrots are squawking in the palm trees. A crimson sun is setting into a crystal blue ocean. Your
beloved presents you with a bouquet of roses -- no, orchids! Then s/he places down before you a
basket filled with ripe fruit: pineapples, mangoes, papayas, figs. Sitting atop the fruit is a large box
of Belgium chocolates. (Don't forget, this is my fantasy!) Let's say that you sat there morosely
complaining because s/he didn't serve you steak. What does that indicate about the relationship?

But this is precisely the world God has conjured up for us! Sunsets and orchids and daisies and
mountains and butterflies and parrots and kittens and mangoes and strawberries and, yes, cocoa
beans! Every complaint about what we don't have is a slap in the Divine face, a failure of
perception more grievous than any failure of action. If we don't perceive, from moment to moment,
how much God loves us and how much He is giving us as an expression of that love, then we are
relinquishing the relationship with Him for which purpose, according to Judaism, He created the
world.

LEARNING TO PRAISE GOD

My post-rat life has a different hue; somber tones have given way to bright splashes of color. Now
when people ask me how I am, I reply, "Terrific!" and mean it, without worrying if they'll think
I'm shallow or vacuous. I'm not embarrassed to be happy.

Praising God with every breath is a prescription not only against rat infestation, but against every
sort of sadness. The process has four steps:

1. Look for the good in the thing or situation facing you. Set your mind to noticing the details.
2. Recognize that everything comes from God, who animates the entire creation -- every
muscle, neural impulse, and atom -- at every millisecond.

35
 3. Recognize that God has given this thing or situation specifically to you, because He loves
you --individually. Experience the connection.
4. Connection breeds joy. Feel it and thank God!

A contemporary sage recommends the following exercise: Before you eat some fruit, hold the fruit
in your hand and contemplate the process God animated in order for you to have that particular
fruit. For example, hold a tangerine in your hand, and reflect on how from a tiny tangerine seed, a
sapling grew. Over a span of years, God provided lots of sunshine and water so that the sapling
would grow into a tree.

Then, last spring, hundreds of flowers -- with an intoxicating fragrance -- bloomed on the tree.
Gradually the flowers fell away, and a tiny, green fruit emerged. Over a period of eight months,
the fruit grew larger and larger. Then it turned a bright orange color.

Then someone picked it, and packed it, and shipped it to the store where you bought it. And God
was behind this whole process, just to present you with this tangerine. Then say the blessing,
"Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the tree." Then,
with your eyes closed, bite into a section of tangerine. Relish its sweetness, its texture, its juiciness,
its vitamin C (coming just when you need it in winter), and the way each tiny module of juice is
individually packaged. Then relish God's love for you that is expressed in this gift.

After two weeks of practicing this exercise, I'm experiencing what the psalmist meant by, "Taste
and see how good God is." Every bunch of grapes has become like the fancy box of candy my
husband gives me on our anniversary -- a personal expression of tremendous love and caring. The
world's greatest joy -- the joy of being in a relationship with a loving God -- is never further away
than my fruit bowl.

THE PREPOSTEROUS QUESTION

Years ago, I took a small group of women to get blessings from the tzaddik Rabbi Emanuel
Cohen.* While the first woman met privately with the tzaddik, the rest of us sat in the living room
with his wife, Rebbetzin Devorah Cohen [See Holywoman] Rebbetzin Devorah was a Holocaust
survivor who, at the age of 20, had lost her entire family in Auschwitz. She never had any children,
had lived in abject poverty all her life, and was never without a smile.

The women must have looked glum, because Rebbetzin Devorah encouraged them saying, "Don't
worry. Each of you will receive the blessing you came for."

One woman, who was having marital problems, asked: "Yes, but how can we be happy while we're
waiting for the blessing to materialize?"

Rebbetzin Devorah looked shocked. "How can you be happy?" she asked incredulously. "How can
you not be happy? You have eyes and they see. You have ears and they hear. You have legs and
they take you where you want to go. How can you not be happy?"

36
It took 12 years for me to internalize Rebbetzin Devorah's recipe for happiness. Catching on to the
secret of happiness was even harder than catching a rat.

This is a mole (the broad-footed species), which Israeli’s think was what the
bible refers to as a khafarferet. That can't be, since moles don't exist in Israel

Khafarperet: The Word That Means Mole but Shouldn't

The sages didn't realize Israel has no moles. Hint as to what khafarperet might
mean: It probably isn't fruit-digger.

Elon Gilad writes:17

17
https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-word-of-the-day-khafarferet-1.5246485

37
The Hebrew word for the nearly blind mammal known as the mole is kha-fa-per-ET. It was
created from the root kh-f-r, which means to dig. Thus, the animal's name literally means digger.

The question now is, which animal.

As moles are not endemic to Israel, you wouldn’t expect to find it in scripture and you don’t –
well, sort of.

There is one passage in Isaiah: ‫״‬In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of
gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats.” (2:20)

So, what is that all about? Well, the Hebrew bible as we know it does not say khafarferet. It
says khofer perot – "digger of fruit," as in two words. But this doesn’t make much sense. What in
the name of sightless micro-mammals would a fruit-digger be?

All the ancient translations on the other hand treat khafarperet (or khofer perot...) as a single
word. The Greek for example went with asphalax, which is a mole.

Rather more recently, a text of Isaiah was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, which in fact had
the word khafarperet as a single word. But this doesn’t free us from the problem of what
a khafarperet was, since as we already said - the Holy Land has no moles.

This is the lovely Palestine mole rat. It may look rather mole-like and may
indeed have been what the ancients referred to as 'khafarferet'.

38
The great Jewish sage Rashi, evidently not knowing that moles don't exist in the Holy Land,
adhered to the ancient translations and identified the khafarperet as a mole. Thus, the word has
been used since the 11th century.

There may not be moles but there are spalax, which are blind rodents that live in holes, also
known as mole-rats. The zoologically challenged might be pardoned for thinking the delightful
rodents are moles, since they look like moles, dig like moles et cetera.

In modern parlance, when an Israeli sees a spalax (or more likely, a mound created by one), he'll
probably tell you it's a khafarferet, not realizing that he's dead wrong and the species is actually a
mole-rat, known locally as kholed. But that's okay since that is probably
what khafarperet originally meant anyway.

The 'Mole' in Antiquity

39
D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson writes:18

18
The Classical Review, Feb. - Mar. 1918, Vol. 32,

40
41
42
43
 Seismic Communication Signals in the Blind Mole Rat are
Processed by the Auditory System

Spalax ehrenbergiMiddle East blind mole rat

(Also: Palestine mole rat)19

Nicole Santarosa and Phill Moll write:20

Geographic Range
Spalax ehrenbergi is widely distributed in the eastern Mediterranean region, from northeastern
Libya through Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and southern Turkey. Within this region, these mole rats are
found in fragmented areas with appropriate soils for burrowing. (Hutchins, 2004; Schlitter, et al.,
2008)

19
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Spalax_ehrenbergi/
20
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Spalax_ehrenbergi/pictures/collections/contributors/Grzimek_mammals/Rats_Others/Nann
ospalax_ehrenbergi/

44
Habitat
Though Middle East blind mole rats are not found in desert areas, they seem to prefer habitats with
sandy and loamy soils. They are strictly fossorial and inhabit dry steppes, semi-desert, and agri-
cultural areas, especially cultivated fields. They spend the vast majority of their lives in their un-
derground burrows and tunnel systems. These are complex, with nesting chambers, storage areas,
tunnels used for foraging, and aboveground mounds with sleeping chambers. Burrows are dug
deeper in the hot months of the year. (Dewey, 2003; Hutchins, 2004; Schlitter, et al., 2008)

Physical Description
Middle East blind mole rat body length ranges from 150 to 270 mm and the pelage are bluish, dark
gray. They are characterized by their lack of an external tail, pinnae reduced to small ridges, and
subcutaneous eyes. Other fossorial morphological adaptations include robustly built and stream-
lined bodies with large heads, powerful limbs, and small claws. Males are larger than fe-
males. (Dewey, 2003; Hutchins, 2004; Schlitter, et al., 2008)

The dental formula for Spalax ehrenbergi is 1/1, 0/0, 0/0, 3/3 = 16. The two large incisors are
orthodont and are oriented in front of the lips so that the incisors can be used to dig even when the
mouth is closed. The cheek teeth are rooted and display enamel patterns that resemble the letters
"z" and "s." (Hutchins, 2004; Musser and Carleton, 2005)

Spalax ehrenbergi has a highly polymorphic karyotype with over 30 chromosomal forms. It has
been posited that some of these forms are likely to be distinct species. It has been suggested that
at least four distinct cryptic species (Spalax carmeli, Spalax galili, Spalax golani, and Spalax
judae) exist. (Musser and Carleton, 2005; Nevo and Shkolnik, 1974)

Reproduction
Females only mate with one male for each breeding season, but may mate with different males
throughout their lifetime, making them serially monogamous. Spalax ehrenbergi mating behavior
is categorized into three stages: agonistic, courtship, and copulation. Courtship takes place during
the winter season, which is the only time males and females will be found in overlapping territory.
This species is highly aggressive, with severe aggressive displays occurring within and between
the sexes. Due to their aggressive nature, courtship is a very long process involving the male and
female engaging in repeated mating displays until their aggressive behavior is attenuated. Seismic
signaling is used to initiate the first contact between the male and female's respective burrows.
This involves both males and females drumming their heads against the ceilings of their burrows
to create vibrations. The mating pair begins with face-to-face touching of their incisors which
proceeds to nibbling and courtship calls, which contributes to reducing the intensity of the aggres-
sive displays between the pair. After the courtship ritual the male will dig a “copulation hollow”
which is where the actual mating will take place. After the pair becomes habituated to the hollow
the female will initiate copulation by turning her back towards the male. Immediately after copu-
lation the male will fill in the “copulation hollow” and the pair will separate and return to solitary
lifestyles. (Dewey, 2003; Gazit and Terkel, 2000; Heth, et al., 1987; Nevo, 1969; Zuri and Terkel,
1998)

45
Middle East blind mole rats breed in the winter, from November to March. Females construct
elaborate breeding mounds and nesting chambers in preparation for breeding. Gestation lasts 34
days and the average litter size is 3 to 4 (range 1 to 5) pups. Young are born from January to April.
As the offspring develop, aggressive interactions between the pups increase to the point where
they are forced to disperse from each other. Once the pups begin dispersing, the mother recipro-
cates aggressive displays to aid in kin dispersal and ensure her young do not attempt to settle in
her territory. Young are independent at 4 to 6 weeks old. Time to first reproduction is not reported
but is likely to be within their first year of life. (Dewey, 2003; Gazit and Terkel, 2000; Heth, et al.,
1987; Nevo, 1969; Zuri and Terkel, 1998)

Females provide sole parental care. In a study done by Gazit and Terkel (2000), males exhibited
limited parental care and intermittently brought food to the female’s territory if the males had
acquired a large food surplus during the wet season. The young are born naked and helpless but
develop quickly, leaving the nest and becoming independent at 4 to 6 weeks old. (Dewey,
2003; Gazit and Terkel, 2000; Zuri and Terkel, 1998)

Lifespan/Longevity
Middle East blind mole rats live around 3 years in the wild but can live up to 15 years in captivity.
Maximum lifespan in the wild is given as 4.5 years. (Dewey, 2003; Heth, et al., 1988)

Behavior
Middle East blind mole rats are fossorial and highly aggressive. Generally single individuals oc-
cupy burrow systems and they are quite territorial. Middle East blind mole rats are active during
the day. Middle East blind mole rats dig complex underground burrows and establish complex
networks of tunnels in pursuit of food. (Heth, et al., 1988; Nevo, et al., 1975; Zuri and Terkel,
1998)

Home range size (burrow extent) is not reported in the literature.

Communication and Perception

Middle East blind mole rats are completely blind, their eyes being beneath a layer of skin. They
rely heavily on vocalizations, olfaction, and touch. Six distinct vocalizations are used: attack, cry-
ing, invitation, courting, release, and threat calls. Courtship calls consist of a low murmur that
reduces aggression between potential mates.

All Spalax ehrenbergi calls are at a low frequency and are specialized for low frequency hearing.
Head thumping against tunnel ceilings is also used in vibrational communication, which has shown
to be advantageous in long distance communication and is used to signal territoriality and initiate
mating rituals. Although the eyes of Spalax ehrenbergi are not used for visual purposes, they are
still photoreceptive. In a study done by Sanyal et al. (1990), it was shown that the eyes are used
for detecting photoperiodicity, which allows them to distinguish the various stages of the
day. (Gazit and Terkel, 2000; Heth, et al., 1987; Heth, et al., 1988; Nevo, 1969; Nevo, et al.,
1975; Sanyal, et al., 1990)

References

46
Avivi, A., M. Resnick, E. Nevo, A. Joel, A. Levy. 1999. Adaptive hypoxic tolerance in the subterranean mole rat Spalax ehrenbergi:
the role of vascular endothelial growth factor. Federation of European Biochemical Societies., 452: 133-140.
Dewey, T. 2003. Rats, Mice, and Relatives V: All other rats, mice, and relatives. Pp. 281-298 in M Hutchins, An Evans, J Jackson,
D Kleiman, J Murphy, D Thoney, eds. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, Vol. 16, 2nd ed Edition. Detroit: Gale.
Gazit, I., J. Terkel. 2000. Reproductive behavior of the blind mole-rat (Spalax ehrenbergi) in a seminatural burrow
system. Canadian Journal of Zoology, Volume 78, Issue 4: 570-578. Accessed March 28, 2009,
at http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?Ver=1&Exp=03-27-2014&FMT=7&DID=54325918&RQT=309&clientId=17822&cfc=1.
Heth, G., E. Frankenberg, E. Nevo. 1988. "Courtship" Call of Subterranean Mole Rats (Spalax ehrenbergi): Physical
Analysis. Journal of Mammology, Volume 69, Issue 1: 121-125. Accessed March 28, 2009 at http://www.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-
2372(1988)69:1%3C121:%27COSMR%3E2.0.CO;2-&cookieSet=1#&origin=sfx%3Asfx.
Heth, G., E. Frankenberg, A. Raz, E. Nevo. 1987. Vibrational communication in subterranean mole rats (Spalax
ehrenbergi). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Volume 21, Number 1: 31-33. Accessed March 28, 2009,
at http://www.springerlink.com/content/g66568ht846377wk/.
Hutchins, M. 2004. Rats, mice, and relatives V. Pp. 281-295 in D Kleiman, V Geist, M Mcdade, eds. Grizimek's Animal Life
Encyclopedia, Vol. 16, 2nd Edition. New York: Thomson and Gale.
Musser, G., M. Carleton. 2005. Mammal Species of the World. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Nevo, E., A. Shkolnik. 1974. Adaptive metabolic variation of chromosome forms in mole rats, Spalax. Cellular and Molecular Life
Sciences, 30/7: 724-726.
Nevo, E. 1969. Mole Rat Spalax ehrenbergi: Mating Behavior and Its Evolutionary Significance. Science, Volume 163, Issue 3866:
484-486. Accessed March 28, 2009, at http://www.jstor.org/sici?sici=0036-
8075(1969)163:3866%3C484:MRSEMB%3E2.0.CO;2-#&origin=sfx%3Asfx.
Nevo, E., G. Naftali, R. Guttman. 1975. Aggression Patterns and Speciation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of
the United States of America, Volume 72, Issue 8: 3250-3254. Accessed March 28, 2009,
at http://www.jstor.org/stable/info/64545?seq=1.
Sanyal, S., H. Jansen, W. de Grip, E. Nevo, W. Jong. 1990. The Eye of the Blind Mole Rat, Spalax ehrenbergi Rudiment with
Hidden Funtion? Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Vol. 31, No. 7: 1398-1404. Accessed April 09, 2009,
at http://www.iovs.org/cgi/reprint/31/7/1398.
Schlitter, D., G. Shenbrot, B. Kryštufek, M. Sozen. 2008. "Spalax ehrenbergi. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species" (On-line). Accessed March 30, 2009, at http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/14326.
Zuri, I., J. Terkel. 1998. Ontogeny of agonistic behaviour in dispersing blind mole rats (Spalax ehrenbergi). Aggressive behavior,
Volume 24, Issue 6: 455-470. Accessed March 28, 2009, at http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=2424378.

47
 'Blind' Mole Rats Can See, Study Confirms
Wynne Parry writes:21

Researchers in the Czech Republic found evidence that two species of mole rats use their poor
vision to detect breaches in their tunnels.

Mole rats spend nearly all their lives underground, but they are not blind as was long thought, and
are even color-sensitive, new research confirms.

Anatomical research has shown that the tiny eyes of these subterranean creatures are ill-suited for
their activities of navigating dark tunnels and making rare trips aboveground.
However, mole rats also plug their tunnels to keep out predators. According to a Czech study, two
species of African mole rats appeared to use their limited vision to do so.

Detecting light from holes in their tunnels enables mole rats to quickly plug the holes to keep out
predators like honey badgers and humans.
Video in 1 seconds

PLAY SOUND
"Mole rats are a traditional food in many African regions," study researcher Ondřej Kott, a doctoral
student at the University of South Bohemia, wrote in an e-mail.

In addition to detecting light, mole rats showed a limited sensitivity to colors during the
researchers' experiments. They responded to blue and green-yellow light, but not to red. It was
unclear whether they can distinguish between blue and green or green, yellow.

21
https://www.livescience.com/8468-blind-mole-rats-study-confirms.html

48
In the maze

To simulate a hole-plugging scenario, the researchers placed the silvery mole rat and the giant
mole rat into a maze of Plexiglas tunnels containing horticultural peat. Once they had the animals
inside, the researchers covered the maze but illuminated the end of one tunnel with a 40-watt
incandescent bulb. They then recorded whether the mole rats used the peat to block the light.

The giant mole rat tried to plug the hole in 80 percent of trials, and the silvery mole rat did so 85
percent of the time.

In a related test, mole rats were supplied with food and nesting material and given the choice
between two nesting boxes, one dark and the other illuminated by white or monochromatic light.
After 60 and 90 minutes, researchers checked the nesting boxes to see where the mole rats had
settled down.

Mole rats preferred the dark box, avoiding the boxes illuminated by white, blue, or green-yellow
light. However, they seemed to have no preference between a dark box and a box illuminated
by red light, suggesting the animals couldn't detect red.
Life underground
The first behavioral evidence that mole rats can distinguish between light and dark was reported
in 2006, according to Kott. With this latest study, the ability to discriminate between light and dark
is documented in five species of African mole rats. Separate research has characterized the eye
and neural anatomy in 11 of the 22 known species.

49
"Broadly speaking, all species are well-equipped for image-forming vision but severely
constrained in terms of visual acuity," Kott told LiveScience. In this family of rodents, "the brain
only resolves a coarsely 'pixelated' image of the outside world."

There is plenty of other evidence that these subterranean rodents have not adapted to use their eyes
in dark tunnels or aboveground. Most African mole rats have small lenses in their eyes that do not
effectively collect light, and they lack the adaptations seen in nocturnal mammals for low-light
vision. They also appear poorly equipped to orient themselves in the three-dimensional
environment they would encounter on the ground, according to Kott.
African mole rats are not alone among subterranean mammals in possessing limited vision. Light-
avoidance behavior has been documented in moles and in the misleadingly named blind mole rat.
(Blind mole rats are not members of the African mole rat family.)

BLIND AS A MOLE-RAT

Blind mole-rats are loaded with anticancer genes

Rodent's genome reveals secrets of surviving underground

The genome of the blind mole-rat helps explain why the animals lack eyes, live long lives and are
champion cancer fighters. The genome also reveals that the rodent is more closely related to
Chinese hamsters than to naked mole-rats, from which its lineage split from about 71 million years
ago.

50
Tina Hesman Saey writes:22

Blind mole-rats aren’t exactly lookers. But the long-lived subterranean rodents do have other
charms, including pronounced abilities to fight cancer (SN: 12/15/12, p. 12) and withstand low
levels of oxygen and high levels of carbon dioxide.

Now, an international group of researchers has compiled the animal’s genetic instruction book,
giving a glimpse into how the rodents perform these feats. The genome of the blind mole-
rat, Spalax galili contains more than 22,000 genes, the team reports June 3 in Nature
Communications. That’s about the same number of genes as humans have.

The eyeless rodent’s genome contains 259 defunct genes, including 22 involved in building the
eye, constructing other parts of the visual system or processing visual signals. But the animals have
doubled up on a cancer-fighting gene encoding the immune system chemical interferon-beta1 and
have more genes involved in regulating cell death and other tumor-killing mechanisms than their
close relatives’ rats and mice do. The team also found self-replicating pieces of DNA called SINEs
that help protect the animals from low-oxygen and high-carbon dioxide conditions.

The Middle East blind mole-rat or Palestine mole-rat, Nannospalax

ehrenbergi or Spalax ehrenbergi.

22
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/blind-mole-rats-are-loaded-anticancer-genes

51
Blind, bucktoothed mole-rats just might be archaeologists’ new best

friends
Israeli researchers propose a revolutionary new methodology in the field:
Analyzing the mounds of dirt created by the mightily ugly, burrowing
Nannospalax ehrenbergi

AMANDA BORSCHEL-DAN writes:23

Aerial view of Tel 'Eton with flat lower town where archaeologists
excavated based on molerat hill findings

You could call them the ultimate excavators: Bulldozing dirt that’s 10 times their body weight,
they can survive underground in thin oxygen, they work for literally peanuts, and, being
remarkably resistant to cancer, they don’t even take sick days.

23
https://www.timesofisrael.com/blind-bucktoothed-mole-rats-just-might-be-archaeologists-new-best-friends/

52
A team of Israeli archaeologists proposes that Middle East blind mole-rats, with their massive
numbers and burrowing skills, be systematically harnessed for cheap labor. And in fact, analysis
of their molehills just may constitute a revolution in archaeological best practices.

Instead of taking hours — or even days and weeks — to complete complicated and time-
consuming surveys in search of hidden ancient sites, the Bar-Ilan University researchers propose
systematically studying dirt from molehills, or other rodent dirt piles, to more efficiently and
cheaply ascertain loci of human activity from the past.

The researchers’ eureka moment was a long time coming. During the course of a decade-long
study of Tel ‘Eton, a fascinating archaeological site that was settled during the Early Bronze Age
in the southeastern part of Israel’s Judean Shephelah (lowlands), a little over 20 miles southeast of
Ashkelon, the archaeologists encountered countless ruddy molehills dotting the straw-covered hill.

As part of a larger study of how archaeological material — specifically potsherds — reached the
surface of the site from below, they hypothesized that some of the debris was left there by the
burrowing species Nannospalax ehrenbergi (indigenous to the Middle East, including Egypt,
Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, and Turkey).

While encircling the site to remeasure its size, Prof. Avraham Faust, the head of the Tel ‘Eton
Excavations, and Dr. Yair Sapir (then Faust’s doctoral student) noticed a large concentration of
pottery sherds in a few molehills to the northeast of the ancient mound. This puzzling cluster of
sherds was found in a part of the site that had been surveyed in the past, but no evidence of human
settlement had then been discovered there.

After briefly examining the area, the researchers wondered if the concentration of sherds in the
molehills hinted that there may have indeed been a substantial occupation in this low, flat area.
They devised a detailed study to test this theory, and later excavated the area based on findings
from the analyzed molehills.

“The bottom line was quite clear,” said Faust. “The mole-rats brought up material from below, and
hence, systematically examining molehills can be a good indication for human activity.”

53
Middle East blind mole-rat or Palestine mole-rat, Nannospalax ehrenbergi or
Spalax ehrenbergi.

It’s such a brilliantly simple idea that the archaeologists were positive it must have
already been scientifically tested.

“Initially, we found it hard to believe that nobody suggested it, so we did not dare
say that we are the first. We were quite sure that someone had already done it,” said
Faust.

In fact, when publishing their innovative idea, Faust and co-author Sapir cautiously
called their 2016 paper for the Advances in Archaeological Practice quarterly
“Utilizing Mole-Rat Activity for Archaeological Survey: A Case Study and a
Proposal.”

The word “proposal” in the subtitle indicated, said Faust, that the researchers thought
they were proposing something new, “but we were afraid to say so explicitly” for
fear it had already appeared in the field’s literature. Today, two years after its

54
publication, there is no indication that the idea had ever been systematically utilized
in the past.

“I daresay we are the first,” said Faust.

Bar-Ilan University Prof. Avraham Faust at his Tel ‘Eton archaeological

excavation in Israel’s Shphelah region

Granted, there have been researchers who had utilized data gathered from studying rodent activity,
said Faust.

“While some studies researched the activity of mole-rats systematically in the site they worked on,
this was never suggested as a survey method. They simply took advantage of the finds to know
more about their site,” said Faust.

What Faust and Sapir propose is another animal altogether.

55
“Identifying ancient sites is one of the main goals of the archaeological survey. Still, ‘pedestrian’
surveys [when a number of people walk across the landscape, looking for above-surface remains]
miss many sites,” he said.

“In the US and Europe, where the landscape is overgrown and visibility is limited, archaeologists
often use shovel tests [a systematically spaced series of circular or rectangular holes that are dug,
usually to a depth of about 20 centimeters, or 8 inches, in search of man-made debris] as a means
of identifying unknown sites,” said Faust.

All of this takes considerable time, manpower, and cost.

A systematic examination of rodents’ back-dirt mounds, including those of other species, such as
prairie dogs, armadillos, gophers, porcupines, and rabbits, “can be an effective method — faster,
cheaper, and more efficient than pedestrian surveys or shovel tests — of discovering unknown
sites even in regions with good visibility,” he said.

“In a sense, the rodents do much of our work,” said Faust.

There’s a whole world down there

56
 Yair Sapir, then a Bar-Ilan University PhD candidate, at Tel ‘Eton.

It was while completing a much more extensive study on site formation processes in Tel ‘Eton,
the subject of Sapir’s PhD dissertation, that the team looked into the effect of “bioturbation,”
animal’s disturbances and reworking of subterranean soil and objects. Specifically, they looked at
the movement of archaeological artifacts — mainly of potsherds.

What they discovered in analyzing the molehills was like hitting the jackpot.

In his doctoral dissertation, “Site Formation Processes at Tel ‘Eton and Its Surrounding,” Sapir
writes: “Many people treat archaeological sites as time capsules that were preserved unchanged
below the surface. This, however, is hardly ever true.”

57
Especially, one could add, at a site infested with mole-rats.

Covered with light gray fur and sporting a mouthful of protruding sharp teeth that cry out for
orthodontia, the aesthetically displeasing mole-rats are fossorial (or “digger”) animals whose lives
are led primarily underground. As indicated by their full name — the Middle East blind mole-rat
— these 100–200-gram creatures cannot see and have sunken vestigial eyes. Interestingly, they
also do not have real earlobes and their ears are found deep inside their heads in an adaptation
against dust.

Their raison d’etre is digging, and they are rather systematic about it.

“Aside from the burrows it also has a home that’s built in a fantastic architecture, especially those
of females that are about to give birth: There’s a children’s room and a bathroom and a pantry.
And this pantry isn’t just piles of this and that, it’s all neatly organized,” Prof. Aaron Avivi from
Haifa University’s Institute of Evolution told Haaretz in a 2013 article discussing the rats’ amazing
cancer-resistant properties.

“The children’s room is built of all kinds of twigs. The nursing female mole-rats make a pergola
roof and cover it with earth and put all kinds of grass in there,” he said.

The burrows, feeding tubes, and nests make for a lot of displaced earth, however — mounds that
weigh two to three kilos (4.4 to 6.6 lbs), according to Avivi. For an archaeologist, that’s a whole
lot of disruption — but also an opportunity.

“They are part of nature. Still, they are clearly causing much harm. There is no way to control or
limit the damage they are causing, but we suggest that besides the harm, there is also some good,
and that we could take advantage of this good,” said Faust.

58
 Typical molehill on Tel ‘Eton, with an archaeologist’s hammer to give size
perspective

According to Faust, “the original aim of studying mole-rats [was] to understand, how does material
from deep down reach the surface?”

Discerning the numerical density of the sherds in the molehills in the plain below the mound led
them to realize that systematically examining molehills may provide a tool to identify unknown
sites — not only at Tel ‘Eton.

To test if back-dirt analysis should be included in international archaeologists’ methodological

toolboxes, the researchers devised a controlled study, and compared the number of sherds in the
molehills in a number of different “units.” They chose sites on the mound itself, in the area they
suspected to be a lower city, as well as in a series of spots in nearby hills and valleys — places in
which no settlement was suspected.

59
 Dry sifting of molehill dirt on Tel ‘Eton.
The field research took place during the 2014 excavation season (supplemented in 2015), and the
team examined 229 molehills on the hill and its surroundings. In their paper, Faust and Sapir state
that “the molehills were selected during pedestrian survey in an attempt to arrive at a uniform
coverage of each examined unit.”

To maintain samples of approximately the same volume, they chose to only examine the back-dirt
hills from feeding tunnels, which generally go to about 40 centimeters deep, as opposed to the
deeper nesting back-dirt piles, which were of more varied sizes. All material was sifted through a
5-millimeter mesh and every sampled molehill location was recorded by GPS.

In the laboratory, the sherds that were larger than 5 millimeters (0.2 of an inch) were counted and
measured. Archaeologists are unable to date such sherds, said Faust, but their numeric density is
revealing. A large number of sherds can point to indications of human activity hidden
underground, a smaller number of points to the absence of such activity in the area.

They marveled at the efficacy of the system.

60
Lower city of Tel ‘Eton excavation, which was performed based on indications
found in sifting the molehill dirt.
“The finds were very instructive,” said Faust. “The number of sherds in most units outside the
mound – with one exception – was very low, but their number in the area suspected to be a lower
city was similar to that on the mound.”

Faust and his team therefore determined that the suspected settlement was worth further
investigation.

“Using this method, we discovered human occupation in the plain below the mound [outside the
tel, in an area not known to be settled],” said Faust. “Initially, we searched for more, aboveground
remains, but in addition we carried out a small dig to test it.”

In the summer of 2015, the team excavated a single 5 meter by 5-meter square in the area of the
conjectured city.

“The excavations revealed substantial cultural remains, including parts of a well-preserved

building, with a few phases (dated to the late Iron Age), along with diverse accumulations and
surfaces within the structure and without it,” they write in a postscript to the paper.

61
 Slags, glass-like stony waste matter separated from metals during refining of
ore, discovered from sifting in Tel ‘Eton’s Unit E, located northeast of the
mound

But the molehills produced additional finds: As the researchers analyzed the anomalous extra-
mound survey unit which had produced human cultural remains, they also discovered a
proliferation of “slags,” material that is a byproduct of smelting.

“Such slags were not found elsewhere, and this concentration is not likely to be a coincidence…
We tend to attribute these finds to a possible workshop,” they write in the paper.

Faust carefully emphasizes that even the lack of molehills, not only a paucity of sherds in the
mounds, could be important. No mole activity at all could, for example, indicate ancient
subterranean walls or structures that prevented burrowing.

62
At Tel ‘Eton, the lack of molehills in one area led the team to suspect that there is a siege ramp
there. This is a question now under study.

Immediate practical applications

For his part, Sapir has personally already informally tested the methodology elsewhere.

Monument at Westerbork transit camp in the Netherlands, from which Jews

were transported to Nazi camps in Germany during WWII

The summer after the team had completed its analysis of the molehills, Sapir and his mother, father,
and brother went on a family roots tour to Holland. While in the Westerbork concentration camp,
where a portion of their family had perished during the Holocaust, his mother lamented the lack
of remains from the camp’s original structures.

Sapir noted that at every spot in which there had been a prisoners’ shack, there was a low dirt
platform.

63
“My mother wanted to take a physical reminder from the site, like a stone, but like in the majority
of Holland, everything was covered in earth and grass, and there weren’t any stones on the
surface,” he said.

“Automatically, I recognized on one of the earth platforms a mound from a local burrower. I
rummaged around in it, and immediately found a number of little rocks and charcoal which had
apparently survived from the original shacks,” said Sapir.

In quickly retrieving debris from the site’s grim past, Sapir again proved the new archaeological
methodology has far-reaching — if perhaps unexpected — applications.

According to several websites, the brilliant John Quincy Adams was somehow
disconnected enough from reality to believe that the earth was hollow and
inhabited by mole people, and he wanted to spend taxpayer dollars to fund an
expedition to meet these mole people.

64
 John Quincy Adams and the Mole People Myth

Earth isn’t hollow, but this story is.

Howard Dorre writes:24

If it sounds ridiculous, that’s because it is. There is a very good reason this story does not appear
in any biography of John Quincy Adams, or in any book or article created by historians.

It’s simply not true.

But don’t take my word for it.

The Story’s Origins

Writer J. L. Bell in his Boston1775 blog dug into the origins of this tale, and I encourage everyone
to read his short 3-piece series on it starting with his article “I declare the earth is hollow and
habitable within.” A word of warning though: Bell’s blog is a captivating gateway to a rabbit hole
of early US history you may not easily escape from.

Bell explains how this story got started with a man named John Cleeves Symmes. Symmes
believed the earth was hollow and made quite a name for himself talking about it. John Quincy
Adams became associated with this theory because he once proposed an expedition to the Southern
oceans led by a former follower of Symmes, Jeremiah N. Reynolds – but only after Reynolds
abandoned the hollow earth idea.

Adams really was interested in exploring the South Pole, but he thought the hollow earth theory
was ridiculous. And there is absolutely no evidence that he ever believed in “mole people.” As
Bell notes, the phrase “mole people” didn’t even come into being until the 20th century.

24
https://www.ploddingthroughthepresidents.com/2020/08/john-quincy-adams-and-the-mole-people-myth.html

65
Illustration from “Symmes’s Theory of Concentric Spheres: Demonstrating
That the Earth is Hollow, Habitable Within, and Widely Open About the Poles,
Compiled by Americus Symmes, from the Writings of his Father, Capt. John
Cleves Symmes,” 1878

So where did the idea that John Quincy Adams supported this theory come from? The best
explanation for the confusion, according to Bell, is the fact that Adams called Symmes’ theory
“visionary” in his diary:

Today, saying something is “in truth so visionary” would mean it is brilliantly ahead of its time.
Back then, it meant being the product of a disturbed imagination, and there is ample evidence
backing up this usage of the word. For example, in his letter trashing John Adams ahead of the

66
Election of 1800, Alexander Hamilton said Adams was “infected with some visionary notions.” It
was most definitely not a compliment.

How It Spread

As I started researching the sixth president, I was disappointed to find that the most interesting
“fun facts” about him were fake, and even more disappointed at how ubiquitous those are on the
internet. That’s why my wife Jess and I covered this mole people myth in our podcast episode
“John Quincy Adams vs. The Internet.”

Despite our little podcast, the mole people story is still being spread online – just this week
by IFLScience, in fact. That’s why I decided to write this article, so people searching for the truth
would have a better chance of finding it. I hope to squash this mole people myth like I attempted
to squash the myths of John Quincy Adams’s pet alligator and his skinny dipping interview.
(Based on my unscientific data, Twitter mentions and new stories about those legends have
dropped considerably since my pieces came out.)

Stamping this story out requires digging into its spread. J. L. Bell traces the story back as far as a
2011 Cracked.com article called 6 Presidential Secrets Your History Teacher Didn’t
Mention which claims John Quincy Adams was “a little insane.” This story seems to be the earliest
connection between Adams and mole people, and it cites Adams’s memoirs as the source,
suggesting they were likely confused by the original definition of “visionary.”

To find out more, I reached out to Ethan Lou, the author of that 2011 Cracked piece on Twitter. I
asked him what he thought about his piece launching the story of JQA and the mole people, and
he said he couldn’t “speak to what the article in question did or did not launch,” but that he wrote
it when he was “just a little out of high school.”

Cracked later expanded this story into a video which doesn’t do Adams any favors. Here’s a
screenshot:

Does Andrew Jackson write for Cracked?

67
Then, in 2015, the usually-reputable io9 published a story called “Which President Greenlit A Trip
To The Center Of The Earth?” and their unsourced article became the source for Smithsonian
Magazine to repeat the myth without checking their facts in their “SmartNews” article “John
Quincy Adams Once Approved an Expedition to the Center of the Earth.” This is where the story
really took off.

There is a depressing irony in the Smithsonian Institution being the chief propagator of this
falsehood. The Smithsonian owes its very existence to John Quincy Adams. He fought in Congress
to ensure that wealthy English scientist James Smithson’s generous bequest to the United States
to create “an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge” was used for its intended
purposes. And now, it almost seems like they don’t care about their early champion’s legacy. (I’ve
reached out several times through various methods to see if their editors might consider updating
their article, and there has been no response. [See updates below])

Smithsonian’s Presidents Visual Encyclopedia doesn’t do Adams’s legacy much better. It lists a
quote for each president, and the one they list for John Quincy Adams is: “If your actions inspire
others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” The problem with
this oft-repeated quote is that Adams never said anything remotely like it; the statement has been
traced back not to a 19th century statesman but to the truly inspiring Dolly Parton.

I reached out on Twitter to let them know about this and to their credit they were very responsive,
assuring me that the next edition would be updated with an accurate quote. That edition will
presumably be printed whenever there is a new president. (In case you needed another reason to
vote.)

Why It Matters

I realize there are much more pressing issues in the world, but I can’t pretend this story doesn’t
matter to history. It has become an example of the flawed idea that people in the past were dumb
– even the supposedly smart elite people – and we’re all so much smarter now! Or worse, it has
been used as a sort of precedent of presidents believing in conspiracy theories.

68
It is irresponsible to cite a fake story about Adams to somehow equate his beliefs with the current
president’s support of an absurd conspiracy theory that the FBI considers a domestic terrorism
threat.

One person who agrees is the apparent originator of this myth, Ethan Lou. The Canadian journalist
who started his career with Cracked has a new book coming out, Field Notes from A Pandemic,
about visiting his dying grandfather in Beijing in January 2020 at the onset of a world-changing
outbreak. He says that in the book, “there is a part about how an online outlet misquoted Bill Gates
on vaccination status and chip implants, and the news spread like a prairie fire.” Relating that to
the way this mole people story is being spread, he said, “I can definitely see the issue if this is
being used to normalize QAnon.”

Adams was arguably the most intelligent man ever to be president. He was also, after his
presidency, a staunchly anti-slavery member of the House of Representatives. One Southern
colleague called him “the acutest, the astutest, the archest enemy of Southern slavery that ever
existed.” Instead of being derided for wacky ideas he never had, he should be held up as an example
of good trouble.

John Quincy Adams deserves better than poorly researched clickbait articles from institutions that
purport to share true stories about our history and our world.25

25
Update August 30, 2020: More details about the origin of this myth on Cracked.com were added.
Update November 3, 2020: Cracked.com has officially apologized for their role in spreading this myth after I reached out to
writer Ethan Lou! In his piece Cracked Apologizes to John Quincy Adams, Lou writes: “At the time, I used the term “mole
people” simply because it was funny. I didn’t know how poignant it was going to become. Now, nine years later in a world that
makes increasingly less sense — I really can’t say if Cracked is, in fact, the genesis of all that, but I can say this: John Quincy
Adams was not insane…”
Update June 4, 2021: Smithsonian’s newest edition of The Presidents Visual Encyclopedia has updated their misattributed John
Quincy Adams quote to an authentic one.
Update June 28, 2021: Smithsonian Magazine has updated and rewritten their 2015 article “John Quincy Adams Once
Approved an Expedition to the Center of the Earth.” It is now entitled “John Quincy Adams Was An Ardent Supporter of
Exploration” and begins with the editor’s note: “This article previously suggested that John Quincy Adams was a proponent of
the hollow earth theory who approved a proposed expedition to the planet’s center. In fact, Adams dismissed the theory and only
agreed to support the voyage after its organizer reframed its objectives.” The rewritten article also cites this blog and the work of
J. L. Bell.

69
 Magawa the hero rat retires from job detecting landmines26

Magawa is said to be "slowing down" in his old age

Magawa the rat, who was awarded a gold medal for his heroism, is retiring from his job
detecting landmines.

In a five-year career, the rodent sniffed out 71 landmines and dozens more unexploded items in
Cambodia.

But his handler Malen says the seven-year-old African giant pouched rat is "slowing down" as he
reaches old age, and she wants to "respect his needs".

There are thought to be up to six million landmines in the Southeast Asian country.
Magawa was trained by the Belgium-registered charity Apopo, which is based in Tanzania and
has been raising the animals - known as HeroRATs - to detect landmines since the 1990s. The
animals are certified after a year of training.

Last week, Apopo said a new batch of young rats had been assessed by the Cambodian Mine
Action Centre (CMAC) and passed "with flying colours".

26
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57345703

70
Malen, Magawa's handler, said she wanted to "respect his needs"

Magawa, the group said, would stay in post for a few more weeks to "mentor" the new recruits and
help them settle in.

"Magawa's performance has been unbeaten, and I have been proud to work side-by-side with him,"
Malen said.

"He is small, but he has helped save many lives allowing us to return much-needed safe land back
to our people as quickly and cost-effectively as possible."

Last September, Magawa was awarded the PDSA Gold Medal - sometimes described as the
George Cross for animals - for his "life-saving devotion to duty". He was the first rat to be given
the medal in the charity's 77-year history.

He weighs 1.2kg (2.6lb) and is 70cm (28in) long. While that is far larger than many other rat
species, Magawa is still small enough and light enough that he does not trigger mines if he walks
over them.

The rats are trained to detect a chemical compound within the explosives, meaning they ignore
scrap metal and can search for mines more quickly. Once they find an explosive, they scratch
the top to alert their human co-workers.
Magawa is capable of searching a field the size of a tennis court in just 20 minutes - something
Apopo says would take a person with a metal detector between one and four days.

71
 Magawa is shown here working to detect land mines,
a job the animal did for years27

Magawa, the landmine-sniffing hero rat, dies aged eight28

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072372461/a-heroic-bomb-sniffing-rat-credited-with-
saving-human-lives-has-died

Magawa, the famous mine-clearing rat who was awarded a gold medal for his heroism, has
died at the age of eight.

In a five-year career, the rodent sniffed out over 100 landmines and other explosives in
Cambodia.

Magawa was the most successful rat trained by the Belgian charity Apopo to alert human
handlers about the mines so they can be safely removed.

The charity said the African giant pouch rat "passed away peacefully" at the weekend.

27
https://www.npr.org/2022/01/11/1072153873/magawa-hero-rat-dies-bomb-sniffing
28
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-
59951255#:~:text=In%20a%20five%2Dyear%20career,they%20can%20be%20safely%20removed.

72
It said Magawa was in good health and "spent most of last week playing with his usual
enthusiasm". But by the weekend "he started to slow down, napping more and showing less
interest in food in his last days".

Bred in Tanzania, Magawa underwent a year of training before moving to Cambodia to begin his
bomb-sniffing career. There are thought to be up to six million landmines in the Southeast Asian
country.

Trained to detect a chemical compound within the explosives, Magawa cleared more than
141,000 square metres (1,517,711 sq ft) of land - the equivalent of 20 football pitches.

He weighed 1.2kg (2.6lb) and was 70cm (28in) long. While that is far larger than many other rat
species, Magawa was still small enough and light enough that he did not trigger mines if he
walked over them.

The rat retired last June, after "slowing down" as he reached old age.

"All of us at Apopo are feeling the loss of Magawa and we are grateful for the incredible work
he's done," the charity said in a statement.

His "amazing sense of smell" allowed "

Apopo has been raising its animals - known as HeroRATs - to detect landmines since the 1990s.

73