יום ד Date: 18 Elul, 5776 (9/21/16) – Bava Kama Daf 113 {Eliezer}

FORGETFUL FRIENDS

[113a top] Ravina: A court can only excommunicate a man for not appearing in court if they appointed his neighbors as agents to summon him to appear in court, if the man happens to come home on that same day. But if he only appeared after a few days, the neighbors would probably forget to act on their appointed agency in regards to fulfilling that duty to notify him.
R’ Rosner quoting R’ Shimon Shkop [Shaarei Yosher]: When Moshe smashed the first Luchos, Hashem was very proud of his decision. Moshe realized that the Jews could not have the first set (especially after sinning with the Golden Calf), since all things about it (including the materials, and the floating letters) were miraculous. From these Luchos, whenever someone learned something (even once) it would have never been forgotten. But without hard work, there is no level of commitment to it (and people can too easily fall back to sin). The second set which Moshe worked hard on, now ensured that not only would we continue to forget things if they were not reviewed (like Daily Doses of Daf Yomi Lessons), but we would need to work hard in the first place to achieve it. Now, forgetfulness was maintained as part of the human condition.

D-E-ep Thoughts: Forgetfulness is a Divine gift that allows us to move on in life after dealing with catastrophic events and the loss of close loved ones [as it helps to ease sharp pains into more dull aches]. But, it is also a reward to helps us to continually connect closer to that which we care to strive for. The more we study and learn something, the more we remember it and the more we appreciate, value, and live it. When we keep Hashem and His Torah on the forefront of our minds, we are able to live much more fulfilled and spiritually Holier lives.