Economic Advice in the Talmud - It's not all about the next big idea (Menachot 85a)

In the daf from a few days back the Talmud quotes a disagreement between Moses and two Egyptian sorcerers (Yochana and Mamrei). According to Rashi after the first plague (turning water to blood), these sorcerers mocked Moses, saying "Straw you are bringing to Aforayim!" Rashi explains that Aforayim was a market that was known for selling straw. According to these sorcerers, Moses's "magic" in Egypt was nothing special. Since they were known also for doing tricks and feats, it was repetitive and futile for Moses to try anything supernatural. In essence they mock him saying "It's been done!" For them, doing magic in Egypt was like bringing straw to a market already saturated with the product.

However, Moses doesn't give up. He has an answer, "People say: To a place of vegetables, take your vegetables." For Moses, it's smart business to take vegetables to a market that already sells them. That's because there is already demand for them and because people can compare prices and quality. If your produce is good quality, it can only help you to enter the market. Being the first person in the community to sell tomatoes when no one is accustomed to buying them isn't always good business. Yes, you will corner the market, but people may pass by your product because they are not used to buying it or have never tasted it.

This text is interesting for two reasons. The first is this, that this is one of the many aphorisms found in the Talmud that teaches us the rabbis understanding of economic forces. However, perhaps more important, Moses's response is interesting because of what it says about influencing people.

If you do extraordinary work (like turn water into blood) you hope to get recognized. However, if no one knows to look out for your work, people will miss it - I'm not sure one would miss blood rivers but I hope you get the point. Great ideas are only great if people hear them. Perhaps, it's not about being the first person to do something. Rather it's entering a market that already expects a certain kind of innovation and doing it better (and slightly different) than anyone else. Perhaps that's what make the plague so great. Everyone does magic but not everyone can turn rivers to blood.

This second reading of Moses's statement is important for many reasons, not the least of which is it sums up my view on synagogues. It seems today that people are looking for the next big idea to shape Jewish life. Some of these ideas may be great but they lack something. There is no platform for them. Innovation in Jewish life must happen, but in the marketplace of Jewish ideas, fixing and engaging with an established product, temple life, is the smarter way to make change and impact people. We can support Israel, encourage Jewish practice, fix Jewish literacy rates, and support our needy anywhere. But there is no place that we can do it better than through our institutions.

There are those who always want the next big Jewish idea. There are others who want to enter the race in the middle and build off what others have done. Today, our Talmud gives a vote for the latter.