Rabbi's Blog

Ever hear of Cerumen Impaction? Well, you may not have heard of it even if you have it, because it affects your hearing! This impaction takes place in the ear canal which produces a waxy oil called cerumen, more commonly known as earwax. . When you clean your ears, you can accidentally push the wax deeper, causing a blockage. Wax buildup is a common reason for temporary hearing loss.

Earwax is a yellowish, waxy material that is produced by the sebaceous gland in the ear canal inside the ear. It lubricates, cleans, and protects the lining of the ear canal by repelling water, trapping dirt, and making sure insects, fungi, and bacteria do not get through and harm the eardrum. Earwax consists mainly of shed layers of skin. It’s slightly acidic and has antibacterial properties. Without earwax, the ear canal would become extremely dry, waterlogged, and infected.

As with most things in life, too little or even too much of a good thing can be harmful. I am the one who falls into the category of having too much or too little of something good, in this case it’s too much. An excessive accumulation of earwax, especially when it is impacted, can lead to a blocked ear. I’ve had this condition before and, so I knew immediately when it occurred. I rubbed my ear and before I knew it I felt this subtle change very much like being underwater or inside an airplane. A blocked ear can be painful and can affect hearing. In my case it didn’t hurt, but I had difficulty in hearing. When earwax build-up hardens and blocks the ear canal, it forms a plug, or blockage. An ear that is blocked due to earwax may lead to a host of other issues and conditions (See Below). My discomfort came into play by fidgeting with my ear lobe trying to dislodge the wax. I didn’t want to tell people about it, therefore when I was speaking to someone (particularly during Kiddush) I turned slightly sideways so that my healthy ear was angled directly in front of the speaker. I can only imagine the life of people who have permanent hearing loss and the challenges they must go through.

Through this short ordeal I came to appreciate the difference between two seemingly similar but in actuality, very different words: hearing and listening. Those who have no hearing impairment can sometimes get by just by hearing without actually listening. A person who has to cope with any level of hearing impairment, on the other hand, must listen, focus, intensely, must concentrate fully in order to process what he is struggling to hear. Parenthetically, this idea may be applied to many areas of life. When we ae healthy we can get by without putting in one hundred percent effort, but if we are handicapped in any capacity, much effort needs to be spent to make up for that which we are missing. This notion is clearly evident throughout the Torah, but acutely so in this week’s reading.

In this week’s parsha Chayei Sorah, from 23:6 through 23:16 the words “to hear” or “to listen” are said no less than six times. The word ‘Shma’ is loosely translated as ‘hear,’ as in Shma Yirael - Hear O’ Israel. In this section the word ‘Sh’mauni’, translated as ‘listen,’ is used over and over again by Avraham when speaking to the children of Ches. In Bereishis 23:8 the Torah states: “Vayedaber Itam Laymor, Im Yeish Es Nafshechem Likbor Es Meisi Milfanai, Sh’mauni, Ufigu Li B’Ephron Ben Tzchar”: He (Avraham) spoke to them (Children of Cheis) and said, ‘If you really want to help me bury my dead and [put her out of] my presence, listen to me, and speak up for me, to Ephron, the son of Tzohar”. Avraham is not telling them ‘hear’ what he has to say but rather ‘listen’ to what I have to say. The connotation of the word hear conveys the message that the person being spoken to is only interested in the speaker in order to politely ‘hear’ him out. ”Hearing” another person’s spoken words requires no processing, no genuine input or output. The act of hearing only requires recognition of words at face value. On the other hand, the word ‘listen’ connotes not only hearing but processing, synthesizing the statement as well. Merely hearing someone speak does not have anything to do with understanding; “listening” is active, demanding that the listener pay attention to what is being said. And it leads directly to valuing the active follow-through of the listener to process the speaker’s words. This interpretation is brought out by Rav Yakov Tzvi Mecklenburg in his sefer HaKesav V’Hakabbalah. He uses the Targum Onkelos to understand and appreciate what the word listen means. Targum translates the word ‘Sh’mauni’ as Kabilu Mini - accept it from me. Avraham tells the people to” accept the story from me, believe me”, to “stick up for me against Ephron”. Avraham is asking the people to listen to him and to follow him so that he, Avraham, will acquire the Meoras HaMachpeilah, enabling him to bury Sorah. There is an extra word -‘Loo’ - used as a plea from Avraham, asking a favor from the people to listen to him, to believe him!

The word Shma - to hear- is passive; the word Sh’Mauni – listen - is active. How often it is after a parent speaks to a child, or a teacher to a student or the Rabbi to a congregant that the recipient responds to the speaker ‘I heard you already’ but then the speaker repeats it and says, “You may have heard it, but you are not listening to me.” There ae many things we hear in life, but they don’t penetrate, and we don’t end up listening to important, vital information. When the ear is clogged we hear stuff, but it takes greater effort to listen to the physical sound. We need to clean out our ears, remove the blockage so that when we hear the message we will understand it and listen closely, clearly to what it is saying to us.

Ah Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky

*Earache, Ear infection, Itchiness, Ringing in the ears, known as tinnitus,

A feeling of fullness in the ear

Vertigo, which is a sensation of loss of balance

Cough, due to nerve stimulation from the inside of the ear when pressure in the area is increased.

Most hearing-aid faults are believed to be caused by an excessive buildup of earwax.