You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed.
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.
These three laws appear together twice in the Torah, once in Deuteronomy 22:9-11 and once in Leviticus 19:19. We encounter a law about plants, a law about animals, and a law about wearing an animal-derived material mixed with a plant-derived material.
What is this about?
It’s about unnatural pairing. As we will see, unnatural pairing is any pairing that interferes with growth, strains or aggravates team members, or damages the unity of the whole. Check it out:
You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed. Rabbi Hirsch explains that it is permitted to sow different seed varieties next to one another as long as they are properly separated. He writes, “For example: one keeps them far enough away from each other, so that, underground, they draw sustenance separately and not one from the other” (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Hirsch Chumash, Vayikra, pg. 632). Without proper separation, diverse seeds sharing the same soil can interfere with each other. For instance, if oats and wheat are sown together, the latter is injured and the former ruined (Source).
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. As Rabbi Telushkin explains, “Being of unequal size and strength, both animals (particularly the weaker one) will suffer: the donkey will experience strain and the ox frustration” (Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, Code of Jewish Ethics Vol. 2, pg. 301). Note: the practice of yoking a younger, less experienced ox with a stronger, more experienced ox is commonplace, seeing as how the younger ox will take its cues from the older ox and its strength will develop in time. This law isn’t about pairing two similar animals of unequal strength and experience. This law is about yoking two animals together that are hopelessly incompatible.
You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together. After some digging, here’s what I found: When washed, wool and linen react differently. Wool is vulnerable to “felting shrinkage.” This occurs because animal hair fibers (like wool) have scales along the surface. When exposed to moisture and heat, the scales on the wool swell, rub against each other and bind together, thereby creating a denser, shrunken fabric (Source). Linen, on the other hand, is not vulnerable to felting shrinkage. Linen will shrink a small amount, but not as much as wool. When mixed together, the net result is that the two fabrics will tear at each other over time, and the garment they make will be weakened.
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. As Rabbi Telushkin explains, “Being of unequal size and strength, both animals (particularly the weaker one) will suffer: the donkey will experience strain and the ox frustration” (Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, Code of Jewish Ethics Vol. 2, pg. 301). Note: the practice of yoking a younger, less experienced ox with a stronger, more experienced ox is commonplace, seeing as how the younger ox will take its cues from the older ox and its strength will develop in time. This law isn’t about pairing two similar animals of unequal strength and experience. This law is about yoking two animals together that are hopelessly incompatible.
You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together. After some digging, here’s what I found: When washed, wool and linen react differently. Wool is vulnerable to “felting shrinkage.” This occurs because animal hair fibers (like wool) have scales along the surface. When exposed to moisture and heat, the scales on the wool swell, rub against each other and bind together, thereby creating a denser, shrunken fabric (Source). Linen, on the other hand, is not vulnerable to felting shrinkage. Linen will shrink a small amount, but not as much as wool. When mixed together, the net result is that the two fabrics will tear at each other over time, and the garment they make will be weakened.
Speaking practically, I see these laws playing out where I work. My position serves a large department in the company, with eight separate teams in my division. On each team there are 7-10 people. I’ve observed how much deliberation managers put into their hiring decisions. Is this person right for my team? This is a central question they ask themselves. To make a wise selection on their part is to adhere to the wisdom contained in these three laws. Even more, they must exercise this wisdom when creating the seating arrangement. Since the desks are arranged in a way that two people sit next to each other all day long, an unnatural pairing of two people can be problematic. Personalities may clash, styles may interfere, productivity can be hindered. I have witnessed an unnatural pairing ignite drama within the team, which then weakens the unity of the group.
To summarize, what is an unnatural pairing? Any relationship that causes interference to growth, aggravation among members, or weakens the unity of the whole. You can see their through-line, and I believe this is why they are grouped together not once but twice in the Torah.
I am not arguing against their literal application. In this post, my goal is to highlight the spiritual wisdom that they contain, wisdom that has so many applications. When Paul writes, “All Scripture is . . . good for our instruction in righteousness,” all would include these three laws, and hopefully this post illustrates how they might inform our righteousness as we go about making decisions, some as mundane as creating a seating chart.