On the surface, the commandment to not plow with an ox and a donkey together seems irrelevant to our lives. Many commentators, such as Ibn Ezra, explain the mitzvah in terms of cruelty to animals. A typical ox is three times heavier than a typical donkey, so yoking them together would cause severe discomfort to the donkey.
Though there are thousands of Jewish farmers, it is safe to assume that they plow their fields with machines rather than animals. So what can this mitzvah teach us today? I found a creative commentary in the work of Kalonymus Kaplan HaLevi Epstein (bio), a disciple of Hasidism who died in 1823:
YOU SHALL NOT PLOW WITH AN OX AND AN ASS TOGETHER: The meaning of this mitzvah suggests by way of allusion that there are people who worship the Holy One through the study of Torah and prayer but who do not want to serve God by breaking their physicality. This is not the right way. In order to worship God, a Jew must break his physicality and his חֲמוֹרִיוּת (ḥamoriyut, “donkeyness”).
R. Epstein is saying that each of us has within us an ox and a donkey. Our inner ox, a majestic animal, draws us toward God and our spiritual nature; our inner donkey drags us toward physicality. Our internal oxen and donkeys must not be yoked together because doing so severs our connection with the Holy One.
What does this mean practically speaking? It means that when one is engaged in the study of Torah or leading prayer services, it should never be for the sake of competition or showing off one’s abilities. The life of the Jew calls for the quiet, humble power of the ox and not the donkey’s stubborn braying.
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