Pirke Avot: The Sayings Of The Jewish Fathers Part 11

(39) One who neither gives nor takes. One who does no labor of love. Cf. Ezek. XVI, 49.

(40) He does not know the sacredness of the rights of property.

(41) He does not want his neighbors to be blessed because of their liberality.

(42) The duties of which he has learned.

(43) The commands of the _Torah_.

(44) The true and the untrue.

19. Whenever love depends upon some material cause, with the pa.s.sing away of that cause, the love, too, pa.s.ses away (45); but if it be not depending upon such a cause, it will not pa.s.s away for ever. Which love was that which depended upon a material cause? Such was the love of Ammon and Tamar (46). And that which depended upon no such cause?

Such was the love of David and Jonathan (47).

(45) Lasting love is disinterested love.

(46) See II Sam. XII.

(47) See I Sam. XVIII, 1.

20. Every controversy that is in the Name of Heaven (48) shall in the end lead to a permanent result, but every controversy that is not in the Name of Heaven shall not lead to a permanent result. Which controversy was that which was in the Name of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Hillel and Shammai (49). And that which was not in the Name of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Korah and all his company (50).

(48) _I.e._, a controversy to arrive at the truth.

(49) See chapter I, n. 29.

(50) See Num. XV, 1 _et seq._

21. Whosoever causes the mult.i.tude to be righteous, over him sin prevails not; but he who causes the mult.i.tude to sin shall not have the means to repent (51). Moses was righteous and made the mult.i.tude righteous; the righteousness of the mult.i.tude was laid upon him, as it is said, "He executed the justice of the Lord and his judgments with Israel" (52). Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, sinned and caused the mult.i.tude to sin; the sin of the mult.i.tude was laid upon him, as it is said, "For the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned and which he made Israel to sin" (53).

(51) He who leads the people astray is punished by being prevented from repenting. This does not mean, however, that man, in general, does not act in accordance with his own free will. Maimonides, in discussing this problem, says, in the eighth chapter of the _Shemonah Perakim_, "Just as some of man's undertakings, which are ordinarily subject to his own free will, are frustrated by way of punishment, as, for instance, a man's hand being prevented from working so that he can do nothing with it, as was the case of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, or a man's eyes from seeing, as happened to the Sodomites, who had a.s.sembled about Lot, likewise how does G.o.d withhold man's ability to use his own free will in regard to repentance, so that it never occurs to him to repent, and he thus finally perishes in his own wickedness." See ed.

Gorfinkle, p. 94 _et seq._

(52) Deut. x.x.xIII, 21.

(53) I Kings XV, 30. Cf. _Sanhedrin_ X, 2: "Three kings have no portion in the world to come . . . Jeroboam, Ahab, and Mana.s.seh."

22. Whosoever has these three attributes is of the disciples of Abraham, our father, but whosoever has three other attributes is of the disciples of Balaam, the wicked (54). A good eye (55), a humble mind, and a lowly spirit (are the tokens) of the disciples of Abraham, our father; an evil eye, a haughty mind, and a proud spirit (are the signs) of the disciples of Balaam, the wicked. What is the difference between the disciples of Abraham, our father, and those of Balaam, the wicked? The disciples of Abraham, our father, enjoy this world and inherit the world to come, as it is said, "That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance, and may fill all their treasuries" (56); but the disciples of Balaam, the wicked, inherit _Gehinnom_ (57), and descend into the pit of destruction, as it is said, "But thou, O G.o.d, wilt bring them down into the pit of destruction; bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee" (58).

(54) See Num. XXII-XXIV.

(55) See chapter II, note 30.

(56) Prov. VIII, 21: "Substance," _i.e._, in the future world; "treasures," _i.e._, in this world.

(57) See chapter I, n. 18.

(58) Ps. LIV, 24.

23. Judah, the son of Tema, said, "Be bold as a leopard, swift as an eagle, fleet as a hart, and strong as a lion, to do the will of thy Father who is in Heaven" (59). 24. He used to say (60), "At five years (the age is reached for the study of the) Scripture, at ten for (the study of) the _Mishnah_ (61), at thirteen for (the fulfilment of) the commandments (62), at fifteen for (the study of) the _Talmud_ (63), at eighteen for marriage, at twenty for seeking (a livelihood) (64), at thirty for (entering into one's full) strength, at forty for understanding, at fifty for counsel, at sixty (a man attains) old age, at seventy the h.o.a.ry head, at eighty (the gift of special) strength (65), at ninety, (he bends beneath) the weight of years, at a hundred he is as if he were already dead and had pa.s.sed away from the world."

(59) Cf. "Our Father which is in Heaven" of the "Lord's Prayer" (Matt. VI, 9). The conception of G.o.d as a "Father"

goes back to earliest times. See Gen. XLIX, 19, 20; Ex. IV, 22; Deut. x.x.xII, 6; II Sam. V, 44; Ps. Lx.x.xIX, 27, 28; Isa.

LXIII, 16, LXIV, 8, and Mal. II, 10. Deut. x.x.xII, 6, reads, "Is He not thy Father?" and Isa. LXIII, 18, "Doubtless Thou art our Father." In the _Mishnah_ we find, "Who purifies you?

Your Father which is in Heaven" (_Yoma_ VII, 8); "On whom have we to lean? On our Father which is in Heaven" (_Sotah_, IX, 15), and similar pa.s.sages. The Rabbis constantly referred to G.o.d as "Father" (see Schechter, _Aspects_, pp. 46, 49, 50-51). They took issue, of course, with the New Testament conception of G.o.d, in not admitting and in denouncing the idea of a mediator. To them all mankind were the sons of G.o.d.

That the Rabbis borrowed this G.o.d-idea and the expression "Our Father which is in Heaven" from Christianity is untenable, for, as Herford (_Pharisaism_, 120 _et seq._) points out, such borrowing would have been abhorrent to them. This expression was undoubtedly current long before and during the time of Jesus, and it represented a conception of the divine acceptable to both the Rabbis and Jesus. The Rabbis had no quarrel with Christianity on this score, but did not admit the "sonship" of G.o.d in the Christian sense. The expressions "Our Father" and "Our Father which is in Heaven" are found frequently in the Jewish Prayer-book. On this subject, consult Taylor, _Sayings_, pp. 124, 176, and G. Friedlander, _The Jewish Sources of the Sermon on the Mount_, chapter X.

For a comparison of other parts of _Abot_ with the New Testament see Feibig, _Pirque 'aboth_, especially the _Nachwort_, pp. 42-43, and G. Friedlander, _ibid._, _pa.s.sim_.

It seems that originally _Abot_ ended here, as in the _Machzor Vitry_. The verses which follow were added from other sources. See Bacher, _Agada der Tanaiten_, I, 378; Taylor, _ibid._, p. 95, n. 46, p. 96, n. 47; Hoffmann, _Die erste Mischna_, p. 30; _idem_, _Abot_, p. 358, notes 106 and 108; and Strack, _Spruche_, p. 46, notes _t_ and _u_.

(60) Taylor makes this verse an _addendum_ to chapter V, and calls it "The Ages of Man." Cf. Shakespeare's "Seven Ages of Man." See in the _Jewish Encyclopedia_, art. _Ages of Man in Jewish Literature_, _The Seven_, and Schechter, _Studies_, I, pp. 299-300.

(61) The _Mishnah_ is the oral or unwritten law based on the written law contained in the Pentateuch (see chapter I, n. 1).

The _Mishnah_, _par excellence_, is the codification made by Judah ha-Nasi (see chapter II, n. 1). It is divided into six orders or sections known as _sedarim_. They are (1) _Zeraim_, "seeds," which contains the laws regarding the cultivation of the land and its products, introduced by a treatise concerning prayer and benedictions (_Berachot_); (2) _Mode_, "festivals,"

treating of the laws of the Sabbath and the festivals; (3) _Nashim_, "women," regulations concerning marriage and divorce; (4) _Nezikin_, "injuries" or "damages," civil and criminal law; (5) _Kodashim_, "holy things," the laws of sacrifice and of the service of the Temple; and (6) _Tohorot_, "purifications," dealing with the clean and the unclean. Each order is subdivided into treatises (_ma.s.sektot_), there being in all 63 such subdivisions. The _Mishnah_ is known as the _shas_ ([shin''samech]), which word is formed from the first letters of the words _shishah sedarim_ (six orders). The _Talmud_ is also similarly termed. For a discussion of the name, origin, contents, compilation, etc., of the _Mishnah_, see Mielziner, _Introduction to the Talmud_, p. 4 _et seq._; art. _Mishnah_, in the _Jewish Encyclopedia_ and the authorities cited there; Strack, _Einleitung_, p. 2, 15 _et seq._, 22 _et seq._, and Geiger, _Judaism and its History_, p.

239 _et seq._

(62) At thirteen, the Jewish boy becomes _bar mitzwah_, _i.e._, "a son of commandment." The rites and ceremonies connected with the _bar mitzwah_ of to-day cannot "be clearly traced earlier than the fourteenth century" (Abrahams, _Jewish Life in the Middle Ages_, p. 32). See Schurer, _History_, II, ii, p. 53 and n. 38; Schechter, _Studies_, I, p. 306 _et seq._, and art. _Bar Mitzwah_, in _Jewish Encyclopedia_.

(63) Lit., "teaching," "learning," "study." Here, it signifies study for the purpose of elucidating the _Mishnah_.

Some texts read, "for the study of the _Gemara_." The _Gemara_ (from the Aramaic, meaning "learning," "completion") is a collection of explanations and discussions on the _Mishnah_. The word _Talmud_ was afterwards applied to the _Mishnah_ plus the _Gemara_. There is a translation of the _Talmud_ in English by Rodkinson, but it is free and incomplete in parts. See Meilziner, _Introduction to the Talmud_; Bacher, art. _Talmud_, in _Jewish Encyclopedia_; _idem_, art. _Gemara_, in the _Hebrew Union College Annual_ (Cincinnati, 1904); E. Deutsch, _What is the Talmud?_; Darmsteter, _The Talmud_; Strack, _Einleitung in den Talmud_, pp. 4-5, 6 _et seq._, 99 _et seq._, 113 _et seq._, 132 _et seq._; Schechter, _On the Study of the Talmud_ in _Studies_, II, p. 102 _et seq._; Herford, _Pharisaism_, pp. 53-54.

(64) Lit., "at twenty, to pursue." This has been variously interpreted as follows: (1) for seeking a livelihood (Bartenora, Hoffmann, Strack, Singer); (2) for the pursuit of military service (cf. Num. I, 3, and Deut. XXIV, 5; _Machzor Vitri_, p. 551. Shakespeare's "Then a soldier"); (3) the age "to pursue him for his deeds," for the celestial _bet din_ (tribunal) does not punish at an age less than twenty (Bartenora's second explanation; cf. Rashi on Num. XVI, 27); (4) for the pursuit of ideals (Taylor); (5) to pursue the commandments (_Siddur Korban Minchah_).

(65) Cf. Ps. XC, 10.

25. Ben Bag Bag said, "Turn it (66), and turn it over again, for everything is in it, and contemplate it, and wax grey and old over it, and stir not from it, for thou canst have no better rule than this."

(66) The _Torah_.

26. Ben He He said, "According to the labor is the reward" (67).

(67) The last two verses are ascribed by _Abot de-Rabbi Natan_ to Hillel (chapter XII, ed. Schechter, p. 55). Ben Bag Bag and Ben He He were probably proselytes and disciples of Hillel. See Bacher, _ibid._, pp. 10-12, Taylor and Hoffmann, _ad loc._, and _Jewish Encyclopedia_, art. _Ben Bag Bag_.

Rabbi Chanania, the son of Akashia, said, "The Holy One, blessed be He, was pleased to make Israel worthy; wherefore He gave them a copious _Torah_ and many commandments, as it is said, 'It pleased the Lord, for his righteousness' sake, to magnify the _Torah_ and make it honorable'".

CHAPTER VI

THE ACQUISITION OF THE TORAH (1)

(1) See Introduction pp. 18-19. [refers to the end of the section t.i.tled DEVELOPMENT OF ABOT]

All Israel have a portion in the world to come, and it is said, "And thy people shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified".