Torah Community Connections

Week 134 - Sunday - 16 June 2002

PIRKEI AVOT: CHAPTER 2: MISHNAH 16

He used to say: It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work; yet, you are not free to desist from it. If you have studied much Torah, a great reward will be given to you, for your Employer is trustworthy to reward you for your labor. And know that the reward of the righteous is in the time to come.

Kehati

In this Mishnah Rabbi Tarfon elaborates on his statement in the previous Mishnah concerning Torah study and its reward.

He - Rabbi Tarfon, used to say: It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work - although there is much to accomplish, know that G-d did not engage you to finish it all, or otherwise deprive you of your reward (Bartenura). Rather, you are commanded to perform according to your ability, as our Sages expounded the verse (Deut. 11:13): "'which I command you this day' - do not say: I cannot grasp the whole Torah and keep all the commandments, seeing that 'The measure thereof is longer than the earth' (Job. 11:9). This recalls a king who had a cistern of extreme depth. He said to a member of his household: Hire workers to fill the cistern. He hired workers. The foolish one looked into the cistern and said, 'When shall I ever fill it up?' But the intelligent one said, 'What does it matter to me? I am a day-laborer, and am pleased to have found work.' Thus, too, G-d says to us: What does it matter to you? You are day-laborers, and so complete your day's chore" (Yalkut Shimoni, Ekev). Furthermore, they said (Shir Hashirim Rabba): The Torah may be compared to water: Just as water falls drop by drop until it forms a stream, so is the Torah: A man learns two halakhot today and two tomorrow, until he gathers force like a bubbling stream. Yet you are not free to desist from it - lest you say: I have read and studied, and need not continue, since the work is not mine to complete. Know that the yoke of the Torah is on you all through your life, and you cannot shake it off, as the rabbis said: Why are the words of Torah compared to bread and to water? To teach you, that just as man cannot live without bread and water even one day, so he cannot exist without Torah for even one moment, as it is written (Josh. 1:8): "This book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth." And it is self-evident, if Joshua bin Nun, who studied Torah from childhood until old age, was nevertheless told: "This book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth" - how much more so does this apply to the rest of mankind (Tanna de Bei Eliyahu Zutta, 13).

If you have studied much Torah - beyond your capacity, a great reward will be given to you - beyond your deserts, for your Employer is trustworthy - having imposed this pursuit upon you, to reward you for your labor - according to your exertion in mastering the Torah. And know - if you see a man occupied with Torah and mitzvot, and yet his life is full of suffering and poverty, do not be surprised, for you must realize, that the reward of the righteous is in the time to come - in the World-to-Come (Bartenura), as the Sages interpreted the verse: "which I command you this day, to do them" (Deut. 7:11) - this day to do them, but tomorrow to receive the reward" (Kid. 39a). Similarly, they explained the verse (Deut. 5:16) "that your days may be prolonged" - in the world which is wholly long (i.e. the world-to-come - tr.) "and that it may be well with you" (ibid.) in the world which is wholly good (i.e. the world-to-come - tr.) (Hullin 142a).

PIRKEI AVOT: CHAPTER 3: MISHNAH 1

Akavya ben Mahalalel said: Consider three things and you will not fall into the hands of sin. Know whence you came, and where you are going, and before Whom you will have to give account and reckoning. Whence you came - from a putrid drop; and where you are going - to a place of dust, worm, and maggot; and before Whom you will have to give account and reckoning - before the King of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He.

Kehati

Akavya ben Mahalalel lived at the time of Hillel the Elder. It was said of him that the Temple court never closed upon a Jew as wise and sin-fearing as Akavya ben Mahalalel (i.e. when the Temple court was closed on Passover eve, being full of Jews who came to slaughter their Passover sacrifices in three shifts, none was found in the precincts as great in wisdom and saintliness as Akavya, see Ed. 5.6-7). In the present Mishnah, Akavya ben Mahalalel lists three things which one should continually contemplate to avoid evil.

Akavya ben Mahalalel said: Consider - the following three things and you will not fall into the hands of sin - if you apply your mind to these three ideas, you will conquer temptation.

Know whence you came and where you are going and before Whom you will have to give account and reckoning. According to the Jerusalem Talmud (Sotah 2:5) Akavya derived these three thoughts from the verse (Eccl. 12:1): "Remember then bor'ekha your creator." Variant readings of this term yield: be'erkha – your 'wellspring,' borkha - your 'pit,' beside bor'ekha your 'Creator': Your 'well-spring' - is the place of your origin; your 'pit' - is your destination; and your 'Creator' - the One to Whom you must eventually render account.

Whence you came - from a putrid drop - if you remember this, you will refrain from pride; and where you are going - to a place of dust, worm, and maggot - as it is written (Gen. 3:19): "for dust you are, and unto dust shall you return." With this thought in your mind, you will avoid lust and greed; and before Whom you will have to give account and reckoning - before the King of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He - it is natural enough to dread a trial before an earthly king; how much more so before the supreme King, with whom there is neither forgetfulness nor favoritism (Ber. 28b). The constant awareness of this will thwart any thought of malice and sin. The present tense in where you are going conveys the idea that from his day of birth man begins to advance towards his death and his eternal resting place (Midrash Sh'mue1). The Gaon of Vilna thus explains the double expression din veheshbon - account and reckoning: "account" for the sins committed, and "reckoning" for the mitzvot he could have performed while committing his sins.

Return to Mishna Yomit Index

Visit the Mishna Yomit Archives