Torah Community Connections

Week 139 - Tuesday - 23 July 2002

PIRKEI AVOT: CHAPTER 6: MISHNAH 11

Everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world, He created it only for His glory, as it is said (Is. 43:7): "Everything that is called by My name, and which I have created for My glory, I have formed it, yea, I have made it." And it says(Ex. 15:18): "The Lord shall reign for ever and ever."

Kehati

Everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world - not only the five possessions listed in the previous Mishnah, but the entire Creation, He created it only for His glory - that everything may bear testimony to His majesty and grandeur, as it is said: "Everything that is called by My name, and which I have created for My glory, I have formed it, yea, I have made it" - this verse embraces the four worlds: Emanation, Creation, Formation and Action. Concerning the world of Emanation, which consists entirely of the Divine Names, the verse says: Everything that is called by My name ... and for my glory ...; (the phrase) have I created - denotes the world of Creation; I have formed it - represents the world of Formation; and yea I have made it - refers to the world of Action (Midrash Sh'muel).

And it says: "The Lord shall reign for ever and ever" - this verse, with which the Mishnah concludes, harbors the following message: Indeed, the world of Action, i.e., that of human existence, does not reflect the glory of God, what with man's inclination toward evil from his early youth, so as to provoke his Creator; however, The Lord shall reign for ever and ever, and on that day, which is destined to come, all mankind will invoke the name of God, and then the whole universe will be filled with His glory (ibid.).

EPILOGUE

Rabbi Hananyah ben Akashya said: The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to grant merit to Israel; therefore, He gave them abundant Torah and mitzvot, as it is written (Is. 42:21): "The Lord was pleased for His righteousness' sake, to magnify the Torah and make it glorious."

Kehati

This saying is not part of the Tractate Avot; it is the concluding Mishnah of the Tractate Makkot. It is customary to recite it as an appropriate epilogue at the end of each chapter of Pirkei Avot.

Rabbi Hananyah ben Akashya said: The Holy One, blessed be He wished to grant merit to Israel - and thereby increase their reward, therefore, He gave them abundant Torah and mitzvot - God issued numerous warning and restrictions (negative commandments), even concerning matters which people naturally avoid. Now that they reject such options because the Torah forbade them, their merit is enhanced, as it is written: "The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake - to render Israel righteous and meritorious, therefore He sought to magnify the Torah and make it glorious."

Rambam writes in his commentary: "It is one of the principles of faith in the Torah that when a man performs one of the 613 precepts properly, for its own sake and with love, without a trace of worldly motivation, he thereby merits life in the hereafter. It is to this lesson that Rabbi Hananyah refers: since the mitzvot are so numerous, it is inconceivable that during his lifetime a person will fail to fulfill at least one precept as fully required, and thereby gain life everlasting for his soul. This doctrine is reflected in the question posed by Rabbi Hananyah ben Tradyon to Rabbi Yose ben Kisma: What is my chance to enter the world-to-come? Rabbi Yose answered him: Did a good deed once come your way, and did you ever happen to perform a mitzvah properly? To which Rabbi Hananyah replied that he happened to fulfill the mitzvah of charity in utmost perfection (see Av. Zar. 18a), and thus he merited the life eternal. A further comment to this Mishnah notes that there was no need for the Torah to specify those commandments whose performance is essential for human survival. Thus, it is natural for man to desire marriage to a woman. A similar need underlies legislation in the civil and social spheres. However, were these mitzvot not written in the Torah, Israel would not have gained special distinction and its appropriate reward. But, now that they perform these precepts in the name of God, their effort will be duly compensated (cf. Melekhet Shelomo).

TRACTATE HORAYOT: INTRODUCTION

Transgression of prohibitions which entail the penalty of karet, excision, for deliberate violation, entail sacrifice of a sin-offering, if committed inadvertently, (see Lev. 4:27). However, the unwitting blasphemer is not required to bring a sin offering because he transgressed a prohibition involving no deed. A ritually unclean person who inadvertently partook of sanctified food or entered the sanctuary, is obliged to bring a graded sacrifice (Shev. 1:2;2a). There is no difference in the sin-offering which has to be brought for inadvertent idolatry from that brought for any other inadvertent transgression. For the former it is a year-old goat, as it is written (Num. 15:27); "and if a person sin in error he shall offer a year old she-goat for a sin offering" - by tradition this section refers to idolatry. In this the Torah makes no distinction regarding the status of the offender, be he commoner, king or anointed priest. But with respect to other inadvertent transgressions there is a difference. Of the high-priest the verse says (Lev. 4:3): "If the anointed priest sin...he shall bring a young bullock, without blemish as a sin-offering"; concerning the king it says (ibid., 22): "If the prince sin...he shall bring as his sacrifice a male goat without blemish," whereas a commoner brings a female goat or lamb, (ibid., 27,35).

However, if the Bet Din errs in a decision, permitting that which is prohibited on pain of excision, and the majority of the people were misled into acting accordingly, when it becomes aware of its mistake the Court (or the congregation, as explained in our tractate 1:5) has to bring a bullock as a sin-offering as it is written (ibid., 13-14): "And if the whole congregation of Israel err and a matter be hidden from the eyes of the assembly (i.e. the Sanhedrin)...the assembly shall offer up a young bullock as a sin-offering." This offering is called par he'alem davar - the communal bull offering for a law that eluded them. Those who actually trespassed by following the ruling are free from bringing a sacrifice. Here too a different sacrifice is offered if idolatry was involved - a young bullock as a burnt offering and a he-goat as a sin-offering, while the misled trespassers are absolved (Hameiri, Rambam).

Tractate Horayot deals with errant decisions made by the Bet Din and instructs in detail when the Bet Din is liable for the communal offering and the individual transgressors are absolved, and when the Bet Din is exempt but those that acted on its ruling have to bring sin-offerings as individual transgressors. Our tractate also treats of laws pertaining to a high priest and king who transgressed, and with allied subjects,

This tractate closes the Order of Nezikin - Damages. In the introduction to his commentary to the Mishnah Rambam writes: "After expounding (in tractate Avot) the high morale (expected) of the Judges the compiler treats of their mistakes, for it is in the nature of the human being to err and to sin; he therefore arranged tractate Horayot after Tractate Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) thereby concluding the Order of Nezikin."

click here to read Glossary Tractate Horayot

Return to Mishna Yomit Index

Visit the Mishna Yomit Archives