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Week 135 - Shabbat - 29 June 2002

PIRKEI AVOT: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 8

He used to say: Do not judge alone, for none may judge alone, save One. And do not say: Accept my opinion! - for it is for them to decide, and not for you.

Kehati

Our Mishnah cites a further statement by Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Yose on the care to be taken by the judge that he may spare himself undue responsibility for a verdict.

He - Rabbi Yishmael, used to say: Do not judge alone - even though according to Torah law, mumhe lerabim (a duly trained adjudicator with a reputation for competence) may act as a sole judge (Sanh. 5a), a pious scholar will refrain from sitting in solitary judgement, but will invite two more colleagues to the bench, because review of the case by three officers is more likely to produce a true judgement; hence, do not judge alone, for none may judge alone save One - God, the unique Master of the Universe.

And do not say - to your dissenting colleagues, who have joined you: Accept my opinion – since I am qualified to proceed alone, and it was only as a pious act that I called on you to join me, for it is for them to decide - whether to accept your opinion, or even request of you to accept theirs, and not for you - to enforce your view, since the verdict must follow the majority, as it is written (Ex. 23:2): "You shall side with the many" (see Sanh. 3b - tr,).

PIRKEI AVOT: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 9

Rabbi Yonatan said: He who fulfils the Torah in poverty, will in the end fulfil it in wealth; and whoever neglects the Torah in wealth, will in the end neglect it in poverty.

Kehati

Rabbi Yonatan, a disciple of Rabbi Yishmael, maintained his master's principle that "The Torah spoke in human terms," as against Rabbi Akiva who perceived legal significance in each superfluous letter in the Torah, Rabbi Yonatan is not mentioned elsewhere in the Mishnah, though he is frequently quoted in the Midrash Meikhilta (on Exodus) and Sifrei (on Numbers) - the halakhic midrashim of the school of Rabbi Yishmael. In the present Mishnah, Rabbi Yonatan exhorts us not to refrain from the study of the Torah however preoccupied we may be by the cares of either wealth or poverty.

Rabbi Yonatan said: He who fulfils the Torah in poverty - devoting himself to regular study of Torah despite his distress and constant search for a livelihood, will in the end fulfil it in wealth - his troubles and cares will cease and he will study with his mind at ease; and whoever neglects the Torah in wealth - involving himself in extensive business transactions and allowing no time for Torah study, will in the end neglect it in poverty - such will be the effects of impoverishment, that he will lack the basic conditions necessary for Torah study.

Others maintain that this Mishnah cannot be taken literally, seeing that many of those faithful to the Torah remain poor, while some persistent evil-doers retain their wealth to the end of their lives. Rather, the Mishnah teaches that a person's devotion to Torah, or his neglect of it, is not determined by his wealth or poverty, but rather by his personal inclination. Thus, a destitute person who studies Torah, would have done so even if he were wealthy; and the affluent who flouts the Torah, would do so even if he lost his property. An homiletic interpretation of he who observes the Torah in poverty, will in the end fulfil it in wealth – equates wealth with spiritual contentment, as expressed in the words of Ben Zoma (above. Chapt. 4: 1): "Who is rich? He who is happy with his portion" (Sefat Emet).

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