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Week 135 - Thursday - 27 June 2002

PIRKEI AVOT: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 4

Rabbi Levitas of Yavneh said: Be exceedingly humble, for the hope of man is but the worm. Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka said: He who desecrates the Name of Heaven in secret, is punished for it openly, no matter whether he desecrated the Name unwittingly or willfully.

Kehati

Man is here cautioned about the odious sin of pride and the need to avoid it in order to acquire the spirit of humility. This is the only saying of Rabbi Levitas recorded in the Mishnah. Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka was a disciple of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananyah, and a colleague of Rabbi Eleazar Hisma. Here he warns us about the gravity of acts involving the desecration of the Name of God.

Rabbi Levitas of Yavneh said: Be exceedingly humble - even though the middle way is appropriate to human conduct in general, (see Chapt, 2, Mishnah 1), this does not apply to pride, a contemptible characteristic affecting most people; in order to combat it, it is therefore necessary to move to the other extreme of utter humility which is facilitated by the realization that the hope of man is but the worm - the ultimate destination of all is the grave, where all self-exaltation comes to naught. Such thoughts will banish vanity and foster humility.

Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka said: He who desecrates the Name of Heaven in secret - a person committing a sin covertly, which, if done openly, would constitute profanation of Religion, as in the case of a Torah scholar who sets an example for others (Mahzor Vitri), is punished for it openly - God will chastise him and reveal his brazenness in public. The offense is punished to that extent so as to prevent his example from causing sacrilege, lest people complain: Look at this man, a sage, who has performed good deeds, and is yet afflicted with such sorrows! Therefore, his punishment takes place in the view of the public (Rashi); no matter whether he desecrated the Name unwittingly or willfully - in either case, Hillul haShem is punished openly, as God informed David through the prophet Nathan (II Sam. 12: 12): "For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun." Rambam comments on this Mishnah: "This means that Hillul haShem, blasphemy, whether committed wantonly or inadvertently, is punished in public: If wantonly, he suffers punishment for an intentional sin; if inadvertently, he is punished accordingly; both penalties, however, are public."

Our Sages said (Yoma 86b): Hypocrites are exposed to the public to avoid Hillul haShem (because people might emulate their deeds in the belief that they-are righteous; moreover, when such a person is afflicted, people will say: What did his virtues avail him? - Rashi). Elsewhere it is stated (Kid. 40a): "No credit is extended in the case of Hillul haShem." Unlike the shopkeeper who sells on loan and waits for payment of the debt, God exacts punishment from the blasphemer immediately, in order to expose his shame in public. Tiferet Yisrael explains: There are two kinds of Hillul haShem: One, when a person commits a sin in public, even if only to satisfy an urge - having been unable to overcome a temptation, it is still a Hillul haShem, because he should at least have committed it secretly as our Sages said (Hag 16a): "When a person is in danger of being overcome by his passion, let him go to a place where he is not known... and avoid Hillul haShem in public." This type of Hillul haShem may occur even in the case of a perfectly righteous person, for he sets an example to the public. Hence our Sages warned: "Refrain from ugly deeds and their like" (see Hul. 44b).

Furthermore, they explained (Yoma 86a): "What constitutes a Hillul haShem? Rav said: If I purchase meat in the butcher's without immediate payment (and when I delay paying for it, the butcher calls me a 'robber' - Rashi); Rabbi Yohanan said: If I walk four cubits without mention of Torah and without wearing tefillin (people will not realize that it was but a moment of weakness induced by my studies, and may learn from me to neglect Torah study - Rashi)...The second kind of Hillul haShem is that of a person who commits a transgression, not because of temptation, but from wanton lawlessness - because he neither believes in, nor fears the Lord. Of such a person our Mishnah states that even though he sins privately to protect his own reputation, since his offence comes from disregard of God and his Torah, Divine retribution is exercised in public, to expose him as a brazen offender. It is in regard to such a blasphemer that the Mishnah concludes no matter whether he desecrates the Narne unwittingly or willfully.

PIRKEI AVOT: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 5

Rabbi Yishmael his son said: He who learns in order to teach, is enabled to learn and to teach; and he who learns in order to practise, is enabled to learn and to teach, to observe and to practise. Rabbi Zadok said: Do not make them a crown with which to magnify yourself, nor a spade with which to dig. And thus Hillel used to say: He who makes worldly use of the crown, shall perish. From this you learn: He who uses words of Torah for his own benefit, removes his life from the world

Kehati

Rabbi Yishmael, the son of Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka, studied Torah under his father and under other Sages at Kerem Beyavneh (Yavneh). He was the colleague of the Nasi - Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, and of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korha, In our Mishnah, he evaluates the two goals of Torah study: 1. Familiarity with the substance and principles of the Torah in order to teach it to others, 2. To know how to live according to it’s precepts. In this context, Rabbi Zadok cautions that it is forbidden to exploit the Torah for the acquisition of honor or a livelihood. Rabbi Zadok was one of the earliest Tannaim, and it is related (Git. 56a) that forty years before the destruction of the Temple he fasted and prayed to avert the disaster. One of the requests made by Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai of Vespasian, whose legions besieged Jerusalem, was for a doctor to treat Rabbi Zadok who was weakened through fasting. His throat had become so shrunken that his sole food consisted of the juice which he sucked from figs (Rambam, Sefer Hama’or). After the destruction of the Temple, he settled in a Galilean village near Haifa. He would raise questions before the sages of Yavneh, He also testified at this academy concerning various legal traditions (Eduyot 7:1-4)

The Gemara (Kid. 32b) relates: Once Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Zadok were at the wedding banquet of the son of Rabban Gamliel, and Rabban Gamliel stood and served them. He offered the cup to Rabbi Eliezer who refused to take it. He then offered it to Rabbi Yehoshua, who accepted it. Rabbi Eliezer thereupon called out to him: How so, Yehoshua? We are seated and Rabban Gamliel stands and serves us! Rabbi Yehoshua answered him: We find a greater person than he who likewise served. Abraham was outstanding in his generation, yet it is written of him (Gen.18;8): "and he stood by them.'' And should you say, he realised they were angels, know that they actually appeared to him as Arabs; may not then Rabban Gamliel stand and serve us? Rabbi Zadok thereupon said to them: Why do you persist in ignoring the honor of God and concern yourselves with the honor of His creatures? God causes the wind to blow the clouds to gather, and the rain to fall; He makes the earth sprout and sets a table before everyone (whether righteous or a wicked idolator); may not then Rabban Gamliel stand and serve us?

Rabbi Yishmael, his - Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka's son said: He who learns in order to teach - whose principal aim in studying Torah is to instruct others; although he does not study for its own sake, but rather to gain the title ‘Rabbi’ and an honorable status, nevertheless he is enabled - by Heaven to learn and to teach others, as he wished to do, because this too is an important undertaking, as our Sages said (Pes. 50b): "A man should always study Torah and perform mitzvot even when not for its own sake, for starting out with ulterior motives, he will eventually come to pursue Torah for its own sake."

And he who learns in order to practise - whose principal aim is to fulfill the precepts of the Torah, he is enabled to learn and to teach .to observe and to practise - he is able to achieve the ideal purpose of Torah study, i.e. to teach and to fulfill the mitzvot. Alternatively, whoever resolves to devote himself unremittingly to the study of Torah and has no time for acts of charity, like Rabba bar Nahmani (RH. 18a), his wish is granted, although man is expected also to help out his fellow man; and he who learns in order to practise - combining Torah study with benevolent deeds, like Abbaye, (ibid.), will be blessed with an opportunity to learn and to teach, to observe and to perform (Bartenura).

Rabbi Zadok said: Do not make them - the words of Torah, a crown with which to magnify yourself - to enhance your honor and your fame through them, as our Sages declared (Ned. 62a): "A man should not say: I shall study Bible so that I may be called a Sage, I will study (Mishnah), so as to earn the title Rabbi; I will teach so that I may rank as an Elder and gain a seat in the assembly. Rather, learn out of love, and the honor is sure to come:" nor a spade with which to dig - do not use the Torah as a means for making a living, and thereby abuse the sanctity of the Torah (Bartenura). Accordingly, school teachers may accept payment only for taking care of the children, that they should not be harmed or hurt others; but it is forbidden to take a fee for teaching Torah, as it is written (Deut. 4:5): "Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as the Lord my God commanded me" - just as I Myself taught without payment, so must you teach without payment (ibid.)

And thus Hillel used to say (above. Chapt. 1. Mishnah 13): He who makes worldly use of the crown - of the Torah, shall perish. Tiferet Yisrael points out that halaf likewise denotes exchange" viz, he who exploits the crown of the Torah thereby he who exploits the crown of the Torah thereby changes it’s name, for it is no longer a glorious crown, but a spade to dig with. From this you learn: He who uses words of Torah for his own benefit- to enhance his honor or improve his livelihood, removes his life from the world – i.e. he forfeits his reward in the world-to-come (Rashi, Rambam). Tiferet Yisrael comments: in the Torah it is written: “For it is your life and the length of. your days” i.e., as long as we cherish the Torah for its own sake: but he who turns the Torah into a spade nullifies its sanctity and life-giving force, and with that same spade, he removes his life from the world.

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