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Week 136 - Tuesday - 2 July 2002

PIRKEI AVOT CHAPTER 4 MISHNAH 14

Rabbi Nehorai said: Go into voluntary exile to a place of Torah, and do not say that it will come after you, or that your friends will preserve it in your hand; and do not rely on your own understanding.

Kehati

The name Nehorai (Luminary) may refer to Rabbi Meir, or to Rabbi Nehemyah (Rabbi Akiva's disciple), or to Rabbi Eleazar ben Arakh, all of whom "enlightened" the Sages in Halakhah (Eruv. 13b). However, it may have been the proper name of a Tanna, a disciple of Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Tarfon, and the opponent of Rabbi Yose ben Halafta. He used to say: I shall disregard all the crafts in the world and teach my son only Torah, for a man enjoys the fruits thereof in this world, and yet the principal remains in the world-to-come (Kiddushin, final Mishnah). In the present Mishnah, marked by a similar spirit, students of Torah are urged to search for a place of learning if there is no yeshivah in their home town.

Rabbi Nehorai said: Go into voluntary exile to a place of Torah – if your learning needs are not being met in your own surroundings, you must wander until you find a place which harbors scholars from whom you can learn, and do not say that it - the Torah, will come after you - to your home, that you will wait for a scholar to come and teach you, or that your friends will preserve it in your hand - that those who did wander to a yeshivah might teach you when they return, and that they will keep the Torah within your reach and clarify your problems for you (Hameiri). Do not say this, but rather go forth yourself to the seat of Torah, for learning from a disciple is not the same as learning from the master (Bartenura) and do not rely on your own understanding - this is a quotation from Proverbs (3:5), and is taken to mean: Do not think that you may dispense with a teacher and a companion and, unaided, plumb the profundities of the Torah - do not rely on your own understanding.

Other commentators interpret that your friends will preserve it in your hand as a positive reason for going into exile to a place of Torah, for even the keenest intellect will not master the Torah except through companions with whom he can engage in fruitful debates. Hence the conclusion: and do not rely on your own understanding, and as pointed out elsewhere(Ber. 63b): "The knowledge of Torah is acquired only in association with others." Similarly(Ta'am. 7a): "Much have I learned from my teachers, and from my friends more than from my teachers, and from my students, more than from all." The Midrash (Kohelet Rabba 7:16; Yalkut Kohelet 6) relates: "When Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai died, Rabbi Eleazar ben Arakh (whose scholarship equaled all the Sages combined, see above, Chapt. 2:8), went to join his wife at a place provided with excellent waters and a handsome estate, and waited for his colleagues to join him. When they failed to arrive, he wished to join them, but his wife objected, saying: Who needs whom? Said he: They need me. Then she said: Take the example of mice and bread: which goes to which? Surely the mice go to the bread! He listened to her, and remained in his place until he forgot his learning."

PIRKEI AVOT: CHAPTER 4: MISHNAH 15

Rabbi Yannai said: It is not in our hands (to explain) either the serenity of the wicked or the sufferings of the righteous. Rabbi Matyah ben Harash said: Be the first to greet every man; and be a tail unto lions and be not a head unto foxes.

Kehati

Rabbi Yannai was probably the father of Rabbi Dostai (ben Rabbi Yannai), mentioned above (Chapt. 3, Mishnah 8). He is not cited anywhere else in the Mishnah. Rabbi Matyah ben Harash was a disciple of both Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrkanus and Rabbi Eleazar ben Azaryah. Like his colleagues Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira and Rabbi Hananyah the nephew of Rabbi Yehoshua, both of whom left Eretz Israel to found Torah academies abroad, he, too, left his home and established a yeshivah in Rome (see Sanh. 32b).

Rabbi Yannai said: It is not in our hands (to explain) either the serenity of the wicked - who are allowed to live in peace, or the sufferings of the righteous - who continue to be afflicted. Many answers have been offered to this question, but the foremost opinion is that the well-being of the sinful is to their own detriment; they receive the full reward for their good deeds in this world, and thereby forfeit the world-to-come. Similarly, the agony of the virtuous is for their own benefit, to chasten them and ensure their bliss in the world-to-come. Thus (Kid. 40b): To what may the righteous be compared in this world? To a tree, which stands wholly in a clean place, but its branches overhang a place of uncleanness; once the branches are chopped off, it stands fully in a clean place. Thus, God inflicts suffering upon the righteous in this world, that they may inherit the world-to-come, as it is written (Job 8:7): "Then, though your beginnings were humble, your end will be great."

And to what may the wicked be compared in this world? To a tree, which stands wholly in an impure place, but the branches of it overhang a place of purity; once the branches are cut off, it stands entirely in a place of impurity. Thus, God bestows favor on the sinner in this world, in order to destroy and consign them to the lowest rung in hell, as it is written (Prov. 14: 12): "There is a way which seems right unto a man, but at its end are the ways of death." Other commentators maintain that we are not in a position to judge what is really good or evil, since we cannot predict the final outcome of any given situation. Thus, unfortunate events may come to happy conclusions, and happy occasions may end in tragedy.

Alternatively: It is not in our hands (to explain) either· the severity of the wicked or the sufferings of the righteous, means that during our present exile we have neither the benefits which God bestows upon the sinners in order to debar them from the afterlife, nor do we have the torment of love reserved for the righteous, in which the disruption of the Torah is spared (Ber. 5a); i.e. we are not rated as sinners who are allowed to be at ease, nor are we classed as virtuous (Bartenura). The Midrash Sh'muel(quoting Rabbenu Efraim) explains that Rabbi Yannai counsels us not to despair and consider ourselves irrevocable sinners beyond hope; however, we must at the same time realize that we are not counted among the righteous, that we have not yet fulfilled the norms we are required to fulfill in the realm of Torah and mitzvot (Tosefot Yom Tov).

Rabbi Matyah ben Harash said: Be the first to greet every man - try to win the goodwill of society by treating men with due respect, and promptly greet every person, even one of inferior rank, as is related of R, Yohanan ben Zakkai, that "no one ever greeted him first, not even a gentile in the street" (Ber. 17a); and be a tail unto lions - prefer to associate with the great and wise, although you will be overshadowed by them, and be not a head unto foxes - to accept leadership among those who are inferior to you. According to Hameiri: It is preferable to be the student of the eminent, rather than being the lecturer of little minds. Midrash Sh'muel explains: "Whereas the lion habitually raises his tail above his head, the fox lowers his head below his tail. And so it is with men: The gentleman respects his inferiors and discerns in them good qualities, whereas the lowbred despises and humiliates his superiors in honor and rank. Others comment (ibid.): and be not a head unto foxes - be sure to master your lessons thoroughly, and do not resort to deceit in refuting your colleagues, as the fox employs cunning to outsmart other animals. Rather, be a tail unto lions, stoop to serve the Sages and strive to attain full comprehension, and eventually you will be compared to a lion who overcomes his adversaries by his own prowess without recourse to cunning (see Tosefot Yom Tov).

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