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Week 137 - Shabbat - 13 July 2002

PIRKEI AVOT: CHAPTER 5: MISHNAH 14

There are four types of people who attend the House of Study: He who attends but does not practice - has the reward for attending; he who practices but does not attend - has the reward for practicing; he who attends and practices - he is a pious man. He who does not attend and does not practice - he is a wicked man.

Kehati

There are four types of people who attend the House of Study - to hear the Torah lessons of the Sages:

1. He who attends but does not practice - though he goes to the School, he does not engage in study; or he studies, but fails to progress in learning for lack of serious attention, has the reward for attending - even though he does not practice, he is rewarded for his very presence there, since attending the Bet haMidrash with its atmosphere of learning, is a mitzvah in itself.

2. He who practices but does not attend - he masters his Torah lessons at home, without attending the Bet haMidrash, has the reward for practicing - since he devotes himself to Torah-study; however, he forfeits the reward of attendance at the Bet haMidrash.

3. He who attends and practices - although he learns at home, and does not require instruction at the Bet haMidrash, he nevertheless appears there in the humble guise of one in need of coaching (Midrash Sh'muel), he is a pious man - whose efforts go beyond the requirements of the law.

4. He does not attend and does not practice - failing to study Torah and avoiding the Bet haMidrash altogether; he is a wicked man - who totally disregards the Torah. Hameiri explains: He who attends - who migrates to a place of Torah learning, but does not practice - he fails to progress in his studies, nevertheless has the reward for going; he who practices but does not go - he does not seek out a center of Torah scholarship, but masters his Torah lessons at home, has the reward of practice - even though he would have improved by going to a place of learning; he who goes and practices, he is a pious man - who labors incessantly for the love of Torah; he who does not go and does not practice, he is a wicked man who slights the Torah and neglects to study it.

PIRKEI AVOT: CHAPTER 5: MISHNAH 15

There are four types among those who sit before the Sages: The sponge, the funnel, the strainer and the sieve. The sponge which soaks up everything; the funnel which absorbs at one end and lets out at the other; the strainer which lets out the wine and retains the dregs; and the sieve which lets the coarse flour pass out and retains the choice flour.

Kehati

Whereas Mishnah XII, above, listed four types of disciples in accordance with their powers of comprehension and memory, this Mishnah enumerates four types in "relation to common-sense and the power of judgment" (Bartenura). Hence the introductory phrase who sit before the Sages, referring to distinguished disciples who wait upon their masters regularly.

There are four types among those who sit before the Sages - students who listen to the lessons of their mentors: The sponge, the funnel, the strainer and the sieve - which the author of the Mishnah now proceeds to explain.

The sponge which soaks up everything - it sucks in any kind of liquid, whether pure or impure, so is the student who accepts everything without using his critical faculty to distinguish between the rationally sound and the fallacious.

The funnel which absorbs at one end and lets out at the other - so is the student who swallows up whatever the master says, but releases the contents from his memory no sooner than he has done so.

The strainer which lets out the wine and retains the dregs - so is this type of student who ignores the essential points while retaining the irrelevant.

And the sieve which lets the coarse flour pass out and retains the choice flour - Bartenura explains: "The sieve - After the wheat is ground and the bran is removed, there remains a powder-like flour and a coarser meal, of which the latter is of superior value. These are passed through a very fine sieve, removing all the finer particles, a kind of white dust, so that the coarser and more valuable meal remains; and this is how the meal-offerings were prepared. So is the student who has the capacity to evaluate his lessons, and to sort out the genuine from what is false and irrelevant."

Avot de Rabbi Natan (Chapt. 40) amplifies: "There are four types among those who sit before the Sages: Those who resemble a sponge, those who resemble a sieve, those who resemble a funnel and those who resemble a strainer. Who is like a sponge? This is a scholar who sits before the Sages and learns Bible, Mishnah, Midrash, Halakhot (law) and aggadot (lore); and like a sponge he absorbs everything. Who is like the sieve? This is the intelligent scholar who sits before the Sages and listens to Bible, Mishnah, Midrash, halakhot and aggadot; just as the sieve lets out the low-grade, and retains the high-grade flour, so he rejects the inferior and holds on to the superior. Who represents the funnel? This is a foolish student who sits before the Sages and hears Bible, Mishnah, Midrash, halakhot and aggadot; just as the funnel takes in at one end and lets out at the other, so is this student, whose ears absorb at one end and release at the other; hence the first points to enter his mind are the first to escape his memory. Who is like the strainer? This is a wicked disciple who sits before the Sages and hears Bible, Mishnah, Midrash, halakhot and aggadot; just as the strainer allows the wine to escape while retaining the dregs, so he discards what is useful and retains what is harmful."

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