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Week 137 - Tuesday - 9 July 2002

PIRKEI AVOT: CHAPTER 5: MISHNAH 6

Ten things were created on Sabbath eve at twilight, and they are: The mouth of the earth; the mouth of the well; the mouth of the she-ass; the rainbow; the manna; the staff; the shamir; the letters; the writing; and the tablets. And some say: Also the harmful spirits, and the burial place of Moses, and the ram of our father Abraham, And some say: Also the tongs made with tongs.

Kehati

Ten things were created on Sabbath eve at twilight - on the first Friday, at the completion of the Creation of the world, and they are: The mouth of the earth - that swallowed Korah and his congregation (Num. 16:32); 2. the mouth of the well - which supplied Israel with water in the wilderness (Ex. 17:6), being the well of Miriam that accompanied Israel throughout all their wanderings in the desert (see Num. 21:16-18); 3. the mouth of the she-ass - of Balaam; it was then decreed that it would speak to him (Num. 22:28); 4. the rainbow - in the cloud, as a sign of the Covenant that there would not be another flood (Gen. 9: 13); 5. the manna - that came down to the Israelites for forty years in the wilderness (Ex. 16:15); 6. the staff - of Moses with which he performed the wonders (Ex. 4:17); 7. the shamir - (a miraculously endowed worm - tr.) used for cutting the building stones of the Temple and for engraving the precious stones of the High Priests's breastplate and ephod (vest-like garment) as noted in the Baraita (Sotah 48b): "These stones (that were in the breast plate and ephod) are not to be inscribed with ink, as it is written (Ex. 28:11): "the engravings of a signet," and they are not to be carved with a chisel, as it is written (ibid. 28:20): "in their (full) settings," but they are inscribed with ink and displayed to the shamir, and they split of their own accord, like a fig that splits open in the summer without suffering any loss, or like a valley that splits apart during the rainy season without sustaining a loss; 8. the letters - the characters inscribed upon the tablets (Bartenura); 9. the writing - i.e., the text, as recorded (Ex. 32:16): "and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tablets." Bartenura explains that this could be read from all four directions: Others maintain that mikhtav refers to the stylus with which the commandments were engraved on the tablets. According to Rambam, hak'tav (the letters) refers to the Torah, written by God, whereas hamikhtav (the writing) refers to the shape of the characters written on the tablets; 10. and the tablets - the first set of tablets of which it is written (Ex. 32:16): "And the tablets were the work of God." Our Sages explain (Avot de Rabbi Natan Chapt. 2): "This means that the tablets were inscribed and set aside as from the six days of Creation; but. the second tablets were hewn by Moses, as it is written (Ex. 34:1): "And the Lord said unto Moses: Carve yourself two tablets of stone like the first."

And some say: Also the harmful spirits - the ghosts and demons were created on the first Friday at dusk; and the burial place of Moses - as it is written (Deut. 34:6): "and no man knows of his sepulchre;" and the ram of our father, Abraham - which was destined to be caught by its horns in the thicket at the Binding of Isaac at dusk on Friday (Gen. 22:13).

And some say: Also the tongs made with tongs - seeing that tongs can only be made with the aid of an already existing tool, for holding the white-hot iron and beating it with a hammer into the required shape, who then made the first pair of tongs? It must have been made by Heaven (see Pes. 54a), and that took place on Friday at dusk. Rambam, in his commentary on the Mishnah, writes "All miracles were integrated into the nature of the elements from the six days of Creation; and why were these ten (miracles) singled out (in the Mishnah)? Know, that in specifying these ten, the Mishnah does not intend to tell us that the other miracles were not introduced into the constitution of the elements during the six days of Creation; rather it tells us that these (ten) alone were made at dusk on Friday, while the other miracles and wonders became part of the nature of the elements at the very time of their creation. Thus, on the second day, when the waters were divided, nature was so conditioned that the Sea of Reeds would split for the sake of Moses, and the Jordan for Joshua and thus for Elijah (II Kings. 2:8) and for Elisha (ibid. 14); and on the fourth day, when the sun was created, its nature was so conditioned that it would stand still at the appointed time at the behest of Joshua ("Sun, stand still upon Gibeon; and you Moon, in the valley of Ayalon" - Josh. 10:12-13). And the same applies to the other miracles, except for these ten, which were assimilated by the nature of the elements at dusk." This notion is intimated in the words of Rabbi Yehonatan (Bereshit Rabba 5:4): "At creation, God stipulated with the sea that it would split apart before Israel, and thus it is written (Ex. 14:27): "and the sea reverted le'eitano - to its strength" i.e., litna'o - to the (Divine) stipulation placed upon it. Rabbi Yirmiyah ben Eleazar said: Not with the sea alone did God set such terms, but with everything that was created in the six days of Creation, as it is written (Is. 45:12): "I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded' - I commanded the sea to be sundered before Israel; I commanded the sun and the moon to stand still before Joshua. I commanded the fire not to harm Hananyah, Mishael, and Azariyah (Dan. 3), and the lions not to hurt Daniel (ibid. 6), and the fish to spew out Jonah (Jonah. 2:11).

Hameiri comments: The ten things enumerated in the Mishnah are crucial to the national existence and prosperity of the Jewish people and the integrity of its faith; but for these, there would be no basis for this creed, which is the ultimate goal of Creation and the Universe. The term twilight denotes that our traditional faith is anchored in the very act of Divine Creation. Thus, the reference to the mouth of the earth signifies belief in the punishment of the wicked; the mouth of the well expresses belief in the reward of virtue, these being fundamental doctrines of our Torah; the mouth of the she-ass illustrates the full story of Balaam wherein, were it not for Divine providence, Israel would have perished, as it is written (Micah 6:5): O My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised... that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord," i.e., that you may recognize God's saving grace throughout Jewish history; the rainbow symbolizes the impending doom of mankind in the generation of the Flood but for the intervention of Divine Providence, the manna represents Israel's evident dependence on God for the uninterrupted supply of food in the wilderness during forty years of wandering; the staff recalls the signs and wonders which God performed in Egypt, without which Israel would never have been rescued from Egypt, but would have assimilated and absorbed their (pagan) culture; the shamir represents the whole building of the Temple, which served as the focal institution of our faith; the letters and the writing refer to the alphabet and the language which are essential to the national community, without which no communication or action would be possible; the tablets represent the giving of the Torah, which harbors the totality of the Divine purpose. And some say: Also the harmful spirits symbolizing the evil inclination which, in its proper context, is essential to the survival of the world, as our Rabbis noted (Bereshit Rabba 9:2): "And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good” - this points to the evil inclination without which the world could not exist; and the burial-place of Moses which was kept hidden to avoid dangerous consequences, as explained in the Midrash; and the ram of Isaac - this recalls the saving of Isaac, so that Israel may survive as a blessing upon the earth. Finally, the author of this Mishnah reflects upon the subject of the crafts that serve mankind, wherein the tongs represent the basic equipment without which it would be difficult to produce any kind of iron ware.

PIRKEI AVOT: CHAPTER 5: MISHNAH 7

Seven things characterize a boor, and seven a wise man. The wise man does not speak before one who is greater than he is in wisdom; he does not interrupt the words of his fellow; he is not hasty to answer; he asks what is relevant and answers according to Halakhah; he speaks on the first point first and the last point last; concerning that which he has not heard, he says: I have not heard; and he confesses to the truth. And the opposite of these is the mark of the boor.

Kehati

There are four types of defective characters: the ignoramus - bur, the empty - rek, the unlearned - am ha-aretz, and the boor -golem. (1) The bur has no redeeming virtues, is devoid of intellectual and moral qualities, and potentially he is like a s'deh bur, a wasteland that cannot produce a crop even when sown, in the absence of prior cultivation. This is the meaning of the statement: "An ignoramus cannot fear sin" (above Chapt, 2:5). (2) The rek, whilst inherently capable of moral attainment, has not learned nor been trained, just like a ploughed field which, had it been sown, would yield a harvest. (3) The am ha-aretz' main preoccupation is with the needs of society, in the realm of trade and commerce, etc. whereby he acquires the conventional norms of behavior and social intercourse, but he lacks Torah and general intellectual refinement. (4) The golem has studied, and has undergone moral and intellectual training, though imperfectly and unsystematically. Hence; he is unable to apply these correctly. He is thus called a golem, a term applied to a vessel which, whilst fully formed, lacks the finishing touch to be properly useful (Hameiri, Rambam). Our Mishnah defines the difference between a hakham and a golem.

Seven things characterize a boor, and seven a wise man - "Since the state of boorishness precedes that of wisdom chronologically, the Mishnah opens with Seven things which characterize a boor. However, when listing the distinct qualities of each it begins with the wise, since he represents the goal, wherefore it is proper to enumerate his characteristics first"(Tosefot Yom Tov).

1. The wise man does not speak before one who is greater than he in wisdom - thus Eleazar and Itamar (Lev. 10:16-19), did not speak before their father when Moses reprimanded them (Bartenura; Biurei Hagra); 2. He does not interrupt the words of his fellow - but listens patiently to his words without butting in, as it is written (Sifrei. Beha'alotkha): "What do we learn from the exclamation 'Hear now My words' (Num. 12:6)? That they wanted to break in upon the words of God, whereupon the Lord said to them. Wait until I have spoken! From this we learn that a man should not interrupt the words of his fellow"; 3. He is not hasty to answer - but first considers the words of the questioner, so as to know what to answer him, as Elihu ben Barakhel the Buzite said (Job. 32:11): "Behold, I waited for your words, I listened for your reasons"; 4. He asks what is relevant and answers according to Halakhah - he asks concerning the subject under discussion, whereupon he receives a pertinent reply from the master (Bartenura). Thus Rabbi Hiyyah said to Rav: "When Rabbi (the compiler of the Mishnah - tr.) deals with the present tractate, do not ask him concerning another tractate" (Shab. 3b). Others comment: the wise man answers correctly and does not stubbornly uphold mistaken theories for the sake of argument (Hameiri); 5. He speaks on the first point first and the last point last - if asked two or more questions, he answers them in their consecutive order. Thus when Eliezer asked Rivkah: "Whose daughter are you? Tell me, I pray, is there room in your father's house for us to lodge in?" (Gen. 24:23), she answered him in the proper order: "I am the daughter of Betuel... We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in" (ibid.); 6. Concerning that which he has not heard - (by tradition - tr.), he says: I have not heard - when advancing his own solution to a problem, he does not claim to have received it from his masters so that it might gain acceptance, but admits saying: "This is my own viewpoint and reasoning; I did not receive it from my masters" (Hameiri); 7. And he confesses to the truth - if his friend disagrees with him, he does not insist on his opinion by quibbles and fallacious arguments in order to score a point. Rather he acknowledges the truth and is not ashamed to admit: I erred! Thus, when Moses took issue with Aaron on a point of ritual, he accepted the latter's pleading, as it is written (Lev. 10:20): "And when Moses heard that, it was well-pleasing in his sight." Our Sages comment: He admitted his error, and instead of pleading: 'I had not heard it,' he was not ashamed to admit: 'I heard it, and forgot' (Zev. 101b).

Tiferet Yisrael explains the logical order in which our Mishnah arranges the qualities of the wise man. 1. Prior to being addressed, he does not speak before one greater than himself; 2. In the course of being addressed, he does not interrupt the words of his fellow; 3. At the end of the address, he is not hasty to answer; 4. But when he, in turn, opens his mouth he asks what is relevant and answers according to Halakhah; 5. When he expands upon. his ideas, he speaks on the first point first, etc.; 6. When unsure of his ground, he says: I have not heard; 7. When at the close of his deliberation his companions disagree with him, he agrees to what is true. And the opposite of these is the mark of the boor - who parades his thoughts before one who is superior to him in wisdom; interrupts the words of his fellow; is hasty to answer; etc.

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