Torah Community Connections

Week 133 - Monday - 10 June 2002

PIRKEI AVOT: CHAPTER 2: MISHNAH 4

He used to say: Do His will as if it were your Will, so that He may do your will as if it were His will. Cancel your will before His will, so that He may cancel the will of others before your will. Hillel said: Do not withdraw from the community. And do not trust in yourself until the day of your death. And do not judge your fellow until you have put yourself in his place. Do not say anything, which cannot be understood (on the assumption) that eventually it will be understood. And do not say, 'When I have time I shall study,' perchance you will never have time.

Kehati

The Mishnah opens with further statements by Rabban Gamliel, and then returns to offer additional teachings of Hillel the Elder (until Mishnah 7) to link up Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai (Mishnah 8) with Hillel, from whom he received Torah (Tosefot Yomtov).

He - Rabban Gamliel, the son of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, used to say: do His will - the will of the Almighty, by studying Torah and fulfilling His commandments, as if it were your will - as devotedly and eagerly, as if prompted by your own heart, so that He may do your will - to fulfill the wishes of your own heart, as if it were His will - in keeping with His constant desire to benefit His creatures. Alternatively, it is interpreted as: so that He may render your will as if it were His will - and thus enable you to attain harmony between the Divine will and yours (Hameiri). Bartenura explains: Do His will as if it were your will - spend your resources on a religious cause as liberally as if it were your own, so that He may do your will as if it were His will - and bestow upon you His generous bounty.

Cancel your will before His will - the first statement refers to the positive commandments, and here we are bidden to observe the negative commandments (Tosefot Yom Tov). When tempted to commit a sin, cancel your will before His will - the will of your Creator who forbids you to act thus, so that He may cancel the will of others before your will - and frustrate the evil designs of your adversaries (Bartenura), as it is written (Prov. 16:7): "When the ways of man please the Lord, He makes even his enemies live in peace with him." Alternatively, the will of others is seen as a respectful allusion to G-d, who graciously, as it were, renounced His will to please His servants, thus (Shab. 63a): "Whoever fulfills a precept as it is spelled out… even if G-d has passed a decree (against him), He annuls it."

Hillel said: do not withdraw from the community - but share the public sorrows, as we read (Ta'an. 11a): "When Israel dwell in sorrow, and a Jew dissociates himself from them, the two ministering angels who accompany man, lay their hands on his head, and say: 'This man, who detached himself from the community, shall not witness the consolation of the community."' Furthermore (ibid.): "When the community dwells in sorrow, let no one say: 'I shall go home, and shall eat and drink... and all will be well with me... Rather, he should grieve with the community... And whoever participates in the sorrows of the public, will be privileged to witness its consolation." And do not trust in yourself until the day of your death - do not rely on your righteousness, saying that you will never stumble and forfeit your piety, seeing that even "Yohanan the High Priest served in his post eighty years, yet in the end became a Sadducee" (Ber. 29a). And do not judge your fellow until you have put yourself in his place - when your friend succumbs to temptation and sins, do not judge him harshly until you have had the same experience and withstood that temptation.

Do not say anything which cannot be understood - on initial consideration trusting that eventually it will be understood - once the listener has further exerted himself, for this may lead to distortion and error. Instead, you should formulate your thoughts clearly and intelligibly, so that they need no further clarification. Alternatively, Do not say anything which cannot be heard (the Hebrew lishmo'a connotes both 'to understand' and 'to hear' - tr.) - do not share your secrets even with your best friends, nor should you even whisper it when you are all alone, believing that it cannot be discovered, for eventually it will be heard - and discovered, as it is written (Eccl. 10:20): "Curse not the king, not in your thoughts; and curse not the rich in your bedchamber; for a bird in the air shall carry the voice." And our Sages added (Yalkut Shimoni. Kohelet): "The wall has ears." And do not say: When I have time - to get away from my business, I shall study - the Torah, perchance you will never have time - because you may well be troubled by the unpredictable drift of daily events. Thus you may reach the end of your life without having studied Torah; therefore, "Make the study of Torah a fixed habit" (Rambam, Rabbenu Yonah).

PIRKEI AVOT: CHAPTER 2: MISHNAH 5

He used to say: An ignoramus cannot fear sin, nor can an unlearned man be pious. A bashful man cannot learn, nor can an impatient man teach. And not every one who engages overmuch in business grows wise. And in a place where there are no men, endeavor to be a man.

Kehati

He - Hillel the Elder, used to say: An ignoramus - a man who is devoid of Torah and wisdom, and is unworldly, cannot fear sin - because he does not even recognize evil, and know what to avoid, nor can an unlearned man be pious - one who is unfamiliar with Torah, but is pragmatic and worldly, may indeed be sin-fearing and free of encroachment upon his fellow men, but he cannot attain piety, i.e. adherence beyond the letter of the law, which requires a pure heart and a noble soul; these do not flourish without the knowledge of Torah. Hence, our Sages said (Shab. 63a): "Do not reside in the vicinity of an unlearned, though pious, man" (since he is unfamiliar with the specifications of the precepts, his piety is faulty, and you may eventually follow in his footsteps - Rashi). Others explain that piety is a quality which requires of a man to behave in all of his dealings beyond the letter of the law, a standard with which tradesmen cannot comply, as is well borne out in the realm of weights and measures (Hameiri).

A bashful man cannot learn - being shy to ask his teacher what he fails to understand, he remains in doubt and deficient in his learning. Bashfulness, though a commendable quality, is harmful to learning, as our Sages said: "Let a man seek help in locating a verse or Halakhah even though people may laugh at him, as it is written (Prov. 30:32): 'If you have done foolishly in lifting yourself up' - i.e., though you made yourself appear foolish in your quest for Torah, you will ultimately be lifted up" (Tanna de Bei Eliyahu). Nor can an impatient man teach - one who has no patience to respond to his students' questions and is overly strict about their conduct, is unfit to be a teacher, because the students are afraid to ask and remain unenlightened. A teacher must bear with his students and explain his lesson thoroughly until it is fully comprehended.

And not every one who engages overmuch in business grows wise - a person who is tied to commerce will fail to acquire wisdom, because he has little time to study Torah, as our Sages interpreted the verse (Deut. 30:13): "Neither is (the Torah) beyond the sea," to mean that the Torah is not found among those who cross the oceans, i.e. among traders and merchants (Er. 55a). The Gemara (Nid. 70a) relates: "The men of Alexandria asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananyah: 'What should a man do to gain wisdom?' He told them: 'He should sit (in the academy) as much as possible, and trade as little as possible."' And in a place where there are no men - if there are none in your city from whom you can learn Torah, endeavor to be a man - and study by yourself according to your ability to become a man of wisdom and upright character. Others comment: Where there are no people to care for the needs of the community endeavor to be that man.

Return to Mishna Yomit Index

Visit the Mishna Yomit Archives