Kommentar zu Pirkei Avot 2:1

WHICH IS THE STRAIGHT PATH A PERSON SHOULD CHOOSE FOR HIMSELF… BE AS CAREFUL… When the mishna mentions the “straight path a person should choose for himself”, it is discussing something optional and giving good advice, not explaining what the law obligaties one to do. “Be as careful…”, on the other hand, obligates a person to be equally careful with all the comandments. The mishna therefore begins in the third person, using the language of suggestion, and then moves to the second person, using the language of command—Maharal in Derech Chaim. See my commentary to mishna 9.
Derech here is treated as a feminine noun. For a discussion of this, see Kiddushin 2a-b.

Rabbi [Yehuda haNasi] said: Which is the straight path that a person should choose for himself? Whichever [path] that is [itself] praiseworthy for the person adopting [it], And praiseworthy to him from [other] people: When the commandments are done, the Holy One, blessed be He, is made praiseworthy through them and that is true praiseworthiness for people. And therefore, one should choose this path for himself.

It is clear that the straight path is the good actions which we have elucidated in the fourth chapter (Eight Chapters 4), and they are the virtues of moderation. As through them a person acquires a fine disposition and he will have a good way with people. And he said it is "praiseworthy for the person adopting [it], And praiseworthy to him from [other] people." And afterwards, he said that he needs to be careful with a commandment that he thinks is light - like rejoicing in the holiday, and study of the Holy Tongue - as with a commandment the great weightiness of which is clear to you - like circumcision and tsitsit (fringes) and slaughtering of the Pesach sacrifice. And there the reason for this is for you do not know the reward given [for the fulfillment] of [the respective] commandments. And the elucidation of this matter is as I will say. And it is that the entire Torah has positive commandments and negative commandments. It is true that Scripture elucidated the punishment of each negative commandment except for a few of them. And one is obligated the death penalties for some of them and excision and death at the hand of the Heavens and lashes for some of them. And we know from all of the punishments of the negative commandments which of the prohibitions are great and which ones of them are below them. And they are eight levels: The first level - and it is the greatest of them - are those things for which one is obligated stoning. And the one below it are the ones that obligate burning. And the third are the ones that obligate killing (decapitation). And the fourth are the ones that obligate strangling. And the fifth are ones that obligate excision. And the sixth are ones that obligate death at the hand of the Heavens. And the seventh are ones that obligate lashes. And the eighth are negative commandments for which we do not give lashes. And from these levels we can know what is the weightiness of a sin or its lightness. But what is the reward from God, may He be blessed, of each of the positive commandments is not elucidated. And all of this is so that we do not know which commandment requires that we keep it much and which commandment is below it. Rather He commanded to do matter x and y and He did not make known the reward of which one of them is greater from God, may He be blessed. And because of this one needs to be careful about all of them. And because of this principle, they said (Sukkah 25a), "One who is engaged in a commandment is exempt from [another] commandment," without comparing [the weight of] the commandment that he is involved in to the other one from which he is refraining. And for this, they also said (Pesachim 64b et. al.), "We do not skip over commandments," meaning to say that when you chance upon the performance of a commandment, do not skip over it and leave it to do another commandment. And afterwards he said that even though the [relative] desirability of each commandment is not elucidated, there is an angle of comparison. And that is that every positive commandment wherein you find that one who transgresses it is obligated a great punishment, know that there is also a great reward in doing [the commandment]. And the example of this is that circumcision, slaughtering the Pesach sacrifice, resting on the seventh [day] and the making of a parapet are all positive commandments. Yet the obligation of one who does work on Shabbat is stoning, but the one who refrains from circumcision or the sacrifice on the holiday is obligated [only] excision and the one who 'places blood in his house' (by refraining from setting up a parapet) violates a negative commandment [without a tangible punishment], and that is that which is stated (Deuteronomy 22:8), "do not place blood in your house." And from here you know that the reward of Shabbat is greater than the reward of circumcision and the reward of circumcision is greater with God, may He be blessed, than the reward of making a parapet. And that is the matter of his saying, "Also, weigh the loss [that may be sustained through the fulfillment] of a commandment against the reward [that may be obtained] for [fulfilling] it." And he also said "the gain of a transgression," when you do not do it - this too is not elucidated. However you can learn it from the punishment of the sin. When the sin for which the sinner was punished is great, the reward for his refraining from it is according to that level of greatness, as is elucidated in Kiddushin 39b in their saying, "Anyone who sits and does not commit a sin is given a reward like the one who does a commandment" - and we have already explained it there. And the expression of the Torah of actions being known to Him, may He be blessed, is like that when our teacher Moshe, peace be upon him, stated (Exodus 32:32), "from Your book that you have written."

"Which is, etc. And be as careful, etc.": Because "the straight path that a person should choose for himself, etc." is an optional matter and it is good advice that it is teaching us, but he is not obligating a person with this. However, "and be as careful, etc." is obligating a person that he should be careful, etc. Therefore the beginning of the words of his mouth, "Which is the... path that a person should choose, etc." are in third person; and afterwards, "and be as careful" is in second person, in order to obligate him in this - Derekh Chaim.

Rabbi [Yehuda haNasi] said, "...sheyivor": [is the same as] sheyivror (that he should choose).

Rabbi Said: which is the straight path that a man should choose for himself? One which is an honor to the person adopting it, and [on account of which] honor [accrues] to him from others.
And be careful with a light commandment as with a grave one, for you did know not the reward for the fulfillment of the commandments.
Also, reckon the loss [that may be sustained through the fulfillment] of a commandment against the reward [accruing] thereby, and the gain [that may be obtained through the committing] of a transgression against the loss [entailed] thereby.
Apply your mind to three things and you will not come into the clutches of sin: Know what there is above you: an eye that sees, an ear that hears, and all your deeds are written in a book.
“Rabbi” in the Mishnah without a name refers to Rabbi Judah Hanasi (the Prince), the son of Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel. He lived in a city called Beth Shearim, afterwards in Beth Shean and at the end of his life he moved to Tzippori. Rabbi acquired eternal fame as the editor of the Mishnah.
Note that this mishnah through mishnah seven of this chapter continues a list of statements made by descendents of Hillel, whose first statement was in mishnah twelve of the previous chapter.
All of Rabbi’s statements deal in one way or another with the reward that one receives for one’s good deeds and the punishments for transgressions. Rabbi is dealing with the question, how does a person choose a path in life based on the rewards and losses that may come to him through choosing this path. Note that some of these rewards may be the recognition that he receives from others but that usually Rabbi refers to a reward given by God.
The first thing that Rabbi teaches is that a person should choose a path that is both honorable to himself, and will bring him honor from others. Maimonides understood this as advice to take the “golden mean”, the middle path, in all aspects of life. For instance if a person has a lot of money and hoards it all for himself, it might bring honor (pleasure) to him, but if he doesn’t give any to others, others will not praise him. And if he gives all of his money away, others will praise him, but he will not have any for himself. Therefore, one should choose an in-between path (between 10 and 20 percent of one’s money), both in this matter and in all things in life. Another understanding of this statement is that one should strive to choose a path that he himself believes is correct and one which is deemed correct by others. A person must be true both to himself, but he can also not afford to ignore the society in which he lives.
The second statement is that one should be careful in the observance of commandments that seem to him “light” just as he is careful in the observance of what he considers more serious commandments. There is an interesting parable given on this statement. “R. Hiyya taught by way of parable: “A king brought laborers into one of his orchards, but did not inform them in advance what would be the compensation for the respective plants they would cultivate. For had he given them this information, each of them would have looked for that plant for which the compensation was generous and taken care of it. As a result only some of the work in the orchard would have been taken care of; some would have been neglected. Said Rabbi Acha in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Kahana: The Holy One did not reveal what would be the reward for the different commandments of the Torah, lest only some of these be carried out, while some would be neglected.”
The third statement teaches that one should pay attention to the reward that one might receive for performing a commandment, even though there is a financial loss through its performance. The same is true of the opposite. Although one might make a financial gain by committing a sin, there is a loss that is worse than the financial gain. Obviously the reward referred to in the first half of Rabbi’s statement and the loss in the second half are referring to those meted out by God.
All of the above statements were based upon the belief that God rewards those who perform the commandments and punishes those who transgress. [Note this statement is a matter of faith; it cannot be empirically observed in this world]. This is the direct meaning of Rabbi’s last statement. God (figuratively) sees all of our actions, hears all of our words, and records them in a book. A person should always act as if he is in the presence of God. If he keeps that in mind he will distance himself from sin.

BE AS CAREFUL WITH A LIGHT COMMANDMENT AS WITH A WEIGHTY ONE. Regarding the care that one should have in performing the commandments, the mishna says that one should be as eager and ready to perform a light commandment as a weighty one, because “one does not know the rewards for the commandments.” The mishna does not mean, however, that when one is forced to choose between a light commandment and a weighty one, he ought to choose the light one, as that is illogical. It is only discussing the care one should take in performing each of the commandments on its own. So Abarbanel and Maharal in Derech Chaim.

And praiseworthy to him from [other] people: That he do the commandments in their [appropriate] time, as it is stated (Proverbs 15:23), "and how good is a thing in its time." As he can do [them] in a time that is not right in the eyes of the creatures and it will not attain praiseworthiness from them. And that is not doing the complete commandment; as the matter that the sages, may their memory be blessed, said (Shabbat 63a), "Anyone who does a commandment according to its statement nullifies even a decreed judgment of seventy years, as it is stated (Ecclesiastes 8:4), 'Inasmuch as a king’s command is authoritative, and none can say to him, “What are you doing?,” and it is written after it, 'One who obeys the commandment will not know evil.'" He should also beautify the commandments - a beautiful lulav (palm frond), a beautiful talit (prayer shawl), a beautiful scroll of the Torah, tefillin and the like, in a manner that people will praise it and complement him about them. And Rambam, may his memory be blessed, explained this mishnah [to be] about character traits, to [follow] the middle path which is the choice path and is praiseworthy for the one that adopts it. As it establishes 'a pure heart' in a person and 'renews a proper spirit in his soul.' And "it is praiseworthy to him from [other] people," in that the creations learn to act well and properly from him. [For example] with the trait of generosity, 'A miser will not be called noble,' and also a spendthrift will see evil. And [so] who is the generous one? One who - even though he loves money and saves it very well - consults generously and orders his spending so that he will have enough 'to do the good and the straight' in the place that is fitting to give to. So [too] there is no trait under the [sun] that [is proper] except besides the middle path. And [these traits] are praiseworthy for the person adopting it, and praiseworthy to him from [other] people (but [not] if he does [too] little or [too] much).

"And be, etc.": Concerning the matter of carefulness - to be careful and quick with a light commandment as he is careful and quick with a weighty commandment - is what he is speaking about and warning, "for, etc." And it is not that he wants to say that when two commandments come to your hand, [and] one is light and one is weighty and you do not have the ability to do both of them together, that you should not let go of the light one and do the weighty one - as the mind would not tolerate that. But rather he is only speaking concerning the matter of carefulness and each one [is to be done] at its time - Derekh Chaim.

"Which is the right path that a person should choose for himself? Whichever [path] that is [itself] praiseworthy for the person adopting [it]": that it should be pleasant for him and pleasant to people from him. And this will be when he walks in the middle path in all of this character traits and not veer to one of the two extremes. For if he is very stingy, it is praiseworthy for him, as he gathers much money together, but people do not praise him for this trait. And if he throws [money] around beyond what is fitting, the people that receive it from him praise him, but it is not praiseworthy for [him] and it is not pleasant for him, as he will come to poverty because of it. But rather, the trait of generosity - which is the middle [trait] between stinginess and throwing [money] around - is praiseworthy for him, as he keeps his money and does not throw it around more than is fitting; and it is praiseworthy for others from [such] a man; as people praise him, that he gives as is fitting for him to give. And so is the case with all of the other traits.

FOR YOU DO NOT KNOW THE REWARD FOR EACH COMMANDMENT. Rav: neither the reward for performing a positive commandment nor the punishment for not doing so are given in the Torah. Rambam: the Torah does not clarify the reward G-d gives for all of the positive commandments. Rambam’s explanation avoids the problem of the verses “so that your days may be numerous” (Deutereonomy 11:21) and “so that your days be long” (Exodus 20:11).⁵⁴Because he writes “all.” There are exceptional cases that do specify the reward.
But Maharal writes in Derech Chaim that when our mishna says “you do not know the reward” it means that the reward varies with the alacrity, the effort expended, and the cost (which is included in effort) of performing the commandment. This is what is unknown, because the reward is proportional to the difficulty. But as for the type of reward for the commandment itself, that can be known, as the verse concerning sending the mother away from the eggs says, “So that it go well for you” (Deuteronomy 22:7). Maharal supports this contention using the mishna in Chullin 12:5, which is speaking about the sending the mother away from the eggs: and if, concerning a light commandment, the Torah says “so that it go well for you and you have length of days,” this is certainly so for a weighty commandment! How can the mishna reason from the case of the light commandment ot that of the weighty commandment, if rewards for commandments cannot be known altogether? Rather, it must be that the unknown here is only the reward for the effort and cost involved. But as for the reward for the commandment itself, the mishna concludes “this is certainly so for a weighty commandment.”
He further writes that the mishna at the beginning of Peah (1:1) which says “these are the commandments whose interest one consumes in this world, while the principal is stored away for the next: honoring one’s mother and father, etc.” is discussing the type of reward, but not its extent.⁵⁵I.e., these are not the commandments whose reward is so great that some of it must be dealt out in this world, as opposed to other commandments that carry less reward, which is entirely distributed in the next world. That is, these are the commandments for which the reward must be received in two stages, in this world and in the next. But it is entirely possible that the reward for some other commandment in the next world is greater than the combined interest and the principal of the ones in this list, for “one moment of pleasure in the next world is greater than an entire life of it in this one” (Avot 4:17). And the end of that mishna, which says “and Torah study is greater than them all,” has nothing to do with our present discussion, which deals only with comparing two commandments, but not with comparing a commandment to Torah study; for the reward for Torah study is obviously much greater.

And be as careful with a light commandment as with a weighty one, for you do not know the reward given [for the fulfillment] of [the respective] commandments: Even though the punishments for sins are explained to us - as some of them are with excision ( karet) and some with death at the hands of Heaven, excision being that he and his seed are cut off whereas death at the hands of Heaven is only that he is cut off, and there are some sins that get the four death penalties meted out by the court, and there are negative commandments that bring forty lashes, and the one who transgresses the rabbinic laws gets rabbinic lashes for rebellion - but the reward of the [positive] commandments is not explained to us, not for the light ones and not for the weighty ones. And the sages, may their memory be blessed, demonstrated [this with] a parable (Pesikta Rabbati 23), "To what is this similar? To a king who gave an orchard for his servants in which to plant trees. And if he made known to them the giving of reward [of the different trees], they would have all toiled on those trees that have a large reward, and it would come out that the orchard would be missing the other [trees]. So [too], were the Holy One, blessed be He, to make known the giving of reward for the [different] commandments, [people] would do the weighty ones that have a large reward and leave over the light ones that have a smaller reward, and a person would be incomplete in the commandments." And for this reason, one should not be lenient about the commandments, and his soul should hold them [all] dear to do, since he does not know which are the light ones and which are the weighty ones. But our rabbi (R. Yehuda HaNassi, the author of this mishnah) excelled in his words and gave a stronger reason than this and said that "you do not know the reward given [for the fulfillment] of [the respective] commandments" [as to] how much it is - as even the reward of a light commandment is highly elevated. And you should be careful not to lose such a great gain, like the matter that they said (Chullin 142a), "'If you chance upon the nest of a bird in front of you, etc.' (Deuteronomy 22:6) - and if for a commandment as light as a small coin the Torah says, 'in order that it will be good for you' in the world that is completely good 'and that you will have length of days' in the world that is completely long, all the more is it so for the weighty commandments of the Torah."

And this is the language of Rambam: The reward of positive commandments was not explained as to what each one is with God, may He blessed, etc. And leave that it is found, "so that your days will be multiplied, etc.;" "so that it will be good for you;" "so that your days will be lengthened." But in Derekh Chaim, he explained that it is with regards to the exertion and the care and the expense that he said that you don't know; as 'according to the toil is the reward, etc.' And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"for you do not know the reward given [for the fulfillment] of [the respective] commandments": The reward of one who performs a positive commandment and the punishment of one who refrains from doing them is not explained in the Torah. As if it were [referring to] the punishment of negative commandments, they are explicit in the Torah: stoning, burning, killing (decapitation), strangulation, being cut off and death by the hand of the Heavens and lashes. The lightest punishment is for lightest sin, and the weightiest one is for the weightiest.

THEIR REWARD⁵⁶We have translated the Hebrew sachar as “reward” in the text of the mishna. Throughout the text of the commentary, and in other mishnayot, we found different renderings more appropriate. [Heb. matan sachar lit. “the gift of their reward”]. G-d will reward you for your deeds.⁵⁷A play on Isaiah 40:10, which will be quoted further on. You will often find that someone who serves an earthly king for some fixed wages will receive a much greater payment from the king than had been agreed upon if the king is especially pleased with his work (or for some other reason). Such payment is not, strictly speaking, a wage [Heb. sachar], because it is not the market value of such work. It would be more correct to refer to it as gift-wages, because a large part of it is a gift, but it is not entirely a gift, because some of it really is the earned wages. “The heavenly kingdom parallels the earthly one,” and these gift-wages are what is meant by matan sachar. For G-d will increase the gift given to a person with the pleasure He receives from his performance of the commandment.
This, in fact, is the meaning of the verse, “Behold! His⁵⁸The antecedent of “his” in each case is a person. wages are with Him, and his deed is before Him” (Isaiah 40:10). The word “behold” indicates something clear and known, as the wages are certainly with Him. In addition, “his deed is before Him,” for the actual deed is certainly before Him, and for that he will receive reward many times over, as above. So it seems to me.

Also, weigh the loss [that may be sustained through the fulfillment] of a commandment against the reward [that may be obtained] for [fulfilling] it: As if your heart will whisper something to say, "How will I do this and lose my money with this and that"; you can also say to it, "Because there will be a great reward for it, two thousand times the loss." And with this, it will not prevent you from glory.

"the reward given": 'There is reward for your action' from God, may He be blessed, etc. And it is like one who works for the king and has the reward for his work allotted. And because it is pleasing to the king - or from another angle - the king will give him much more reward than that which is allotted as the reward for his work. And reward like this is not fitting to just be called reward. But this is its name - it is called, "reward given" - as with it comes a great gift. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"Also, weigh the loss [that may be sustained through the fulfillment] of a commandment": that which you lose from your merchandise and your money because of the involvement in the commandment in contrast with the reward that will accrue to you from it in this world or the world to come, which will be more than that loss.

AND CONSIDER THE LOSS INCURRED IN PERFORMING A COMMANDMENT AGAINST ITS REWARD. For although the amount of the reward is unknown, we do know that “there is no reward for a commandment in this world,” that the true reward is in the world to come, and there is no comparison between it and whatever material pleasure one has foregone. As per the midrashic interpretation⁵⁹In Berachot 34b, the Talmud sees this verse as referring to the incomparable pleasures of the world to come. of the verse “No eye has seen this” (Isaiah 64:3), and their dictum: one moment of pleasure in the next world is greater than an entire life of it in this one (Avot 4:17).
And Rabbi certainly did not disagree with Antigonos of Socho’s teaching that one shouldn’t be like a servant serving G-d for pay. He meant, rather, that when you are accosted by the “vile one”—he who is called satan and the “evil inclination”—consider loss and reward in order to deflect him—Abarbanel and Maharal in Derech Chaim.
Now according to my commentary on the mishna of Antigonos (Avot 1:3), where I write that Antigonos did not mean that those who serve in order to receive reward are not really servants of G-d, we can say that Rabbi’s approach is for the greater part of the people, and Antigonos’ is for the very few. If only the greater part were just as the few!⁶⁰This is a pun in the Hebrew text; cf. the explanation of R. Yishma`el’s 13 rules in standard editions of the Sifra, s.v. k’lal ufrat keitzad.

And [weigh] the gain [that may be obtained through the committing] of a transgression against the loss [that may be sustained] by [committing] it: 'Lest there be in your heart the base thought to say,' "There is great reward in doing this sin and I will gain very much with it and I will have great pleasure; and how can I not do it?" - guard yourself and consider that which you will lose from it in the end of days, as it is many times over that which you will gain now. And the future pain is much longer and bigger than the temporary pleasure. And when you put this into your heart, your hand will cease from doing [it]; as a person does not want a gain that has a greater loss [attached to] it.

"weigh, etc.": As even though how much the reward will be is not known, we know that 'there is no reward for a commandment in this world' and that the true reward is in the world to come; and there is no comparison to it from the physical good that he will lose. (And see what I have written above, Chapter 1, Mishnah 3.) And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"and [weigh] the gain [that may be obtained through the committing] of a transgression": the benefit that you gain from a transgression in contrast with the loss that will come to you in the future from it.

AND KNOW. Because this “looking”⁶¹In the mishna: histakel bishlosha devarim. Histakel literally means “look” or “stare.” is with the sight of the mind, not the sight of the senses, the mishna adds “and know.” Cf. 3:1.

Keep your eye on three things, and you will not come to sin: Know what is above you: An Eye that sees, and an Ear that hears, and all your deeds are written in a book: He means to say that the Holy One, blessed be He, sees and knows all the actions of people and remembers everything as if it is written in front of Him, and He will repay evil for [ a person's] evil deeds. And it is a wonder why he counted them as three things, as the three of them are [really] one thing. As this is [all] just saying that God knows everything and will pay back in the future according to the deed. And [so] what is this calculation, as they are all one matter? Hence, it appears that the explanation is that this matter is a metaphor: that in the same way that when he is standing in front of kings and in front of ministers and sages and men of repute, he would be embarrassed to do things that are not done and from saying things that are not good; so [too] should he think at all times as if he is in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the same way as a man stands in front of his companion. And with this, he will guard his way - also his mouth and his tongue - from sinning, and 'from anguish to his soul.' And that is why he said, "Know what is above you: An Eye that sees, and an Ear that hears," and counted them as two things - an Eye that sees corresponding to the deed and an Ear that hears corresponding to the speech. And God forbid - it is not a real eye nor a [real] ear. But rather, he means to say that there is no deed that is hidden from in front of Him nor one that is unknown to Him. And the third thing is "and all your deeds are written in a book" - meaning to say that there is no forgetting in front of His throne of glory. And behold, all things are ordered in front of Him, as if they were written in a book, to pay their doers according to their actions and according to the deeds of their hands in the end of days. And if a person puts into his heart the payback that will be given to him, he will prevent himself from doing [sins]. And about this, he said, "Keep your eye on these three things and you will not come to sin."

"Know:" As this 'keeping your eye' is not a physical vision, but rather with the vision of the mind. Therefore, he repeated and said, "know."

WHAT IS ABOVE YOU [Heb. l’ma`alah mimcha]. For if when the weaker man is atop the stronger one the stronger one fears him, all the more so when the stronger one is on top.⁶²So when one imagines to oneself how G-d records his deeds, he will imagine G-d as being above him, and will thereby have an even greater fear of Him—not that G-d is actually above him in any way, as G-d is incorporeal. And the “above you” instead of simply “above” indicates that He is immediately above you, per the verse “I always place G-d before me” (Psalms 16:8).

"above": Since if a weak one was above and a strong one below, the fear of the weak one would be on the strong one. All the more so, if the strong one were above. And mimekha (literally from you) means not far but right above from you. As the matter that is stated, "I have placed the Lord in front of me."

AN EYE THAT SEES, AN EAR THAT HEARS, AND A BOOK IN WHICH ALL OF YOUR DEEDS ARE WRITTEN. Some things the eye sees, such as the deeds of the wicked, and some things the ear hears, as in the cursing of the profane, so the mishna says both an eye that sees and an ear that hears. And so that one shouldn’t think that anything which comes before His great throne is forgotten, the mishna says “and a book in which all of your deeds are written.” This “book” and “the book of rememberance” that the poet mentions in the liturgy for the Days of Awe⁶³In the liturgical poem Unetaneh Tokef. are one and the same. This usage also appears in the Torah: “from the book you have written” (Exodus 32:32), “I will erase him from my book” (Exodus 32:33).
To prevent one from sinning, it would have sufficed for the mishna to instruct one to consider the fact that all of one’s deeds are written in a book, which would obviously only be for the purpose of doling out reward and punishment for those deeds. The previous phrase, that there is One who sees and hears, was put in because in its absence the following metaphor would be unclear to the listener. Maharal writes in Derech Chaim that the mishna uses the singular—“an eye that sees, an ear that hears”—to emphasize that G-d is not a man that he should have eyes of flesh and blood, G-d forbid.

"An Eye, etc.": Corresponding to actions, he said "An Eye that sees," and corresponding to speech, he said, "an Ear that hears." And it would have been enough to prevent transgressions if he were to know that his actions are written in a book. But he would not know and understand this without first knowing that there is a Seer and a Listener. And in Derekh Chaim [its author] wrote, "He said Eye and Ear in the singular, because He is not a person that has eyes of flesh and blood, God forbid."