Kommentar zu Pirkei Avot 1:11

SAGES, BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR WORDS. The mishna does not restrict its warning to the sages because other people are not included in it, but because if one of the sages says something ambiguous, those who listen will draw erronous conclusions, whereas nobody listens to the words of a commoner; the mishna therefore emphasizes the sages—Midrash Shmuel in the name of R. Yosef ibn Shoshan the Pious.

Avtalyon says, "Sages, be careful with your words, lest you become obligated in an obligation of exile Rambam, may his memory be blessed, wrote in a correct way in his commentary on Avot: "Be careful with your words," to explain your words so that you not leave room for [heresy], "lest you become obligated in an obligation of exile and are exiled to the place of evil waters" - the place of heretics that reveal the faces of Torah that are not appropriate, and extract from your words, things that are not so.

"Evil waters" is a nickname for heresy. And they said, "Be careful with your words" among the masses, and there should not be in in your words [something] that can support a different interpretation [than what you mean]. As if there are heretical men there, they will interpret them according to their beliefs. And the students will have already heard them from them and they will turn to heresy. And they will think that these were your beliefs and there will be a desecration of God, as happened to Antigonos with Tsadok and Beitos.

"Sages": The intention is not that other people are not warned about this; but rather if a doubt arises about the words of the Sages, the listeners will come to a general mistake, which is not the case with the words of a commoner, to whose words we are not attentive. Therefore, he warned the Sages more - Rabbi Y. Ibn Shoshan.

"Be careful with your words": such that you don't leave room for the heretics to make a mistake about your words.

Introduction Abtalion is the second sage of the fourth “pair”.

TO A PLACE OF BAD WATER. Rav: where they offer skewed interpretations of the Torah, and these are a euphemism for bad water. The sentence is out of order: it is the bad water which is a euphemism for skewed interpretations of Torah. Rambam writes that “bad water” is a euphemism for heresy.

"and the students who follow after you will drink" As they will hear your words and not understand and rely upon the words of the heretics who explain your words according to their opinions, and they will reason that this was your opinion, "and thus the name of Heaven is profaned."

And the language [of Rabbi Bartenura] is cut up (inverted), since evil waters is a term for faces of the Torah that are not like the law.

"lest you will be punished with exile": which is to say that even though in the place that you are, there are no heretics, one must be concerned lest sin will bring about that you will be obligated to be exiled. And you will be exiled to a place where there are people that show sides of the Torah that are not like the law (halakha), and this is a term for 'evil waters.' And they will understand improper things from your words and the students that come after them will drink words of heresy from these words and they will die from their sins.

Abtalion used to say: Sages be careful with your words, lest you incur the penalty of exile, and be carried off to a place of evil waters, and the disciples who follow you drink and die, and thus the name of heaven becomes profaned. Abtalion’s teaching deals with the accountability of the Sage, one who is responsible for continuing the tradition and teaching the world the proper interpretation of Scripture. Abtalion warns the Sages to be careful with their words, to make them clear so that their students will not misunderstand their intention. In many places the rabbis teach how dangerous the words of Torah can be if not understood in the right contexts, by people with the correct intentions in their application. A teacher has a responsibility not only to teach by reciting what he knows, but he must make sure that it is understood by the listener as well. Improper teaching will eventually force the teacher to leave his place in exile and go to a place of “evil waters”. This is probably a euphemism for heretical beliefs. If a teacher is not careful with his words, his students may end up as heretics. This certainly occurred in the times of Abtalyon, when many students left the path of the Sages and joined other sects, such as the Sadducees or Essenes. A disciple of a Sage leaving the path of Torah and joining other sects is not just a loss for the disciple himself, but it is a profaning of God’s name, and may lead to even worse consequences. People are very conscious of where people learned. For instance in Israel a person who grew up in a secular home and considers himself an atheist is not news. However, when, as has happened on occasion, a person who grew up in a Hasidic or ultra-orthodox home, and perhaps was even related to a famous rabbi, becomes an atheist and is politically active for a secular party that is news. The fact that the person knows the tradition and rejects it makes his rejection more consequential than that of one who rejects the tradition out of ignorance. His rejection reflects badly on the tradition and its source as well, God. It will lead others to think that if one who knew the Torah so well, said that it was not true, than why should we even bother to learn. For this reason teachers must be very careful that students do not misinterpret their words. I might add that this is especially difficult with learning over the internet, in situations where the teacher has no idea of who is reading what s/he writes. When sitting face to face with students, a teacher can directly answer their questions, and clarify misunderstood points. When these words which I write on a computer in my home in Israel, go up on the internet, billions of people, none of whom I know, will have access to them. I guess the advantages of having such a large potential audience are also balanced by some of the inherent dangers.

AND THE STUDENTS THAT COME AFTER YOU WILL DRINK OF THEM. Rav: as happened to Antigonos of Socho with Tzadok and Baitos his students. He said to them, “be not like servants serving the master for pay.” They said, Can it be that a worker labors and exerts himself all day and receives no pay towards evening? They, along with their followers, became heretics, and their sects are called Tzedukim and Baitusim till this very day. He writes in his commentary to the mishna in Yadaim, 4:6, along the same lines: groups of Jews then joined them, etc.
This is not quite what the tanna had in mind, as he is discussing only the scholars that will come after these sages.⁴¹And not their own students. The upshot is that the sages should take care that their words be clear enough to be properly understood by a generation of scholars that have no personal contact with them. A teaching that is not phrased clearly, even if it can be properly explained by the sage himself to his own students, is dangerous when presented without the opportunity for this clarification. I found that Rashbam writes in his commentary to Bava Batra 115b, in the name of the Avot deRabbi Natan, that the incident of Tzadok and Baitos was that they would teach their own students the words of Antigonos, “be not like servants serving the master for pay,” and the students erred. I saw the same in Avot deRabbi Natan, 5:2.

And [the explanation of Rabbi Bartenura] is not exactly the same as the words of the teacher, who is only teaching because of "the students that come after you." And Rashbam wrote in the name of Avot DeRabbi Natan that Tsadok and Beitos were teaching their students the words of Antigonos and the students erred.

"and thus the name of the Heavens will be profaned": such that these idle opinions will remain in the world, as happened to Antigonos, the man of Socho, with his students, Tsadok and Beitos. Since he told them, “Do not be like slaves that serve the master for the sake of receiving a reward.” And they said, “Is it possible that a laborer works the whole day and toils and in the evening he does not get a reward?” And they and their students became heretics, and they are called Saducees (tsedukim) and Boethusians (beitusim) to this day.