Musar zu Pirkei Avot 1:13

And Chazal have said (Shabbath 119b): "The breath of the mouth that has sinned is not like the breath of the mouth that has not sinned." ["the breath of the mouth that has sinned":] That is, he who has sinned only sometimes, by chance, as we have explained in Chapter VII. How much more so if the breath of his mouth is habituated to sin every day and every hour. And all this, even if his mouth sins in other forbidden things; how much more so, in the issur of lashon hara and rechiluth by which he certainly undermines the prayer that he prays after this; and it does not ascend unless he undertakes to repent of this, as we explained above in Chapter VII in the name of the holy Zohar. And we can say that this is the intent of the verse in Koheleth 7:13: "See the act of G-d. For who can straighten out what he has made crooked?" That is, set your eyes and your heart on the G-dly things, the holy sanctuaries and the celestial lights created by you on high by your Torah and your mitzvoth — that they be created in perfection, by all the preparations needed for this and also by "clean tools," as explained above. For who can straighten out what he has made crooked? This is, if you damage them, G-d forbid, they will remain forever defective and damaged, and this will cause you eternal worry and constant grief in remembering that it was your slothfulness that caused all this. For they [(the heavenly edifices)] are not like the buildings of this world, which, if one damages them, another builder can repair them. Not so, with the desired [eternal] end. As stated by the tanna in Avoth 1:13: "If I am not for myself, who is for me?" And this is the intent of the verse "For who can straighten out what he has made crooked?"

In Avoth 1:13 we find that Hillel used to say: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me, etc." This apothegm is highly comprehensive. Its plain meaning relates to zeal in the service of the L-rd, saying: "If a man himself does not bestir himself while he is yet alive and while he still has strength, who can help him?" As Scripture states (Koheleth 9:10): "All that your hand finds to do, in your strength do it" — "in your strength," specifically. We have already expatiated upon this elsewhere. For a man can depend but very little upon his sons, and his principal (task) is to prepare "provender for his destined abode." And it is in this regard that Hillel says plainly: If a man himself does not benefit his soul, who can do it for him?

(Avoth 1:13): "He [Hillel] used to say: 'If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am [only] for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?'" If the tanna, Hillel, was wont to say this, there are certainly found in it principles and foundations to spur a man to his acts and ways in this world to bring him to his eternal happiness. And there are certainly included in his words lofty thoughts and varied explanations. We have explained this at length elsewhere. But, in its plain sense, I have come to explain now that the tanna comes to remind us of the great zeal required by a man for Torah and good deeds day by day.