Commentary for Pirkei Avot 1:13

THE NAME THAT SPREADS [Aram. n’gad sh’ma] IS THE NAME THAT PERISHES [Aram. avad sh’meh]. Rav: the name that spreads far on account of power and position will soon perish, for power buries its own. Maharal points out in Derech Chaim that the the mishna first uses the word sh’ma, “the name,” and then the words sh’meh, “his/its name” and explains the mishna as follows: n’gad shma—the word used for a position of power in Aramaic is n’gad, which denotes spreading and continuity. But the word for a position of power really ought to be avad, “perishes,” as the name of the person in power perishes, because “power buries its own.”⁴³Accordingly, the mishna should be read as “the word n’gad, its proper name is avad.” Although there are editions that read n’gad sh’ma avad sh’ma, both with an alef.⁴⁴ Sh’ma is spelled with an alef at the end, whereas sh’meh is spelled with a yud hey.
Midrash Shmuel: “n’gad sh’ma”—one who attempts to spread out his name to get fame for himself as one of the greats, “avad sh’meh” loses whatever name he had previously and ends up bereft of both. In the name of R. Yosef ibn Shoshan the Pious he writes that the correct text is shin mem alef, i.e. sh’ma.
See my comments on 5:22 for why this mishna uses Aramaic.

He would say, "Spread a name, lose his name:" He means to say, a man that is proud and his name goes out in the world due to his pride and his greatness and he makes for himself a name 'like the names of the world's greats' in opposition to the great Name that is permanent in pride; this way, will he lose his name in a great loss and he will not be remembered and he will not be counted.

"His name": that he had before. And he ends up 'bald' (lacking a name) from this and from that" - Midrash Shmuel. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"Spread (Negad) a name, lose his name": He who extends his name far by way of authority and lordship will quickly lose his name, since lordship buries those that have it. Negad is a term for extension. The [Aramaic] translation of 'they extended' is 'nagidu.'

Introduction This mishnah contains more statements from Hillel. All of the sayings in this mishnah are in Aramaic. Although almost all of the Mishnah is in Hebrew, it is unclear what the common spoken language of the Jews was at the time of the Mishnah. These sayings are folksy, that is they are pithy and easy to remember. The fact that they are in Aramaic may mean that many of the “folk” spoke Aramaic, but that the language of study was Hebrew. By the time of the Talmud it is clear that Aramaic was the dominant language in the land of Israel, at least amongst the Jews (many non-Jews would have spoken Greek).

AND HE WHO DOES NOT ADD, SHALL MEET HIS END. Kesef Mishneh explains in his commentary to Rambam’s Mishne Torah, Hilchot Talmud Torah 3:10, that this phrase should be read as a development of the previous phrase, which he understands as n’gad sh’ma—one who studies Torah in order to spread his name, avad sh’meh—his name shall perish. One might then say, I will no longer study, because perhaps my study will be for the sake of fame and then my name will perish! To counter that, the mishna says “and he who does not add, will met his end.” Now certainly the worst case is that of one who has previously studied Torah and then quits his studies. Addressing one who has not previously studied and decides that he will not study, the mishna says “and he who does not learn, deserves death,” because “deserves death” is not as severe as “will meet his end.” For though he deserves death, perhaps he has some merit that will protect him. [*This runs counter to Rav, who says that one who has not studied at all is worse than one who no longer studies.]

And one who does not increase [knowledge] ceases (yasef)" One who is wise but does not want to add wisdom to his wisdom and says in his heart, "I have already learned all of the Torah entirely and I have seen its ways and its paths. What is there for me in this pain to trouble myself in my fleeting days and what [more] is there for me to understand that I have not understood?" May it be His will that this man should die and be gathered (yeasef) to his people. And why should he live [any] more, since he has already gotten up from studying?

"and one who does not, etc.": Since he says, 'spread a name' - meaning to say, one who learns in order to enhance his name (fame) - [will] 'lose his name;' lest you say in your heart, 'I will no longer learn - as maybe my learning will be for my name, and it will be lost, etc.,' or if I heard this statement before I would learn, I will not learn. To this he said, 'and one who does not add, will cease' certainly - since one who learns and stops is more difficult than everything, etc. - Kessef Mishneh. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"And one who does not add": He who does not add to his study.

He [also] used to say: one who makes his name great causes his name to be destroyed; one who does not add [to his knowledge] causes [it] to cease; one who does not study [the Torah] deserves death; on who makes [unworthy] use of the crown [of learning] shall away. Although there are four separate statements in this mishnah, they can all be summarized as saying two things: a person must always study, but he should be careful not to use his learning for his own grandeur. A person who tries to make his name, meaning his reputation great, will eventually lose his good name. One who seeks his own honor, will have honor elude his grip. This statement has also been taken as a warning to a person to avoid the attention of the ruling power, for their attention can only lead to danger. This is a lesson already mentioned in mishnah ten. One must constantly be seeking to increase his knowledge, never satisfied with the learning he has already done (this could be contrasted with what we learn later, that a rich man is one who is happy with his portion). In Judaism learning is a life long project, and not relegated to children. One who does not learn Torah deserves to die. I don’t believe that this harsh statement is not meant to be taken literally; it is certainly not a directive to a court to execute the unlearned. Rather Hillel may mean to say that without the spirituality of the Torah, a person’s life is empty. One commentator states that one who has not studied Torah is like a beast, for human beings were only created different from animals for them to learn and study Torah. One who only fills his base needs of food and sex, has not truly differentiated himself from an animal. Although Hillel urges people to study Torah, he warns them not to make use of this Torah study for their own advancement. One who does so will not receive any reward for his Torah study. In ancient times it was forbidden for Rabbis to take a salary, or receive any material benefit from their work. While this demand became impractical already a long time ago, I do believe that at least part of the ideal must be preserved. A Rabbi or any teacher of Torah, must not have his own personal advance or profit in mind when he teaches, for that is a corruption of Torah. Note how the first and last clauses of the mishnah are similar (warnings to those who use Torah for their own ends), and the two middle clauses are similar (statements about what happens to those who don’t learn Torah). This type of order is known as “chiastic” order, and is very common in rabbinic literature.

AND HE WHO MAKES USE OF THE CROWN. Rav explains this as the crown of Torah. The mishna says simply “crown,” without qualifying it as the crown of Torah, because “crown” by default refers to the crown of Torah, as all other crowns are worthless—Midrash Shmuel in the name of R. Yosef ibn Shoshan.

"And one who does not study is liable to die": One who has not studied at all is compared to a beast. As why was he created in the world? To understand and give ruling of the Torah, whose 'ways are ways of pleasantness. And it is not fitting that the one that never learned Torah and continues to maintain his evil [this way] live even one day and even one hour.

And that which [the Mishanh] stated plain, 'crown,' and did not explain, 'of the Torah' is because all of the crowns besides it are nothing - R. Y. Ibn Shoshan.

"ceases": What he already learned will cease from his mouth and he will forget his learning. And there are those that have the textual variant, “will be gathered,” meaning to say he will be gathered to his people and die before his time.

"And one who makes use of the crown [of learning] passes away": Behold the one who gets honor from the crown of Torah and benefits from its honor and makes it like a means to accomplish his needs, perishes, as it is learned later (Avot 4:5), "Do not make it [the Torah] into a crown with which to aggrandize yourself, and not into a spade with which to dig into them. And thus Hillel used to say: And one who makes use of the crown [of learning] passes away."

"And one who does not learn": is worse than one who does not add, Therefore he is liable for death; which is to say that it would be fitting that they kill him, as it is stated (Pesachim 49b), “It is permissible to tear apart an ignoramus like a fish – and from the back."

"And one uses the taga (crown)": One who makes use of the crown of Torah in the way a man uses his tools, passes and leaves the world. And there are those that explain taga to be the initials of talmid gavra acharina (the student of another man), as it is forbidden to take service from students that are not his students. And I have heard, "'And one uses the taga,' meaning to say one who makes use of [God's] explicit name passes and is lost, as he does not have a share in the world to come."