Commentary for Pirkei Avot 5:21

HE USED TO SAY: AT FIVE YEARS OLD, ETC. Other versions do not have this mishna. Midrash Shmuel writes in the name of R. Yehuda bar Shlomo that these are not the words of R. Yehuda ben Teima and are not part of this tractate. They are the words of Shmuel HaKatan that the Sages have appended here, and some versions have written here the mishna in 4:19, “Shmuel HaKatan says, do not rejoice at the fall of your enemy, etc.”
At the beginning of the following mishna, he writes that some editions have this as the last mishna in the tractate. But this does not seem reasonable, for the tractate would not end with talk of dying and ceasing from the world; we find that the tannaim are very particular about this, as they said (Kelim 30:4), “praiseworthy are you, Kelim, for you started with purity and ended with purity”, and did likewise at the end of tractate Yadayim,²³⁶Which quotes Pharaoh refusing to send the Israelites out of Egypt, and then mentions Pharaoh saying that G-d is righteous to end on a good note. all because of “do not stop at a bad thing” (Ecclesiastes 8:3).

He used to say, etc. Ninety [is the age] for [a] bending [stature] (lashuach): This is [related] to the expression, 'pit (shiach) and cave,' meaning to say that he is fit for burial. And some explain it is from the expression, 'siach' (speaking), as he should only be occupied by words of Torah - since his days are close to dying.

When you calculate the thirteen years that Yaakov [spent] with Lavan after he married Leah, and she gave birth to [Levi] after about two years - as the pregnancies of the three brothers, Reuven, Shimon and Levi, add up to seven months for each one - it comes out that Levi was eleven years old when they left from there. Add upon them six months that he [spent] on the way and eighteen months that he [spent] in Sukkot, summer, winter and summer - which are two years - behold, Levi is thirteen years of age in their going to Shekhem, and he is [still] called a man - Rashi. And he was not precise in his commentary on the Torah, Parshat Vayeshev, on the verse (Genesis 37:34), "and he mourned for his son many days," as [there] he explained that it was six months in Beit El, which is after the story of Shekhem.

"Five years [is the age] for [the study of] Scripture": We learn it from orlah (the prohibition to eat fruit from a new tree), as it is written (Leviticus 19:23-25), "three years will they be orlah, etc. And in the fourth year all of its fruit will be holy praises" - that his father should teach him the shape of the letters and recognition of the vowels [in the child's fourth year]. "And in the fifth year you shall eat its fruit; [so that] you will add to your produce" - from here and onward, stuff him like an ox.

He used to say:
At five years of age the study of Scripture;
At ten the study of Mishnah;
At thirteen subject to the commandments;
At fifteen the study of Talmud;
At eighteen the bridal canopy;
At twenty for pursuit [of livelihood];
At thirty the peak of strength;
At forty wisdom;
At fifty able to give counsel;
At sixty old age;
At seventy fullness of years;
At eighty the age of “strength”;
At ninety a bent body;
At one hundred, as good as dead and gone completely out of the world.
This mishnah gives ages that are appropriate for the different stages in life. We should note that in most places in the Mishnah, the age at which a child is obligated or allowed to do something is dependent not on his true age but either on his/her physical or mental development. Indeed this mishnah, which lists true ages, is probably more of a guide and not to meant to be legally binding. The Meiri states that it is meant as a stimulus to parents to teach their children the right subject at the right time. In modern times we also give rough ages of development but realize that some children will be quicker to reach those milestones and some will be slower.
Although this mishnah begins “he used to say” and therefore seems to be Judah ben Tema’s words, according to the Tosafot Yom Tov it is actually the words of Shmuel Hakatan. As we noted in the previous mishnah, this mishnah and the next two are addenda to tractate Avoth.
At five years of age the study of Scripture: Some interpret this to mean that at five the child should begin formal schooling, where he will first learn how to read the words of Scripture and later understand them. Interestingly, in modern times it is still typical to begin to learn to read at five.
At ten the study of Mishnah: The study of mishnah refers not to the study of the Mishnah as we have it today, but rather to the rote memorization of brief, usually halakhic material, which is the literary format of most of the Mishnah.
At thirteen subject to the commandments: At thirteen a child is liable for his own sins. This was the average age of puberty at the time of the Mishnah. This is the earliest reference to “bar-mitzvah” in Talmudic literature. The concept of a celebration of the bar-mitzvah does not appear until the fifteenth century. The idea of a “bat-mitzvah” does not appear until the 19th century.
At fifteen the study of Talmud: Talmud refers to the learning of the reasons and the Biblical proof of the laws that are “mishnah”. At this age the child is more intellectually developed and can begin to learn the more difficult material. Note that most children probably did not go to school this long. The mishnah is referring to an ideal and not to common practice.
At eighteen the bridal canopy: According to many scholars, this is also an ideal. In practice men (but not necessarily women) got married later.
At twenty for pursuit [of livelihood]: Once he has married a woman and had a child or two, he must pursue means to support his family. By twenty a person should have a profession. Others interpret this to mean that at twenty a person stops learning Torah and begins to work. Still others interpret this to mean that at twenty he pursues the enemy in war. This is the age at which one is liable to join the army, according to the Torah (Numbers 1:3).
At thirty the peak of strength: At thirty a person is at the peak of his strength. In the Torah the Levites only begin to work in the Tabernacle at thirty (see Numbers 4:47).
At forty wisdom: At forty a person’s wisdom comes to fruition. This is traditionally the age at which a person can be considered a “rabbi”. Nowadays people becomes rabbis at a much earlier age.
At fifty able to give counsel: In order to give advice a person needs to be wise but he also needs experience. At fifty a person still has the wisdom he reached at forty, and he now has the experience needed to advise others.
At sixty old age: A person enters old age at 60. Interestingly, the retiring age in our society is usually considered 65 (although in our society, with its advances in nutrition and health care, people are often able to work well past this age).
At seventy fullness of years: David died at 70 years of age, and I Chronicles 29:28 states, “And David died at a full age”.
At eighty the age of “strength”: See Psalms 90:10, which states that the given strength, one can live until 80.
At ninety a bent body: We should note that in the time of the Mishnah it was probably quite unusual to live this long.
At one hundred, as good as dead and gone completely out of the world: In the time of the Mishnah one who lived to one hundred probably could not see or walk, and was probably extremely senile. This mishnah considers such a person as good as dead. If you are over one hundred and you are reading this or even having someone read it to you, a hearty Mazal Tov. You have outlived the mishnah’s wildest dreams. And for the rest of you, may you live and continue to learn until 120!

AT TEN YEARS OLD, THE MISHNA. Rav: the Talmud says, a student that hasn't seen any success in five years of learning will not succeed, per the verse, “and this is for the Levites: from twenty-five years and up he shall join the legion of the service” (Numbers 8:24). Rashi: and a different verse (Numbers 4:3) says “from the age of thirty and up”—how should this be reconciled? At twenty-five he would come to study until thirty.²³⁷All this is per the Talmud, Chullin 24a.

There are only sixteen [mentions of the word,] 'man' found. And in the explanation of Rashi, [it is found] that 'man' is written eighteen times until "as from the person (eesh) was this taken." To here [are this words]. And one must say that [the word,] person is also in the count.

"Ten [is the age] for [the study of] Mishnah": As he studies Scripture five years, and Mishnah for five years, and Talmud for five years, as the Master said (Chullin 24a), "Any student who has not seen a positive sign in his study for five years will not see one further [than that]" - as it is written (Numbers 8:24), "This is [the rule] among the Levites; from twenty-five years and above, he should come to be of the service," that he should come to learn the laws of the service for five years and at thirty, he should serve.

AT THIRTEEN, THE COMMANDMENTS. Rav: for the verse says, “should a man or woman commit one of the sins of man” (Numbers 5:6), and in the story of Shechem the verse says “and the two sons of Jacob, Simon and Levi, the brothers of Dina, each [Heb. ish] took their swords” (Genesis 34:25), and Levi was thirteen at the time, and is called ish, a man. Rashi: consider that Jacob spent another thirteen yars with Laban after marrying Leah. If one allows seven months for each of her pregnancies, then since Levi was the third pregnancy, he was born about two years in. He would then have been eleven years old when they left. Add to that the six months they spent on the road and the eighteen months—a summer, a winter, and another summer—that they spent in Sukkot, which makes two years altogether, and it turns out that Levi was thirteen years old when they arrived at Shechem, and was called ish, a man. In his commentary on the Torah, in parashat Vayeshev, on the verse “and he mourned his son many days” (Genesis 37:34), Rashi is not being precise when he writes that six months of that two-year period were spent in Beit El, as that happened after the incident in Shechem. [*See Zavim, 2:1.]

[Rabbi Bartenura's second explanation is] in Midrash Rabbah, Parshat Korach. And it appears to me that it is from that which we find by those that died in the wilderness that they were not punished [when] less than twenty years old.

"Thirteen [is the age] for [observing] commandments": As is written (Numbers 5:6), "a man or a women who have done from all of the sins of man." And regarding Shekhem, it is written (Genesis 34:25), "and the two sons of Yaakov, Shimon and Levi, took - each man - his sword." And at that time, Levi was thirteen years old, and [still, the verse] calls him a man.

AT EIGHTEEN, THE CHUPPAH. Rav: the word adam appears nineteen times in parashat Bereshit, from “G-d said, let us make man” (Genesis 1:26) to “and G-d, the Lord, built the side” (Geneis 2:22). I counted them and even included the two written in the verse “and G-d, the Lord, built the side” and could only find sixteen. Rashi writes that adam appears eighteen times from the beginning of Bereshit until the verse “for this one was taken from man [Heb. ish]” (Genesis 2:23). We must say that he included the word ish in the count.

Gemara. And it appears to me that it wants to say that Israel at the time of the giving of the Torah were converts and a convert is similar to an infant that was [just] born. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"Eighteen [is the age] for the [wedding] canopy": [The word,] man is written nineteen times in Parshat Bereshit (the beginning of Genesis) from, "And God said, 'let us make man'" (Genesis 1:26), until "And the Lord God built the side" (Genesis 2:22, when Eve was created). One [use of the word, man] is for itself [such that] eighteen remain to be expounded [in this way].

AT TWENTY, CHASING. The Rav’s second explanation is that the heavenly court only begins to punish a person at 20. This is taken from Bemidbar Rabbah 18:4. It seems this was based on the fact that only those who were twenty years old at the incident of the spies died in the desert (Numbers 14:29).

"In elders (beyishishim) there is wisdom," [the first word of which is a type of] acronym for one of sixty (ben shishim) - Ritva. And even according to our textual variant, an elder (zaken) is zeh she'kanah chocmah (the one who acquired wisdom) - Midrash Shmuel. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"Twenty [is the age] for pursuit": of his sustenance. After he has studied Scripture, Mishnah and Talmud, and married a woman and produced children, he must seek out sustenance. A different explanation: Twenty [is the age] of his being pursued from the Heavens and to punish him for his deeds; as the court Above does not punish [someone] less than twenty years old.

AT FORTY, UNDERSTANDING. Rav: for after the Israelites had been in the desert for forty years, Moses said to them, “for G-d has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear until this very day” (Deuteronomy 29:3). This is from the Talmud, Avodah Zarah 5b. But it is difficult to see how this is a proof, because the people who were in the desert for forty years after the giving of the Torah were much more than forty years old. Perhaps the proof is from the fact that Moses was addressing all of them, even the ones that were children at the giving of the Torah. So the verse reads “for G-d has not given all of you.” For some of them, who were older at the giving of the Torah, had already been granted this by G-d when they reached the age of forty.
One can also answer that at the giving of the Torah the Israelites all converted to Judaism, for the Talmud extracts the law that a convert must immerse from the story of the giving of the Torah, as I wrote on the mishna in Pesachim 8:8, and “a convert is like a newborn child” (Yevamot 22a).

AT SIXTY, OLD AGE. Rav: for the verse says, “you will go to the grave in old age [Heb. bechelach]” (Job 5:26), and the alphanumeric value of bechelach is sixty. Although the bet of bechelach is a preposition, it is counted for the alphanumeric value of the word, as is clear from the Talmud in Moed Kattan 28a where this verse is expounded. Although that passage quotes our verse in connection with the punishment of death by the heavenly court and here Rav understands it to refer to old age, this is because he is using the simple meaning of the verse, which is discussing good things as is clear from the end of it: “as a sheaf is brought in, in its season.” And just before that, “and you will know that there is peace in your tent” (Job 5:24).
Midrash Shmuel writes that some versions have “at sixty, wisdom”. Ritva agrees, and adduces the verse “wisdom is among the old [Heb. bi(ye)shishim]” (Job 12:12). Bi(ye)shishim is read as an abbreviation for ben shishim, sixty years old.
It is possible that even according to our version, the “old age” in the mishna refers to wisdom, for the Talmud (Kiddushin 32b) says that an old person [Heb. zaken] means a wise one, for zaken is an abbreviation for ze shekanah chochma, one who acquired wisdom. See below.

"Thirty [is the age] for [full] strength": As the Levites would put up and take down the Tabernacle and load the carts and carry on their shoulders from [the age] of thirty and above.

"Forty [is the age] for understanding": Since after forty years that Israel was in the wilderness, Moshe said to them (Deuteronomy 29:3), "'And the Lord did not give you a heart to know and eyes to see and ears to hear until this day.'"

AT NINETY, BENDING [Heb. lashuach]. Rav: some say this word comes from “a deep pit [Heb. shuchah]” (Proverbs 22:14). Midrash Shmuel objects in the name of Chasid Ya’avetz that if so, the mishna should have said leshuchah, to the pit. Also, we never find the grave being called shuchah. Also, if one is already buried at ninety, how does he die at a hundred?
The last objection is not a strong one, for the mishna simply means that at that age one is fit to be in the grave. One must say the same of Rav’s commentary to “at sixty, old age”, where the verse in Job must mean not that he will die at sixty, but that he will die in old age, and that if he dies at sixty that is considered having reached old age.

"Fifty [is the age] for [giving] counsel": As it is stated with the Levites (Numbers 8:25), "And from fifty years, he shall return from service and not serve more; and serve his brothers, etc." - and what is the service? That he give them counsel.

"Sixty [is the age] for mature age": As is written (Job 5:26), "You will come in your old age (bekhelach) to the grave." The numerical equivalent of [the letters in] bekhelach is sixty.

"Seventy [is the age] for a hoary head:" As is written about David (I Chronicles 29:28), "And he died with a good hoary head"; and the days of his life were seventy years.

"Eighty [is the age] for [superadded] strength (gevurot)": As is written (Psalms 90:10), "and if with great strength (gevurot), eighty years."

"Ninety [is the age] for [a] bending [stature]": He walks stooping and bent over. And some say, it is an expression [similar to its usage in Proverbs 22:14], "A deep pit."