Musar for Pirkei Avot 1:16

And Chazal have said (Avoth 1:16): "All of my days I [R. Shimon] have grown up among the sages and I have found nothing better for the body than silence." That is: "I have grown up among the sages and chosen from their comely and holy traits, and the trait of silence was the best of all." Or: "Even though they were learned sages, and their speech was not, G-d forbid, of empty things, still I found that the best thing of all for the body, aside from words of Torah, was absolute silence." As far as the stress on "the body" is concerned, the meaning is: A man, though he be wise and perfect in his soul, as were the companions of R. Shimon, still in point of the matter "clothing" the soul [i.e., the body], it is almost impossible that all of his words be properly limited — wherefore, silence is best of all. And if in the generation of R. Shimon, whose tongue was habituated to speak in wisdom, so that even if it were not entirely guarded it would not swerve from its path, G-d forbid, still, he said that silence was best of all — what should we, the [mere] "hyssop of the wall" do, all of whose thoughts and speech, from our youth on, are only of vanity and emptiness? If we do not muzzle our mouths with the rein of silence with all of our strength, then certainly the tongue will do as has been its wont from early youth, and the loss [sustained by speaking] will far outweigh the reward.

The commentary of Rashi above that the amount of Isaac's harvest is described in order to enable one to "correctly estimate" the tithes, appears to contradict the Halachah. We know that tithing must never be based on an estimate, but must be measured exactly (Maimonides Hilchot Maaser 1,14). Even if the amount tithed exceeds ten percent of the harvest, one did not fulfil the commandment if one has estimated instead of measured the required amount. We must therefore assume that Isaac measured the tithe, but added the תרומה גדולה by estimating the amount, and this is what the Midrash refers to. Similarly, the Mishna Terumot 1,7 says that one does not give תרומה by measure but by estimate from the total amount. The quantity of תרומה to be given as per our sages serves only as a guideline, not as absolute measurement. The scriptural allusion for this procedure is Numbers 18,27: ונחשב לכם תרומתכם, "your gift will be 'considered' for you." This means that the process depends on מחשבה, thought, rather than measure. Although the verse mentioned is written in connection with תרומת מעשר, we have a principle that if a statement is not needed where it appears we may apply it elsewhere, in this case we apply it to תרומה גדולה.

(Ibid.): "As the opening of a suit of armor shall it [its neck-opening] be for it, so that it not be torn." Why need the Torah add "as the opening of a suit of armor"? Is it not sufficient to have stated "And the mouth of its head shall be [folded over] within it. A border shall there be for its mouth"? It must intimate, then, that just as one dons armor for protection, that he not be harmed by the arrows shot at him, so, if one clamps shut his mouth, it affords him protection against his antagonist, and, in the end, it serves to silence him by giving him no answer. If he answered him, however, the quarrel would widen and he would come to blows, as it is written (Ibid. 21:18): "And if men quarrel, and a man strike his neighbor with stone or fist, etc." And the Holy One Blessed be He is also his Protector because of this, because "the earth depends upon him," as mentioned above. (Ibid. 33-34): "And you shall make on its (lower) hem pomegranates of purple … and golden bells in their midst roundabout [one bell between every two pomegranates]. A golden bell and a pomegranate [next to it], a golden bell and a pomegranate, on the hem of the me'il roundabout. The allusion here would seem to be to what Chazal have said (Chullin 89a): "What is a man's 'trade'? Let him make himself a mute. I might think, even to words of Torah. It is, therefore, written (Psalms 58:2): 'Righteousness shall you speak.'" It is found, then, according to this, that whenever one has time, he should not remain idle, but he should learn Torah. And the learning should not be silent, as we find in Eruvin 54a. And when one cannot learn Torah, whatever the reason might be, he should make himself a mute, who cannot open his mouth. And for this reason there were on the hem of the me'il, "a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate," alluding to the study of Torah, as mentioned above. And, in the midst of this, when he cannot learn, he should embrace the trait of silence [as our sages of blessed memory have said (Avoth 1:16): "R. Shimon ben Gamliel said: 'All my life, I grew up among the wise, and I found nothing better for the body than silence.'"] And this is alluded to by the pomegranate next to the bell; that is, like a pomegranate, that makes no sound. And, if one conducts himself in this manner, the Torah assures us (Ibid. 35): "and its sound will be heard when he comes to the sanctuary." That is, the sound of his prayer and his Torah will be accepted on high, which will not be the case if he does not guard his faculty of speech and mixes his speech with lashon hara, rechiluth, and the like, in which case the forbidden speech will defile his words of holiness and they will not be accepted on high, as mentioned above in Chapter I.