Mishnah
Mishnah

Musar for Pirkei Avot 6:5

אַל תְּבַקֵּשׁ גְּדֻלָּה לְעַצְמְךָ, וְאַל תַּחְמֹד כָּבוֹד, יוֹתֵר מִלִּמּוּדְךָ עֲשֵׂה, וְאַל תִּתְאַוֶּה לְשֻׁלְחָנָם שֶׁל מְלָכִים, שֶׁשֻּׁלְחָנְךָ גָדוֹל מִשֻּׁלְחָנָם, וְכִתְרְךָ גָדוֹל מִכִּתְרָם, וְנֶאֱמָן הוּא בַּעַל מְלַאכְתְּךָ שֶׁיְּשַׁלֵּם לְךָ שְׂכַר פְּעֻלָּתֶךָ:

Torah is greater than priesthood and than kingship. For kingship is acquired with thirty eminences and priesthood with twenty-four, whereas Torah is acquired with forty-eight. They are: learning, the hearing of the ear, the articulation of the lips, the understanding of the heart, intuition, awe, fear, humility, joy, attendance upon the wise, the probing of the friends, the dialectics of the disciples, with deliberation, with Scripture, with Mishnah, with diminution of trade, of sleep, of pleasure, of laughter, (and) of cohabitation, with patience, with forbearance, with a good heart, with faith in the sages, and with the acceptance of afflictions.

Mesilat Yesharim

But since he cannot bear to see himself lower and lesser than his peers, he puts himself squarely under the thickness of the beam. Thus there is no end to all his labor. Therefore, our Teachers, of blessed memory, taught us "jealousy, lust, and honor remove a person from the world" (Avot 4:21), and warned us: "do not seek greatness for yourself, and do not lust for honor" (Avot 6:5).
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