Comentario sobre Pirkei Avot 4:21

ENVY, DESIRE, AND HONOR REMOVE A PERSON FROM THE WORLD. This follows the teaching of R. Yehoshua in 2:11 that an evil eye, the evil inclintion, and the hatred of the people remove a person from the world. Envy comes from having an evil eye, and desire comes from the evil inclination. Honor causes people to hate, for nobody is as hated as somebody who chases honor.¹⁸⁴“Hatred of people” is understood as the hatred that other people have for him. Even though they will honor him in his presence and wil not openly rebuke him, they inwardly hate him and discuss how much they despise him. Midrash Shmuel writes that honor causes one to hate people and reject their company when he feels they are not honoring him sufficiently.¹⁸⁵According to Midrash Shmuel, “hatred of people” is understood as the hatred that he has for other people.

Rabbi Elazar HaKapor says: Envy: The explanation regarding the matter of envy is that there are two things that have two or three matters, and two which are not harmful. The first way is envy of the good, and it is the [worst] way. And the first manner [of this] is that when his fellow sees good, it is bad in his eyes. And when [the latter] is occupied with Torah [study] and the commandments and goes in the good path, he [begrudges] him - as he hates those that love God and those that do His will. This trait drives him from the world and it is the greatest evil in envy. And his name is called the haters of God. And the second manner is that it is not bad in his eyes from the angle that he hates the path of involvement in Torah. Rather it is [that] since he does not walk in that path, he also does not want his fellow to go in it. As it is his will that no one find more good than he - not for his benefit, but for the harm of others. This one is also called the haters of God - since he does not do the acts of God, it is also hard in his eyes to see his fellows doing [them], and even if he does not hate like the first. But there is a good path in envy, even if there is a better one. That is what the sages, may their memory be blessed, said (Bava Batra 21a), "The envy of scribes increases wisdom" - since by his seeing that his fellows are holy and wise, he also wants to be like them. And because of envy, he increases his wisdom and he toils and intensifies doing good and walking in the straight path. However, it is more valuable if he desires these without envy, as [in that case] they (are the speech of) [are the ones that fear] the Lord - and that is the work of man. And this is what King Shlomo, peace be upon, stated (Ecclesiastes 4:4), "I have seen that all labor and skillful enterprise are from men’s envy of each other; this too is vanity and broken spirit." He meant to say that even if he does an act skillfully; if he does it from envy of men, while he does good, there is [also] much bad. As one who does what is fitting from the generosity of his heart goes truthfully and with a full heart. [Such a one] is more worthwhile than the one who does it out of the envy of men when it comes to his heart. And if from this or from that, the act is done; 'but it is good for you to grasp the first without letting your hand go of [the other].' The second way is the envy of money. The first manner [of this] is the seeker of evil - and it is hard in his eyes that others have wealth, since he does not. And there is none in [this way of envy] as evil as this [one] - as he hates the good of the creatures and does not want the betterment of the world. And the second manner is one envious of his wealthy fellows; and it is hard in his eyes when they are wealthier than he. It is not from his hatred for them and for their wealth and that he desires that it be reduced. Rather, it is from his love of wealth and his desire to be very wealthy; since wealth is honor in his eyes, and he wants to more honored than they. And the third manner is the best of the bad [ones] - he loves money and is envious of it and desires that he should have great wealth. But he is not concerned if others have little or much. And this one's envy is not burning like the one that wants to be wealthier than all people. And King Shlomo, peace be upon him, grouped all of these things and stated (Proverbs 23:17), "Do not envy sinners in your heart, but only fear of the Lord all of the day." He first explained [that] the worst envy is not to be envious of the wicked that do sins, to do like them. And afterwards he stated more generally, "but only fear of the Lord" - all envies are negative except for the envy of fear [of God]. He should be envious of the 'acts of God, as He is awesome.'

He said that envy, lust and pursuit of honor drive a man form the world. And that is because these traits - or [even] one of them - perforce destroy the faith of the Torah. And [so] neither the intellectual virtues or the disopositional virtues will reach him.

"Envy, etc.": This is in the style of the statement of Rabbi Yehoshua in Mishnah 11 of Chapter 2, etc., since envy is engendered by the evil eye and lust is engendered by the evil impulse and honor is the cause of hate of the creatures, as there is nothing more hateful to the creatures than the one that runs after honor. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"And lust": One who wants to fill his lust by eating and drinking and sexual intercourse and similar things.

Introduction Rabbi Elazar Ha-kappar was one of the last of the tannaim. One interesting note is that this name was found in the Galilee written on a lintel piece dated to the mishnaic period. While we cannot be certain that this refers to the same person who is named in the mishnah, it is likely that this was from his residence.

REMOVE A PERSON FROM THE WORLD. Some versions of Rashi have the following: envy, as Korach was envious of Moses and Aaron; desire, as Gehazi desired to take the money of Na`aman; honor, from Jeroboam, as the verse says “if the people go up to Jerusalem, etc.” (1 Kings 12:27).¹⁸⁶These three people do not have a share in the World to Come according to the Talmud in Sanhedrin, 109-111. Whether or not Korach and his followers have a share is the subject of a dispute there; this approach would seem to be taking the position that they do not. The Talmud there sees Jeroboam’s refusal to let the people go to the Temple as stemming from slighted honor.

lust (desire): It is the beginning of all activities and actions and is even before thought. As when he wants something from his desire for it, he thinks about doing it. And there is much bad in all desires. There is no need to say the desire of the impulse to sins, but even the desire for much permissible laying with women is very bad. And about this Sholmo, peace be upon him, stated (Proverbs 31:3), "Do not give your strength to women." And, so too, much desire for permissible food and drink - this too is bad. And it is like the wise men of science said, that even light and good foods are harmful to the one who eats much of them. And this is what they said in Tractate Pesachim 114a, "Do not accustom yourself to eat geese, as your heart will stalk you." And there are three bad ways of desire, [just] like with envy: The first is one who desires that there should not be wealth and honor to any [other] person, and that he should have them. And that is a transgression that he [commits]. And the second one desires for wealth and wisdom, but if others [also] have it, the thing is good in his eyes - except that he should have more than them, to be greater than them. There is also much bad in this. And in the third there is a little good. [It is the one] who when he sees that his fellows have wisdom and wealth, he desires that he should also be like them. And it is very good in his eyes that they be like him and 'God should add to them from Him a thousandfold and bless him and them.' And this trait is not completely good, in that his desire is from the angle that others are wise and understanding and wealthy. As the fitting desire is to desire for wisdom from the angle that it is the foundation and root of service to the Creator, may He be blessed; and to do with the wealth that which is straight in the eyes of the Lord - and not because of [any] other thing. And this is what King David, peace be upon him, stated (Psalms 38:10), "Lord, all my desire is in front of You." He wanted to say that all of his desire is from the angle of Heaven and from envy of men. And so [too] do we find with our holy Rabbi, peace be upon him (Ketuvot 104a) that at the time of his departure (death), he raised his fingers and said, "It is revealed and known in front of You, Master of the worlds, that I have not enjoyed even [the worth of] a small finger." And even though our rabbis said about him (Bava Metzia 85a) that he was very wealthy, such that his key carrier [had] like the wealth of Shavur Malka (the king of Persia), nonetheless [Rabbi] only enjoyed for the sake of Heaven - as he did not desire the vanities of the world.

"and honor": That people should honor him.

Rabbi Elazar Ha-kappar said: envy, lust and [the desire for] honor put a man out of the world. This saying is parallel to the saying of Rabbi Joshua which we saw in mishnah 2:11, “Rabbi Joshua said: an evil eye, the evil inclination, and hatred for humankind put a person out of the world.” It may even be that Rabbi Elazar is interpreting Rabbi Joshua’s statement. An evil eye causes a person to be envious, lustfulness comes from the evil inclination and hatred for humankind stems from an overwhelming desire to rise above everyone else, hence a pursuit of honor. These things “put a man out of the world”, meaning they interfere with his ability to function in this world and they cause him to lose entrance into the world to come.

and honor: The bad honor is [practiced by] the one who gets honor from people in order to impose his fear upon them and 'he strikes terror into the land of the living.' And what is his reward? That he will descend into the depths of the pit in Gehinnom, [such] that there is no ascent form his fall for [all] generations. And because of this the prophet Yechezkel compares the fall of the kings of the nations in Gehinnom to the one who 'strikes terror into the land of the living,' to say that they have no ascent, as it is stated (Ezekiel 32:32), "I strike My terror into the land of the living; and lay among the uncircumcised those who were the casualties of the sword." And the second [way] of honor is the one who wants that people should honor him, as he thinks that he is fit for this honor - but he is not. Even if he is a Torah scholar and a master of commandments and his will is that they honor him for this, he is 'sinning with his soul' - unless his intention is for the sake of Heaven, and if it is only for the honor of the Torah that he is [seeking it] and he does not take it for himself and does not enjoy it, but it is only in order to have the Torah honored about (through) this, as we have written. However all other things regarding honor are very bad. And how much did the Torah warn and forbid it to them! As even with a king of Israel about whom it stated (Deuteronomy 17:15), "Surely place a king upon you" - that you should put his fear upon you (Ketuvot 17a) - and [so] he is fit for honor more than all of the creatures under the skies, nonetheless it still warns him that he should not raise his heart over his brothers. All the more so should commoners not desire honor at all.

drive a man from the world: As these three traits are in the category of major sins. Another explanation: "drive a man from the world" - envy, as it is stated (Proverbs 14:30), and rot to the bones is envy"; lust, as it is stated (Proverbs 21:25), "The lust of a lazy man kills him"; and honor, as we have found with Yosef who died twelve years before his brothers, because he comported himself with lordship (Berakhot 55a).