Comentario sobre Pirkei Avot 5:1
בַּעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם. וּמַה תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר, וַהֲלֹא בְמַאֲמָר אֶחָד יָכוֹל לְהִבָּרְאוֹת, אֶלָּא לְהִפָּרַע מִן הָרְשָׁעִים שֶׁמְּאַבְּדִין אֶת הָעוֹלָם שֶׁנִּבְרָא בַעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת, וְלִתֵּן שָׂכָר טוֹב לַצַּדִּיקִים שֶׁמְּקַיְּמִין אֶת הָעוֹלָם שֶׁנִּבְרָא בַעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת:
Con diez pronunciamientos (ma'amaroth) se creó el mundo, [nueve "Y Él dijo", y "Al principio" es también un pronunciamiento, a saber. (Salmos 33: 6): "Por la palabra del Señor se hicieron los cielos".] ¿Qué se nos enseña por la presente? ¿No podría haber sido creado con un solo pronunciamiento? Pero, [esto se dijo] al castigo exacto de los malvados que destruyen el mundo, que fue creado con diez pronunciamientos [Porque si uno destruye un alma judía es como si destruyera un mundo entero, y el malvado, que en sus pecados destruyen sus almas, se considera que destruyeron el mundo entero. (Así lo he encontrado.) Y a mí me parece que destruyen el mundo mismo, porque inclinan a todo el mundo a la escala del castigo, de modo que es destruido por ellos. "Con diez pronunciamientos": no hay comparación entre destruir un trabajo creado en un día y (destruir) un trabajo creado en muchos días], y dar una buena recompensa a los tzadikim, que sostienen el mundo, que fue creado con diez pronunciamientos .
Tosafot Yom Tov on Pirkei Avot
THE WORLD WAS CREATED THROUGH TEN UTTERANCES. WHAT DOES THIS TEACH US? COULDN’T IT HAVE BEEN CREATED WITH ONE? RATHER, ETC. The meaning is as follows. “What does this—the world being created through ten utterances—teach us,” i.e. what lesson can be drawn from this? This is not a question concerning the creation itself, as in “why was the world created through ten utterances?” The mishna simply means that we should extract some lesson from creation having happened through ten utterances instead of one; it does not mean that the world was created through ten utterances so that the wicked could be punished, etc., for it does not accord with His goodness to do something extra specifically to punish. Maharal explains it thus in Derech Chaim.
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Rabbeinu Yonah on Pirkei Avot
With ten utterances the world was created. And what is learned: "And He said" is written nine times from "In the beginning" (Genesis 1:1) to "And completed" (Genesis 2:1). And "In the beginning" is also an utterance, as it is stated (Psalms 33:6), "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made" - as it is impossible that the heavens and the earth were created without an utterance.
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Rambam on Pirkei Avot
With ten utterances: When you observe everything that comes in the story of creation, you will find, "and He said," nine times. And "In the beginning" is the tenth [utterance]. And even though the word, "and He said," does not elucidate this, the content indicates it. And it as if it said, "And God said, 'Let there be the heavens and the earth.'" As they could not have been without an utterance. And He could have spoken the entire creation with one utterance by saying, "And God said, 'Let there be the heavens and the earth and let there be the firmament and let the waters gather, etc.'" Instead, He designated a [separate] utterance for each matter, to make known the greatness of this existence and the goodness of its order; and that one who destroys it destroys something great and that one who refines it refines something great. He means to say that the one who destroys his soul - which is in his hand to refine or to destroy - destroys [the world]; since it is as if he is the final purpose from all of existence, for which He said ten utterances - as we elucidated in the introduction of this essay of ours.
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Ikar Tosafot Yom Tov on Pirkei Avot
And what is learned, etc: And this is its explanation: and what is learned from this that it was created in ten utterances, which is to say, "What lesson comes out from this?" And it is not a question on the creation itself - why was it with ten utterances. But rather it means to say that there is a nice ethical teaching that we can learn from the creation being in ten utterances, as could He have not created it in one utterance, etc? And it comes out to us from that which He created it in ten, that it is to punish, etc. But it is not that the intention of creation in ten utterances was for this - to punish, etc - as this is not from His trait of goodness, may He be blessed, to do an extra act in order to punish, etc. - Derekh Chaim.
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Bartenura on Pirkei Avot
With ten utterances: Nine [times in the creation story does it state] "and He said"; and "In the beginning" is also an utterance, as it is written (Psalms 33:6), "With the word of the Lord were the heavens made."
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English Explanation of Pirkei Avot
Introduction
All of the mishnayoth in chapter five are taught anonymously. The chapter begins with mishnayoth that revolve around the numbers 10, 7, and 4.
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Derekh Chayim
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Tosafot Yom Tov on Pirkei Avot
THE WORLD WAS CREATED. “Could have been created, etc.” The mishna’s choice of the passive voice over “[G-d] created the world” or “[G-d] could have created” in the active voice is a wonderfully subtle way of indicating that the world was created out of total nothingness, as opposed to the opinion that maintains there exists an eternal prime matter.194An opinion popularly attributed to Aristotle. For if we believe in creation completely ex nihilo we can properly say that, in and of itself, something “could have been created” in any way, for since there previously was complete nothingness, nothing prevented the world from being created through one utterance the same way it was created through ten. But if there existed some prime matter we cannot say with such certainty that the world could have been created with one utterance out of the prime matter, for perhaps the nature of the matter would not have allowed creation through one utterance.
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Rabbeinu Yonah on Pirkei Avot
And what is learned - couldn't it have been created by one utterance?: It wants to say, what is this teaching us, when it says, "With ten utterances the world was created?" Or the explanation is "what is learned" in creating it with ten utterances.
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Ikar Tosafot Yom Tov on Pirkei Avot
have been created: And we do not learn, "He created the world...and He could have created." And it appears in my eyes that he expressed through this the teaching that the creation was ex nihilo, from total nothingness, and not like the thought of the one that thinks there was primordial matter. As if we believe in total nothingness, this statement is justified in saying that it could have been created [in one utterance] - which is [referring to] that which was created - as since it was total nothingness and void, there was nothing preventing it from being created in one utterance or in ten utterances. But if there had been primordial matter, he would not be justified in simply saying that it could have been created [in one utterance, with reference to] the matter, as lest the nature of that matter not [be able to] accept the creation through [only] one utterance.
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Bartenura on Pirkei Avot
who destroy the world: Since 'anyone that destroys one soul of Israel is as if they destroyed an entire world,' and [since] the wicked destroy their souls because of their sins, it is as if they destroy the world. So have I found. And it appears to me that they literally destroy the world, as they tip the scales of the whole world towards guilt, and it comes out that the world is destroyed on their account.
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English Explanation of Pirkei Avot
With ten utterances the world was created. And what does this teach, for surely it could have been created with one utterance? But this was so in order to punish the wicked who destroy the world that was created with ten utterances, And to give a good reward to the righteous who maintain the world that was created with ten utterances. In the first chapter of Genesis the phrase “and God said” appears nine times. If you add to this the first three words of the Torah, which are also considered an “utterance”, you get to the number ten, which is considered a number of completion. God could have created the world with one utterance, but He took more effort in His creation in order to teach human beings their awesome responsibility in being stewards over the world. The wicked who ruin the world are ruining something that took God ten utterances to create and therefore there crime is greater. The opposite is true for the righteous, who preserve the “ten-utterance” world, and are therefore greatly rewarded for their actions. The ways that the wicked destroy the world and the righteous preserve the world can be understood on several levels. One explanation is that this refers to religious or moral wickedness or righteousness. When the wicked corrupt the world, they bring ruin on our great world, and when the righteous act morally and with piety, they preserve our world, which took a full ten utterances to create. On another level it may be taken environmentally. The world was not created with great ease and therefore those who destroy it, are destroying a carefully crafted structure. Those who physically take care of the world, are preserving this incredibly complicated world which God gave over to humanity.
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Tosafot Yom Tov on Pirkei Avot
TO GIVE GOOD REWARD. My comments on the mishna in 2:1 address the use of the verb “to give” regarding wages or reward.
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Rabbeinu Yonah on Pirkei Avot
Rather, [it is] in order to punish the wicked who destroy with their actions the world which is a big thing - as it was created with ten utterances: And the trait of strict justice will punish them accordingly in the future.
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Bartenura on Pirkei Avot
that was created with ten utterances: And one who destroys work that was done in one day is not similar to one who destroys work that was done in many days.
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Rabbeinu Yonah on Pirkei Avot
and to give reward to the righteous who sustain the world that was created with ten utterances: As the world was only created to do in it that which is 'straight in the eyes of the Lord.' And [hence] those that do so, preserve it.
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