Este es el camino de la Torá: comerás un pan con sal, y beberás agua por medida, y dormirás en el suelo, y vivirás una vida de parto, y en la Torá trabajarás. Y si lo haces—eres afortunado y es bueno para ti. Eres afortunado en este mundo y es bueno para ti en el mundo por venir. No busques la grandeza para ti mismo, y no codicies el honor. ¡Más que tu aprendizaje, hazlo! Y no codicies la mesa de los príncipes. Porque su mesa es mayor que la de ellos, y su corona es mayor que la de ellos, y se confía en que su Maestro le pagará el salario de su trabajo.
Rashi on Avot
Eat bread with salt: It is not saying it about the wealthy one that he should place himself in a life of pain in order to study Torah. But rather, this is what it is saying: Even if a person only has bread with salt, etc. and he does not have a pillow and blanket to sleep [on], but rather [must sleep] on the ground, he should not refrain from involvement in [Torah study]; as in the end, he will study it in wealth.
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English Explanation of Pirkei Avot
Such is the way [of a life] of Torah: you shall eat bread with salt, and rationed water shall you drink; you shall sleep on the ground, your life will be one of privation, and in Torah shall you labor. If you do this, “Happy shall you be and it shall be good for you” (Psalms 128:2): “Happy shall you be” in this world, “and it shall be good for you” in the world to come. This mishnah teaches the way of life of one who is totally dedicated to the study of Torah, so much so that he neglects his worldly, material needs. His life will be one of privation. He will eat little and sleep on the hard floor. Paradoxically this seemingly poor life, will in actuality be one of great happiness and reward. The materially deprived Torah scholar will be happy in this world for he will fall so in love with the study of Torah that nothing else will matter. In the world to come he will be justly rewarded for his efforts. Others explain that this mishnah as a warning to the rich, that their delights in worldly pleasures may make it more difficult for them to learn Torah. For once a person becomes too accustomed to worldly pleasures, that person will need to work harder and harder to earn more money to keep up his extravagant lifestyle. This excessive work will make it impossible for him to learn Torah. [Note how big of a problem this is still in our society. People work harder and harder to earn more and more money, yet no matter how much money they have, they are not satisfied. It is a rare person who finally says, “I have enough” and turns his attention to things more important than earning money. The people who are able to do so, are often greatly admired by our society, a society which rarely can deny material pleasure.]
