Talmud sur Avot 2:17

³²Babli 14b; Tosephta 2:1. It happened that Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakkai was on the road, riding on a donkey, and Rebbi Eleazar ben Arakh was walking behind him. He said to him, my teacher, instruct me in a Chapter about the Work of the Chariot. He told him, did the Sagen not state, “nor the Chariot²The details of the Divine Throne as described in the first Chapter of Ezechiel. unless he was wise and understood by himself.” He said to him, my teacher, permit me to say it before you. He told him, say. When Rebbi Eleazar ben Arakh started about the Work of the Chariot, Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakkai descended from the donkey. He said, it is not appropriate that I should hear about the glory of my Creator riding on a donkey. They went and sat under a tree, when fire descended from Heaven and surrounded them, and the angels of Service were dancing before them like wedding guests happy with the bridegroom. An angel addressed from inside the fire and said, the Work of the Chariot is as you said, Eleazar ben Arakh. Then all trees (around them) [opened their mouths] and sang; then all trees of the forest will sing³³Ps. 96:12.. When Rebbi Eleazar ben Arakh finished with the Work of the Chariot, Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakkai rose, kissed him on his head, and said: Praised be the Eternal, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who gave a wise son to our father Abraham who knows to speak of the Glory of our Father in Heaven. They are good speakers who do not act well, those who act well but are no good speakers. Eleazar ben Arakh speaks well and acts well. Hail to you, our father Abraham, that Eleazar ben Arakh came from your loins. When Rebbi Yosef Hakohen and Rebbi Simeon ben Nethanael³⁴Cf. Mishnah Avot 2:8. heard, they also started with the Work of the Chariot. They said, it was one day after the summer solstice; the earth trembled and the Arc appeared in the cloud. An unembodied voice came and said to them, the place is free and the triclinium prepared for you. You and your students are invited to the third group. This parallels him who said, seven enjoyments are before Your presence³⁵Ps. 16:11., there are seven groups of just people in the Future World³⁶Who are worthy to see God’s glory, Lev. rabba 30(2)..

It has been stated: Rebbi Yehudah⁶⁷In the print of the Babli, Menaḥot 43b, “R. Meïr.” However, R. Rabbinowitz notes a German and an Egyptian manuscript of the Babli that have “R. Yehudah”, as well R. Isaac Fasi and Rosh, in line with the Yerushalmi and the Tosephta, Berakhot 6:17. The entire paragraph is from R. Yehudah in the Tosephta. says, three things a man has to recite every day: Praise to Him Who did not make me a Gentile. Praise to Him Who did not make me uncivilized⁶⁸The uncivilized person is one who knows no Bible, no Mishnah, and no trade. Since he cannot know what is forbidden, he cannot fear sin. In the Babli (Menaḥot 43b–44a) it is reported that R. Jacob bar Aḥa changed this benediction to “Who did not make me a slave,” since an uncivilized person can become civilized; his state of ignorance is not God-given.. Praise to Him Who did not make me a woman. “Praise to Him Who did not make me a Gentile,” because Gentiles are not considered to be anything, (Is. 40:17) “all Gentiles are nothing before Him.” “Praise to Him Who did not make me uncivilized,” because an uncivilized person cannot fear sin⁶⁹Mishnah Pirqe Avot 2:6.. “Praise to Him Who did not make me a woman,” because women are not commanded about benedictions⁷⁰Here מצוות cannot mean “commandments”, not even “positive commandments tied to a fixed time” that do not apply to women, but “benedictions”, as in Chapter 6, Halakhah 1, first paragraph..

There, we have stated²⁵³Mishnah Avot 2:4.: “Do not believe in yourself up to the day of your death.” It happened that a pious man sat and stated, do not believe in yourself up to your old age, as I Am. There came a spirit to tempt him, and he started to err after her²⁵⁴He asked her for sex.. She told him, do not feel bad, I am a spirit. Go and be equal to your colleagues²⁵⁵Formulate the Mishnah to read “up to the day of your death.”.

There is a story of Hillel the Elder, that he was walking on the road, and he came upon people who were carrying wheat. He said to them: How much would a se’ah³A se’ah is a grain measure, roughly equivalent to 1.9 gallons. cost? They said to him: Two dinars. He came upon another group, and asked them: How much would a se’ah cost? They said to him: Three dinars. [He said: But the first group told me it was only two!] They said to him: You stupid Babylonian! Don’t you know that the reward is in proportion to the struggle? He said them: You fools! (And empty ones!) Because I constantly instruct you [that the reward is commensurate with the toil], you are replying so [i.e. in kind]? Thus Hillel the Elder did to them to bring them back to good behavior.
It was also he who saw a skull floating on the water and said to it: Since you drowned others, you were drowned. And those who drowned you will also be drowned.

He would also say: If you have achieved greatness in Torah, do not give yourself the credit; it was for this purpose that you were created. For all things were created in order to be involved in Torah.

Rabban Yohanan Ben Zakkai had five students, and he had a name for each of them. He called Eliezer ben Hyrcanus “the Plastered Pit,” because it never loses a drop, and “the Sealed Bottle,” because it keeps all of its wine. He called Yehoshua ben Hananya “the Triple Knot,” because it does not get severed easily. He called Yosei HaKohen “the Saint of the Generation.” He called Yishmael ben Hananya “the Oasis in the Desert,” which holds on to its water. (Happy is the student whose teacher praises him and speaks of his virtues!) He called Elazar ben Arach “the Flowing Stream” and “the Bubbling Brook,” for its waters overflow and go out into the world, as it says (Proverbs 5:16), “Your wellsprings will burst forth, and the streams will spill out onto the streets.”

He said to them: Go out and see what is the best path that a person should stay on, so that he can follow it into the World to Come. Rabbi Eliezer came back and said: A good eye. Rabbi Yehoshua came back and said: A good friend. Rabbi Yosei came back and said: A good neighbor, good desires, and a good wife. Rabbi Shimon said: One who sees what is coming. (Another version says: Like Mordechai the Jew, who saw what was coming.) Rabbi Elazar came back and said: A good heart toward Heaven, and a good heart toward others. [Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai] said to them: I prefer Rabbi Elazar ben Arach’s words, because I see all of your words contained within his words.
He said to them: Go out and see what is the evil path that a person should stay away from, so that he can enter into the World to Come. Rabbi Eliezer came back and said: An evil eye. Rabbi Yehoshua came back and said: An evil friend. Rabbi Yosei came back and said: An evil eye, an evil neighbor, and an evil wife. Rabbi Shimon came back said: One who borrows money and does not pay it back. For one who borrows from people will be punished by God, as it says (Psalms 37:21), “The wicked one borrows and does not repay; the righteous one is generous and keeps giving.” Rabbi Elazar came back and said: An evil heart toward Heaven, an evil heart toward the mitzvot, and an evil heart toward others. [Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai] said to them: I prefer Rabbi Elazar ben Arach’s words, because I see all of your words contained within his words.

Repent one day before your death. How so? Rabbi Eliezer’s students asked him: But does a person know what day he will die, so that he could repent? He said to them: All the more so should he repent every day, for perhaps he will die the next day! And the result is that he repents all of his days! Rabbi Yosei bar Yehudah said in the name of Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Ilai, who said this in the name of his father Rabbi Ilai, who said it in the name of Rabbi Eliezer the Great, (Repent one day before your death, and) warm yourself before the fire of the sages, but be careful not to get burned by their coals. For their bite is like the bite of a fox, and their sting is like the sting of a scorpion, and all of their words are like fiery coals.

Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi would praise the virtues of these sages: Rabbi Tarfon, Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri, and Rabbi Yosei HaGalili.
He called Rabbi Tarfon: a pile of stones. (And some say, a pile of nuts.) For when someone pulls one of them out, they all fall down and crash in on each other. So it was with Rabbi Tarfon. When a student would come before him and say: Teach me something, Rabbi Tarfon would cite Scripture, Mishnah, Midrash, Halakhot, and Aggadot. And the student would leave feeling full of goodness and blessing.
He called Rabbi Akiva: a sealed vault. For Rabbi Akiva was like a worker who took his basket and went out to gather. When he found wheat, he put it in his basket. When he found barley, he put it in his basket. When he found spelt, he put it in his basket. When he found beans, he put them in his basket. When he found lentils, he put them in his basket. Then when he came back home, he would separate the wheat into one pile, the barley into one pile, the spelt into one pile, the beans into one pile, and the lentils into one pile. So it was with Rabbi Akiva. He organized the whole Torah into identifiable categories.
He called Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah: a spice-peddlars’ basket. For Rabbi Elazar was like a merchant who took his cart and traveled around the country, and everyone would come out and say to him: Do you have fine oil? Do you have herbal ointments? Do you have persimmons? And they would find that he had everything. So it was with Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah. When a student would come to him and ask a question, Rabbi Elazar would tell him something from Scripture, something from Mishnah, something from Midrash, something from the law, and something from the legends. And the student would leave feeling full of goodness and blessing.

He would also say: An unlearned person cannot be truly pious. A timid person cannot learn, nor can an impatient person teach.
He would also say: Why do Torah scholars die young? Not because they commit adultery, and not because they steal, but because they interrupt their Torah learning with casual conversation. And then they do not come back to the place where they left off.

Hillel would say: Do not separate yourself from the community.