Talmud sur Avot 1:6

יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן פְּרַחְיָה וְנִתַּאי הָאַרְבֵּלִי קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן פְּרַחְיָה אוֹמֵר, עֲשֵׂה לְךָ רַב, וּקְנֵה לְךָ חָבֵר, וֶהֱוֵי דָן אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם לְכַף זְכוּת:

Yehoshuah ben Prachya et Nitai Ha'arbeli l'ont reçu d'eux. Yehoshua ben Prachya dit: Faites-vous un enseignant pour vous-même. [Rambam explique: Même s'il n'est pas apte à être votre professeur, faites de lui votre professeur et n'apprenez pas par vous-même. Et j'ai entendu: "Fais-toi un enseignant pour toi" que tu apprends constamment, et n'apprends pas aujourd'hui de l'un et demain d'un autre. Et même s'ils disaient (Avodah Zarah 19a): "Si l'on apprend la Torah d'un seul maître, il ne voit jamais de signe de bénédiction", ils ont déjà expliqué: C'est vrai de svara (aiguiser en dialectique après que la "substance" a acquis), il est bénéfique pour quelqu'un d'entendre le svara du plus grand nombre; mais en gemara (acquisition de la "substance" elle-même), un maître est préférable, pour éviter les différences dans les formulations de la même (apprentissage oral)], et acquérir un ami pour vous-même, [même si cela vous coûte très cher de le faire , et vous devez dépenser beaucoup pour acquérir son amour. Mais on ne peut pas dire «Acquérir un enseignant pour vous-même», un enseignant étant obligé d'enseigner gratuitement], et juger chaque homme sur la base du mérite. [Il en est ainsi lorsque l'acte est dans la balance, il n'étant pas discernable de ses actes s'il est juste ou méchant et il accomplit un acte qui permet de le juger dans les échelles du mérite ou dans celles de la culpabilité; c'est la manière de la bonté de le juger sur l'échelle du mérite. Mais si l'on est confirmé dans le mal, il est permis de le juger sur la balance de la culpabilité, leur ayant déclaré seulement (Shabbath 97a): "Si l'on soupçonne l'innocent, il est frappé dans son corps", ce qui implique que s'il soupçonne le méchant il n'est pas frappé.]

Avot D'Rabbi Natan

(Another interpretation:) Why did Israel weep for Aaron for thirty days? [(Both women and men.)] Because he always judged fairly. How do we know this? For he never said to a man or woman: You have disgraced yourself. That is why it says that the entire House of Israel wept for him. But with Moses, who would chastise them with harsh words, it merely says (Deuteronomy 34:8), “The children of Israel wept for Moses.” And also, how many thousands in Israel were named after Aaron! Because if not for Aaron, they would never have come into the world. For he would bring peace between husband and wife, and then they would come back together, and would name their first child after him. But there are those who say that the reason the entire House of Israel wept for him for thirty days is because anyone who saw Moses our teacher sitting and weeping, how could they not weep? (And some say:) Anyone who saw Elazar and Pinchas, the two high priests, standing and crying, how could they not weep?

Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy

Avot D'Rabbi Natan

Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa would say: Anyone whose fear of sin precedes his wisdom, his wisdom will endure, as it says (Psalms 111:10), “The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Eternal.” He would also say: Anyone whose actions are greater [than his wisdom, his wisdom will endure], as it says (Exodus 24:7), “We will do, and then we will understand.”
They asked Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai: A wise person who fears sin – what is he like? He replied: Like a craftsman with his tool in hand. Then they asked: A wise person who does not fear sin – what is he like? He replied: Like a craftsman who does not have his tool in hand. Then they asked: A person who fears sin but is not wise – what is he like? He replied: Like someone who does not know the craft, but has a tool in his hand.
Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah would say: If there is no Torah, there is no common decency. [If there is no common decency, there is no Torah.] He would also say: A person who has done good deeds, and has learned a lot of Torah – what is he like? Like a tree that stands near the water, whose branches are small, but whose roots are so strong that even if the four winds of the world all came and blew at it, it could not be moved from its place, as it says (Psalms 1:3), “He is like a tree planted by (streams of) water.” But a person who has not done good deeds and studies Torah, what is he like? Like a tree that stands in the desert, with small branches and small roots, and when a wind comes and blows at it, it uproots it and flips it over on its top, as it says (Jeremiah 17:6), “You will be like a bush in the desert.”
Rabban Gamliel would say: Make for yourself a teacher. Acquire for yourself a friend. A teacher for wisdom and a friend to study with. Remove yourself from all doubts, and do not get used to tithing by estimation.

Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy

Verset précédent Chapitre complet Verset suivant