Musar על אבות 4:26

But the path to arrive at the "desired haven" (Ps. 107:30) of ours is this world. This is what our sages of blessed memory said: "this world is like a corridor before the World to Come" (Avot 4:16).

The second: "Who bears iniquity" - and behold, this is greater than the previous. As behold, a man does not do an iniquity without creating a destructive spirit (mashchit); as it is learned (Avot 4:11), "One who transgresses a single iniquity acquires a single prosecutor." And behold, this prosecutor stands in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, and says, "X made me." And no creature exists in the world except from the flow of the Holy One, blessed be He - and behold, this destructive spirit that stands in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, from what does he exist? It would be logical that the Holy One, blessed be He, would say, "I do not nourish destructive spirits - he should go to the one that made him and be sustained from him." And the destructive spirit would go down immediately and take his soul, excise him or have him punished according to his punishment - until this destructive spirit is nullified. But the Holy One, blessed be He, does not do this; but He rather bears and tolerates the iniquity - and [just] as He nourishes and sustains the whole world, [so too] does He nourish and sustain this destructive spirit until there be one of three things: Either the sinner repents and he finishes him and nullifies him with his mortifications; or that the righteous Judge nullifies him with afflictions and death; or [that the sinner] goes to Geihinom and he pays his debt there. And that is [the meaning of] that which Kain said (Genesis 4:13), "Is my iniquity too great to bear?" And the Sages, may their memory be blessed, explained it (Midrash Tanchuma, Bereshit 9), "You tolerate the whole world" - meaning nourish and sustain - "and my iniquity is [so] heavy that you cannot tolerate it" - meaning to sustain it until I repent and repair [it]. If so, behold this is a great trait of tolerance - that He nourishes and sustains an evil creature, that the sinner created, until he repents.

Likewise our sages of blessed memory taught us: "against your will were you formed, and against your will were you born" (Avot 4:22). For the soul does not love this world at all. On the contrary, it despises it. If so, certainly, the Creator, blessed be His Name, would never have created something for a purpose which is against its nature and despised by it!

And the penitent is also obligated to be submissive and to fulfill and follow the path about which our Rabbis, may there memory be blessed, said (Avot 4:10), "Be of humble spirit before all men." And from this, he will acquire that he will not get angry at - or be exacting with - his fellows; and he will also not pay attention to everything that he hears and will forego his reckonings. And from this, all of his sins will be [forewent to be] atoned, as our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Rosh Hashanah 17a), "Whoever forgoes his reckonings [with others, the heavenly court, in turn,] forgoes all his sins" - measure for measure. And this is a very glorious opening for hope. And it is stated (Lamentations 3:29-30), "Let him put his mouth to the dust - there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to the smiter; let him be surfeited with mockery."

And King Solomon, peace be upon him, said (Proverbs 13:13), "He who disdains a precept will be injured thereby; and he who fears a commandment will be rewarded." He said this about one who disdains [concern about] light sins. For he will be injured from the angles that we mentioned. "And he who fears a commandment" - to [make efforts not to] negate (fail to perform) a commandment, like he fears from a weighty sin - "will be rewarded": He is destined to receive the full reward [for it]. And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Avot 2:1) "And be careful with a light commandment as with a weighty one." And they also said (Avot 4:2), "For the payment for performing a commandment is another commandment and the payment for committing a transgression is a transgression."

And from this, we will understand very well what has disappeared from the eyes of researchers in what they have examined regarding, heaven forbid, a change in God's will. The Almighty decrees a decree and then repentance, prayer and charity can change that to the better; and sometimes it changes from good to bad. But they walk in darkness because there can be no change, heaven forbid. Rather all is one and is only a matter of one desire. That is to say this inquiry is a matter of faith. I will also copy what I wrote as a child in my pamphlet, even though it is a little different. In any event, it all goes together in one place. These are my words. Written in section of Godliness in the gate of unity. And the whole faith of unity is complete; as there is no body nor strength of the body, nor a separate mind, and will not change from thought to thought or from action to action or from one leader to another. It is a complete intellect and simple and unique in all parts of His names and in all attributes. And a change in actions on the part of the leadership only exists from the side of the recipients. Because the one who walks in innocence and straightness, and keeps a good home, receives goodness derived from God Almighty. And he who perverts his path and distances himself, is distanced from the good derived from God and the opposite is derived from Him.

And there is another excellent modesty — to study in the presence of the very young and ask them to explain something that he, the teacher, does not understand. And he should not say, "How can I study in the presence of youngsters and how can I seek and expect to find an answer from him when he is younger than I?" And on this subject it is said: "From all my mentors I have learned" (Ps. 119:99). And further did our Sages say: "Be exceedingly humble" (Aboth 4:4), in the presence of all men. Not before the great alone must one be humble in spirit, but also before the small.

But the one who does not always remember the day of his death is similar in his own eyes to one who has extra time and calm (mitun) to reach his goal. (It appears to me that it is from the usage [in Avot 1:1], "be patient [matunim] in judgement." And in Berkhot 20a, [we read], matun [which can also mean two hundred] and matun is equal to four hundred zuz.) And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Avot 4:17), "more precious is one hour in repentance and good deeds in this world, than all the life of the world to come; and more precious is one hour of the tranquility of the world to come, than all the life of this world."

Naturally, he will learn to stay away from evil and do good. We have learned in Avot 4,28 in the name of Rabbi Eleazar Hakappar that "jealousy, the desire for honor, and greed hasten man's exit from this world." We have proof of this in our portion when we see Adam and all his descendants for all generations driven from this world by becoming mortal. The cause was the greed of Eve lusting after the fruit of the tree of knowledge, her need for honor, seeing she desired to be like G–d. This was also prompted by jealousy of G–d's superior status.

“You shall not place a stumbling block before the blind” (Leviticus 19:14). And we were warned with this not to give a ruling to the Israelites which is not like the doctrine and not like the law (halakha). And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Avot 1:1), “Be deliberate in judgement.” And the ones who are impatient to understand and give a ruling will not save their souls from putting a stumbling block before the blind; and their sin is very heavy, as it is written (Psalms 82:5), “They neither know nor understand, they go about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth totter.” And they also said (Avot 4:13), “Be careful in study, for an error in study counts as deliberate sin.” And our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Sotah 22a), “‘For she has cast down many wounded’ (Proverbs 7:26); this is [referring to] a Torah scholar who has not yet attained the ability to issue rulings, and yet issues rulings. ‘And a mighty host are all her slain’; this is referring to a Torah scholar who has attained the ability to issue rulings, but does not issue rulings.”

Considering this, our sages, peace be unto them, said: "minimize your worldly occupations and toil in the Torah" (Avot 4:10).

But, there are times when it is a good deed to pursue honor, as when he is a righteous and wise man and people hold him cheaply and make fun of him because of his good deeds and because of this his words are disdained and not listened to. Then if it is in his power to compel men to do him honor and listen to his rebukes, it is commendable to pursue honor in order to correct and rebuke the people. Similarly, if people have shamed him publicly he should not forgive them until they have entreated and appeased him. But in most cases he must go away from honor and flee from it. Did not the Sages say: "Jealousy, lust and the pursuit of honor take a man out of this world" (Aboth 4:28). And a man ought not to learn or to do any good thing in order to be honored, but should do the good deed for the sake of the Creator, may He be Blessed, and in the end the honor will come.

The matter of "Zeal" is clear. It is the early engaging in mitzvot and their completion as the sages of blessed memory said: "the zealous are early to perform the mitzvot" (Pesachim 4a).

In order to answer this difficulty Rabbi Avin quoted his second parable, i.e. a postscript, not an alternative explanation. Rabbi Avin goes on record in his first parable that even though the angels are recompensed for their service to G–d, this is not related to their having overcome an evil urge. The reason they receive a reward at all, says G–d, is כי אני ה', "I G–d am gracious," I do something over and beyond what anyone has the right to expect of Me. The nature of the reward received by the angels is spiritual, similar to the concept of שכר מצוה מצוה, that the reward for performing a מצוה is the continued ability to perform מצות (Avot 4,2). Israel, whose מצוה performance is the result of overcoming great handicaps, receives two kinds of reward.

[And, in truth, how much should we be ashamed! For if two good, useful business opportunities presented themselves to a man, so that if he took one he would have to leave the other, he would look with a sober eye to determine which is certain and which is uncertain. And how much more so [would he choose the first] if it [the second] is only a possibility of a possibility. He would also look with a sober eye to determine which is better and more useful and which lasts a longer time. For sometimes, even if one is better than the other, if the second lasts for a longer time, he will choose that. How much more so if it is intrinsically better than the other. But when it comes to choosing between the service of the L-rd and the affairs of the world, the yetzer entices us to abandon the service of the L-rd, which is better and more useful in itself than all the affairs of the world, as the tanna has said (Avoth 4:14): "Better one moment in the world to come, etc.", and it is also eternal, as opposed to all the affairs of this world, which is only as a passing shadow. And also, the eternal reward that comes from serving the Blessed L-rd is a certainty than which nothing is more certain — and the yetzer entices us to leave all this because of the possibility of a possibility of [benefit in] this world! And this is what we say in the confessional service [of Yom Kippur]: "We have turned away from Your mitzvoth and from Your goodly judgments, and it was not comparable to us." That is, the eternal good was not [even] comparable in our eyes to the transitory good of this world. The proof: We have rejected the certain before the uncertain! And one who wishes to be saved from the enticement of the yetzer hara will reflect constantly within himself and consider the greatness of the pleasure of the reward that the Holy One Blessed be He will give him for [the observance of] His mitzvoth. As the GRA has written, that it is for this reason that the Holy One Blessed be He has created the eternal world with all that is necessary for the reward for fulfillment of Torah and mitzvoth and did not give His reward in this world. For even if a man were given all of this world and its pleasures for one mitzvah it would not suffice for the pleasure he deserves for the mitzvah. And if a man reflects upon this, he certainly will not reject the certain, eternal good for the possibility of the possibility (of pleasure) in this world.]

[And, in truth, how much should we be ashamed! For if two good, useful business opportunities presented themselves to a man, so that if he took one he would have to leave the other, he would look with a sober eye to determine which is certain and which is uncertain. And how much more so [would he choose the first] if it [the second] is only a possibility of a possibility. He would also look with a sober eye to determine which is better and more useful and which lasts a longer time. For sometimes, even if one is better than the other, if the second lasts for a longer time, he will choose that. How much more so if it is intrinsically better than the other. But when it comes to choosing between the service of the L-rd and the affairs of the world, the yetzer entices us to abandon the service of the L-rd, which is better and more useful in itself than all the affairs of the world, as the tanna has said (Avoth 4:14): "Better one moment in the world to come, etc.", and it is also eternal, as opposed to all the affairs of this world, which is only as a passing shadow. And also, the eternal reward that comes from serving the Blessed L-rd is a certainty than which nothing is more certain — and the yetzer entices us to leave all this because of the possibility of a possibility of [benefit in] this world! And this is what we say in the confessional service [of Yom Kippur]: "We have turned away from Your mitzvoth and from Your goodly judgments, and it was not comparable to us." That is, the eternal good was not [even] comparable in our eyes to the transitory good of this world. The proof: We have rejected the certain before the uncertain! And one who wishes to be saved from the enticement of the yetzer hara will reflect constantly within himself and consider the greatness of the pleasure of the reward that the Holy One Blessed be He will give him for [the observance of] His mitzvoth. As the GRA has written, that it is for this reason that the Holy One Blessed be He has created the eternal world with all that is necessary for the reward for fulfillment of Torah and mitzvoth and did not give His reward in this world. For even if a man were given all of this world and its pleasures for one mitzvah it would not suffice for the pleasure he deserves for the mitzvah. And if a man reflects upon this, he certainly will not reject the certain, eternal good for the possibility of the possibility (of pleasure) in this world.]

והאיש משה עניו מאד מכל האדם . "Moses was more humble than any other human being." We can appreciate the value of the virtue of humility after we see that the only praise the Torah accords Moses, the father of all prophets, the man who maintained closer contact with G–d than anyone before him or since, is the reference to his humility. This teaches us to try and practice this virtue to the extreme. We are reminded of the Mishnah (Avot 4,4) which says: "be very very humble." When the Torah here says "more than any other human," we know of three humble people, Moses and Aaron who had said of themselves: "נחנו מה," who are we? (Exodus 16,7); then there was Abraham who said of himself: ואנכי עפר ואפר, "and I am only dust and ashes," (Genesis 18,27). Finally, there was King David, who said of himself: ואנכי תולעת, "and I am a worm." The most humble one of them all was Moses, since he did not even compare himself to anything else, but said:"We are nothing!" This is what the Torah meant when it said “מכל האדם”. The three letters in the word אדם, are the first letters respectively of אברהם, דוד, משה.

And now look and see how Joy includes everything! For every man who worries about the material things of this world has no rest and is always planning how to make money, and he is never satisfied with what God has apportioned to him. Therefore, the one who rejoices in his portion is rich even though he be poor, for he rejoices in the Lord who is his portion and inheritance. And so it is written : "I have said, 'My portion is the Lord' " (Ps. 119:57). And so he says : "Let the heart of them that seek the Lord rejoice!" (Ibid. 105:3).

How many hundreds of children are mischievous, following their heart because they see a void before them without a solution. And the truth of the matter is the opposite, only someone who can turn their minds around, only after he reaches perfection will he then be stirred to see that which was taught to us by Chazal, “do not despise regarding any person” (Pirkei Avot 4:3), and the tale of Rebbi Prayda proves that he uncovered this path for achieving perfection.

In order to explain somewhat the quality of peace, I shall adduce some of the apothegms of Chazal on this subject. This is from Ma'aloth Hamiddoth: "Know, my sons, that peace is among the highest qualities, it being one of the names of the Holy One Blessed be He, as it is written (Judges 6:24): And he called it [(the altar) 'the L-rd-Shalom.'" Wherever peace is found, fear of Heaven is found. Where there is no peace, there is no fear of Heaven. Great is peace before the Blessed One, our sages of blessed memory saying in the aggadah (Yevamoth 65b, Bava Metzia 87a): "Great is peace, even Scripture prevaricating to maintain peace between Abraham and Sarah. For whereas she said (Bereshith 18:12): 'And my lord [Abraham] is old,' G-d transmitted this to Abraham as (Ibid. 13): 'And I [Sarah] am old.'" Similarly (Ibid. 40:16-17): "and they had it reported to Joseph: 'Your father commanded before he died: "So shall you say to Joseph: 'Forgive, I pray you, the offense of your brothers and their sin, for they accorded you evil.'" Now nowhere do we find Jacob commanding any such thing at all, for he entertained no apprehension whatever of Joseph's conduct. My sons, come and see how great is the power of peace, for the Holy One Blessed be He said that even foes should be approached with peace as it is written (Devarim 20:10): "When you draw close to a city to wage war against it, call out to it for peace." Great is peace, for it consummates the priestly benediction, as it is written (Numbers 6:26): "And He shall repose peace upon you." Great is peace, for it is the consummation of prayer, as it is written (Psalms 29:11): "The L-rd will give His people strength; the L-rd will bless His people with peace." And what is more, in the day of Israel's consolation, the first report shall be of peace, as it is written (Isaiah 52:7): "How comely upon the mountains are the feet of the herald, announcing peace!" My sons, come and see how great is the power of peace, for the Holy One Blessed be He said that even foes should be approached with peace, as it is written (Devarim 20:10): "When you draw near to a city to wage war against it, call out to it for peace." It was stated of R. Yochanan b. Zakkai that no one ever preceded him in greeting, not even a gentile in the marketplace. And our sages of blessed memory have stated (Avoth 4:15): "Extend greeting to all men." What is meant by greeting "all men"? Even if you see that he is ill disposed towards you, extend greeting to him; for if you do so, you will cause him to love you. What is more, even if he will not condescend to make peace with you, the Holy One Blessed be He will deliver him into your hand and humble him beneath you, as it is written (Devarim 20:1): "And if it [the city] does not make peace with you, but wages war against you, then you shall besiege it, and the L-rd your G-d will deliver it into your hand…" And so we find with David, may peace be upon him, that he pursued peace with Saul, as it is written (Psalms 120:7): "I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war." Not only was Saul not appeased, but he pursued David to do him injury, and the Holy One Blessed be He delivered him into David's hand in the cave and in the encampment. And even so, it never entered David's heart to do him wrong. For one must love peace and pursue peace, as it is written (Ibid. 34:15): "Seek peace and pursue it." Seek it with your friend and pursue it with your enemy. Seek it in your place and pursue it in other places. Seek it with your body and pursue it with your money. [Sometimes one must be liberal with his money to seize upon the "stronghold of peace."] Seek it for yourself and pursue it for others. Seek it today and pursue it tomorrow. And do not despair, saying: "I will never achieve peace," but pursue it until you do achieve it. And what is the pursuit of peace? Thus have our sages of blessed memory said (Sanhedrin 110a): "This is speaking peace at a time of dispute and sacrificing one's honor for the general good, as was done by Moses, as it is written (Numbers 16:25): 'And Moses arose and he went to Dathan and Aviram…,'" and suspending one's affairs to make peace between a man and his wife, a man and his neighbor, and a teacher and his student — even to the extent of arranging a meal for two to make peace between them.

We have learned: "whether one has acted in error or whether he has acted deliberately it is all one and the same where the result is the desecration of G-d's Name" (Avot 4:4).

CLEANLINESS IN CHARACTER TRAITS: Just like Cleanliness is needed [to acquire] for the deeds, so too cleanliness is needed for the character traits. One can almost say that Cleanliness in character traits is more difficult to acquire than in the deeds. For human nature influences the traits more than it does in the deeds and one's natural temperament and disposition can either greatly aid or greatly impede in this area. Thus any war waged against one's nature becomes a raging battle. This is what our sages referred to saying: "who is mighty? He who conquers his inclination (Yetzer)" (Avot 4:1).

On jealousy and lust we learned explicitly: "jealousy, lust, and honor remove a person out of the world" (Avot 4:21).

But since he cannot bear to see himself lower and lesser than his peers, he puts himself squarely under the thickness of the beam. Thus there is no end to all his labor. Therefore, our Teachers, of blessed memory, taught us "jealousy, lust, and honor remove a person from the world" (Avot 4:21), and warned us: "do not seek greatness for yourself, and do not lust for honor" (Avot 6:5).

[It seems apt to explain "fall" instead of "will fall" according to what the GRA has written on Mishlei 1:23 in connection with men of levity: "They have a great lust to speak idle talk and levity even though they have no bodily pleasure therefrom. For with every thing that a man does he is given a spirit from on high. And this spirit does not rest until it does other such things, wherefrom he has pleasure — both in an act of mitzvah or in an act of sin. And this is the intent of Avoth 4:2: 'A sin begets a sin and a mitzvah begets a mitzvah.' And the greater the sin, the greater the spirit that it begets, and the more it lusts for more sin. Correspondingly, with a great mitzvah. A spirit comes from a very holy place and lusts greatly for that mitzvah and has great pleasure in that mitzvah. And it is known that the greatest mitzvah of all is Torah study, and, conversely, [the greatest sin of all,] idle speech and levity, which is the opposite of Torah. Therefore, there is more pleasure in idle speech and levity than in all other sins, even though there is no worldly [i.e., bodily] pleasure in this. But [the pleasure arises from the fact that] the spirit of uncleanliness is extremely great, like a 'bubbling spring,' as opposed to the [pure spirit of] Torah, which is [also] a 'bubbling spring.'" And it is known that the spirit of uncleanliness created by the sin, itself punishes the doer, after his death, in Gehinnom, wherefore Chazal have said "fall into Gehinnom" [rather than "will fall"]. For at the very utterance of the levity the great spirit of uncleanliness hovers above him. And he actually falls [that is, "dwells," as in (Bereshith 25:18): 'In the presence of all his brothers, he fell' (i.e., dwelt)] in Gehinnom in his lifetime, G-d forbid, (as written in Nefesh Hachaim, Gate One, Chapter 12. And their second apothegm is also to be explained along these lines.)]

But if he occupies himself with the study of the Torah and teaching it to his pupils, happy is he, for this is the best and most righteous occupation. For if he should err they will warn him, and if he should forget they will remind him, and if he should sleep they will arouse him, and if he should be wicked they will consider him righteous in spite of himself. As for him who occupies himself with the study of the Torah and repents only a little and so clings to his wickedness, know that if he were to engage in any other occupation, his wickedness would be double and his evil twice as much. Therefore, one should occupy oneself with the study of the Torah and be very careful with that precious treasure which the Creator gave to him. Let him not make of it an instrument to attain his desires and his pleasures, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Ethics of the Fathers Chapter 4), “Do not make them a crown with which to vaunt yourself, nor a spade with which to dig.” When a man teaches someone else or admonishes his pupils, let him not forget to punish his own soul the while, and to teach it, for it is not proper for a man to instruct someone else in what he himself does not do, and to teach him what he does not believe. For anything that comes out of the heart will enter into the heart, while anything that comes out of the mouth only will not go beyond the ear. A wise man said, “Whenever a man admonishes me and I want to know if that admonishment comes from the heart, I look to see if his instruction has entered my heart and aroused my soul to pay attention to his words. If so, I recognize that he is speaking with all his heart and all his might. But if my soul does not pay attention to his words and has not aroused itself to cling to them, then I know that his rebuke is nothing but the word of his lips.”

בחר לנו אנשים. Rashi sees in the word לנו proof that Moses equated Joshua with himself in this task. The Rabbis deduced from this a rule that a teacher should always be as concerned with the honour of his student as with his own. The honour of someone of equal status to oneself, however, should be placed on a par with the honour of one's teacher. The source for this is found in Numbers 12,11 where Aaron, Moses' older brother, addresses him with the words: בי אדוני, "Please my lord!" The honour of one's teacher should be treated as equivalent to the honour of G–d Himself. We derive this from Numbers 11,28 where Joshua pleads with Moses to kill Eldod and Meydod for prophesying the death of Moses. The words used are: אדוני משה כלאם. Joshua felt that insubordination against his teacher Moses deserved the same penalty as insubordination against G–d Himself. We can now understand why we are taught in Avot 4,1: "Who is truly honoured? He who honours G–d's creatures."

בחר לנו אנשים. Rashi sees in the word לנו proof that Moses equated Joshua with himself in this task. The Rabbis deduced from this a rule that a teacher should always be as concerned with the honour of his student as with his own. The honour of someone of equal status to oneself, however, should be placed on a par with the honour of one's teacher. The source for this is found in Numbers 12,11 where Aaron, Moses' older brother, addresses him with the words: בי אדוני, "Please my lord!" The honour of one's teacher should be treated as equivalent to the honour of G–d Himself. We derive this from Numbers 11,28 where Joshua pleads with Moses to kill Eldod and Meydod for prophesying the death of Moses. The words used are: אדוני משה כלאם. Joshua felt that insubordination against his teacher Moses deserved the same penalty as insubordination against G–d Himself. We can now understand why we are taught in Avot 4,1: "Who is truly honoured? He who honours G–d's creatures."

Perhaps I may be so bold as to say that Moses personally observed what Avtalyon in Avot 1,11 warned against when he said: הזהרו בדבריכם שמא תחובו חובת גלות, "Be very careful with your words lest you become guilty of having to exile yourselves." We have another Mishnah, Avot 4,14, in which Rabbi Nehorai warns that it is better to exile oneself to a place where Torah is studied. When Moses saw that he was guilty of exile, he decided to become a constant source of Torah so that any place that he found himself at would fit the description of מקום תורה. By positioning the paragraph about the cities of refuge, i.e. exile, between two paragraphs extolling the gift of Torah he vicariously complied with the advice of Rabbi Nehorai.

ותקרבון אלי כלכם . Rashi comments that it was a mob that approached Moses. Later on, in 5,20, however, Moses says of the people ותקרבון אלי כל ראשי שבטיכם וזקניכם, "You approached me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders." At that time they asked Moses to become their intermediary since the people were afraid that being exposed to G–d's voice directly would become fatal for them. This latter approach (at the time of the revelation) was correct; children showed respect for their elders. Humility is one of the best traits a person can practice. Only by allowing others זכות קדימה, the right of precedence, can one prove that one deserves a measure of honour oneself.

He should be zealous to seek knowledge of the Torah and knowledge of the Creator, as it is written. "And let us know, eagerly strive to know the Lord" (Hos. 6:3). Thus said the Sages: "Betake thyself to a place of Torah" (Aboth 4:14). And a man should be alert to seek justice, as it is written : "Justice, justice shall you pursue" (Deut. 16:20). And it is written, "Hearken to Me, ye that follow after righteousness, Ye that seek the Lord" (Is. 51:1). It is necessary to be quick in copying out the books which one needs for one's study. When he sees or hears a new thing, he should be alert to write it down and not delay until it is forgotten from his heart.

He should be zealous to seek knowledge of the Torah and knowledge of the Creator, as it is written. "And let us know, eagerly strive to know the Lord" (Hos. 6:3). Thus said the Sages: "Betake thyself to a place of Torah" (Aboth 4:14). And a man should be alert to seek justice, as it is written : "Justice, justice shall you pursue" (Deut. 16:20). And it is written, "Hearken to Me, ye that follow after righteousness, Ye that seek the Lord" (Is. 51:1). It is necessary to be quick in copying out the books which one needs for one's study. When he sees or hears a new thing, he should be alert to write it down and not delay until it is forgotten from his heart.

And we can say that apparently "All who speak lashon hara" applies to one who is habituated to it and does not take it upon himself to guard himself against it. And there is always someone who finds someone to speak about every day. And even if we do not reckon many words, but only four or five a day, that is, about thirty words a week, and, in the course of a year, about fifteen hundred words, even if we consider lashon hara only one negative commandment, [he violates] fifteen hundred negative commandments a year! For certainly, just as in words of holiness, every word in itself is [fulfillment of] a positive commandment, so, in forbidden speech, every word is an issur in itself. And if he conducts himself in this manner his whole life, he accumulates about eighty thousand or more. And it is known that from every transgression a "prosecutor" is created, as we find in Avoth 4:11: "Anyone who commits one transgression acquires for himself one prosecutor" [How much turmoil must grip one's heart when he reflects that he has massed against himself a great army of such prosecutors!] All this, by a reckoning of four or five words a day, which are common to many men. How much more will there be found, among the notorious speakers of lashon hara, more than two hundred [such] words a day. This is the intent of "All who speak lashon hara magnify sin until the heavens."

Further included in fear is honoring the Torah and those who study it. We learned explicitly: "Whoever honors the Torah, is himself honored by the people" (Avot 4:6). And our sages, of blessed memory, said:

First let me explain a few of the finer nuances in the verses which forbid man to eat from the tree of knowledge. The Torah twice says: ממנו, "from it," ומעץ הדעת טוב ורע לא תאכל ממנו כי ביום אכלך ממנו מות תמות "From the tree of knowledge of good and evil, do not eat from it, for on the day you eat from it you will surely become mortal" (Genesis 2,17). During the conversation between Eve and the serpent, however, the word ממנו occurs only once, i.e. ומפרי העץ אשר בתוך הגן לא תאכלו ממנו ולא תגעו בו פן תמותון, "And from the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, the Lord has said 'do not eat from it and do not touch it lest you die'" (Genesis 3,3). Another difficulty in the text is the fact that in the original command by G–d we find the words “2,16) ”עץ…ומעץ הדעת and 2,17), and also the serpent itself refers to "the tree itself" (3,1). Eve, on the other hand, mentioned only a prohibition of the fruit of the tree (3,3). Only afterwards do we read in verse 6 of the conversation between Eve and the serpent: ותרא האשה כי טוב העץ למאכל, "the woman saw that the tree was good for eating." Another difficulty is the fact that surely Eve was an extremely intelligent woman. What could have prompted her to tell the serpent of an additional prohibition, that of touching the tree, when such a prohibition had not been issued by G–d? A further difficulty is that since Eve knew that G–d had not prohibited touching the tree, why did the fact that the serpent pushed her against the tree and she did not die influence her to the extent that she accepted the serpent's argument that just as touching the tree had not proved fatal to her, eating from it would not have fatal consequences either? (compare Bereshit Rabbah 19,3 that the serpent pushed Eve against the tree). How did Eve deduce a prohibition from something that had not been commanded? Yet another difficulty is the wording of the punishment. The Torah quotes G–d as saying to Adam: ארורה האדמה בעבורך, "The Earth will be cursed on your account" (Genesis 3,17). This means that Earth was punished at that time for a former misdemeanour. Why was Earth not punished at the time it failed to produce the kind of trees it had been commanded to produce?

HATING RABBANUT: Hating Rabbanut (authority over others) and fleeing from honor: This is an explicit Mishna (Avot 1:10): "love work, hate Rabbanut". They further said: "One whose heart is frivolous in handing down rulings is a fool, wicked and arrogant" (Avot 4:7), and "whoever chases after honor, honor flees from him" (Eruvin 13b), and "'Do not go out quickly to quarrel (Riv)' (Mishlei 25:8) - do not run after rulership, Why not? [the verse continues:] 'for what will you do in the end' (ibid), the next day people will put questions to you, and what will you answer them?" (Pesikta Rabati 22:4);

HONORING OTHERS: The fourth division is granting honor to every person. Likewise we learned "who is honorable? He who honors the public" (Avot 4:1). They further said: "from where do we know that a person who knows that his neighbor is greater than himself in even one respect must show him honor?..." (Pesachim 113b).

We also learned: "'be first to greet every man' (Avot 4:15) - our sages reported of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai that no man ever preceded greeting him, not even a gentile in the marketplace" (Berachot 17a).

We have a perfect example of the principle of מדה כנגד מדה, that retribution fits the crime, in the legislation about עדים זוממים, false witnesses trying to frame someone. These "witnesses" who testify to something they have not seen must suffer the fate their intended victims would have suffered had it not been that the truth was revealed in time (19,19). People must be judged by applying the same yardstick by which they judge others. The hidden message in this legislation is that when G–d created the universe, He created opposites. Just as He created domains of sanctity, He also created the alternative, i.e. a domain of impurity, קליפה. He who performs good deeds establishes his affinity to the domain of sanctity, whereas he who engages in sinful conduct establishes ties with the domain of impurity. All this is part of the concept: שכר מצוה מצוה, ושכר עברה עברה, that the "reward" of a good deed is another good deed and vice versa (Avot 4,2). The reward is the spiritual impact of the performance of the good deed. When the Torah ties the punishment of such a "witness" to כאשר זמם לעשות, "what he intended to accomplish" instead of to "what he did accomplish," it is to teach us the rule that we are measured by the same yardstick we apply to others. The Rekanati endeavors to explain how our sages dared arrive at the conclusion that if the intention of the עדים זוממים had in fact been accomplished, (i.e. that their victim had already been executed before discovery of the fact that they had not been at the scene of the crime to which they testified), that they then go out scot-free from a human tribunal (Chulin 11). This is what he writes: "I have to explain to you why the sages in Chulin arrived at such a ruling from something the Torah did not actually state. Did they presume to know everything that was in G–d's mind? First of all, let us be clear that the statement in Chulin כאשר זמם ולא כאשר עשה applies only in cases where a death penalty had been administered. If the subject of the testimony was something not involving a possible death penalty the witnesses in question will have to make restitution even if their victim has already been convicted. This is why our sages used as their example the words: הרגו אין נהרגים, "if they have killed they will not be executed." Having said this, know that G–d does not allow miscarriages of justice, i.e. that an innocent person be put to death by a Court. Anyone who has not committed a sin carrying the death penalty will not be convicted by the testimony of false witnesses. If such an accused is executed this merely proves that he was guilty of another sin for which he deserved to die, but that the other sin he was guilty of had not been witnessed, and that therefore no judicial proceedings could have been instituted. In view of this the false witnesses had actually accomplished G–d's purpose when they testified against the accused in question. They had actually merely caused the death of a person who -legally speaking- was already considered "dead" in G–d's books. How could we execute a witness for having caused the execution of someone already legally dead? All of the foregoing is based on our conviction that the Sanhedrin only confirm judgments already made in Heaven, that they are the representatives of the שכינה. If the witnesses were found out before their victim was executed, it is clear in retrospect that they were about to shed innocent blood. Clearly, for such a crime they must face retribution in kind. When judges perceive themselves as agents of G–d, it can be said of them that אלוקים נצב בעדת א-ל, 'G–d stands in the divine assembly'" (Psalms 82,1). Thus far the Rekanati.

Above all, one should always contemplate to recognize the weakness of human intellect and its great many errors and falsehoods, how it is always nearer to error than true knowledge. Therefore, he should always fear this danger, and seek to learn from every person, always listening to advice, lest he stumble. This is what our sages, of blessed memory, said: "Who is wise? He who learns from all men" (Avot 4:1), and scripture says "he who hearkens to counsel is wise" (Mishlei 12:15).

For example, we see by Yoash [ben Achazya king of Judah] (Shemot Raba 8:2) who acted good all the days he was taught by his teacher Yehoyada HaKohen. But after the death of Yehoyada, his servants came and began to flatter him and magnify praises of him until they likened him to a god; "Then the king hearkened to them" (Divrei Hayamim II 24:17).

For example, we see by Yoash [ben Achazya king of Judah] (Shemot Raba 8:2) who acted good all the days he was taught by his teacher Yehoyada HaKohen. But after the death of Yehoyada, his servants came and began to flatter him and magnify praises of him until they likened him to a god; "Then the king hearkened to them" (Divrei Hayamim II 24:17).

את הברכה אשר תשמעו . We may ask why the Torah (11,27) uses the preposition אשר when describing the blessing, whereas in connection with the curse the Torah (28,15) uses the preposition אם. Some commentators explain that we can understand this when we understand the saying of our sages in Avot 4,2 that שכר מצוה מצוה, "the reward of performing one מצוה is another מצוה" The meaning would be that "once you start listening to G–d's commandments your reward will be that you will feel the urge to observe still more of the commandments." This would be analogous to והיה אם שמוע-תשמעו, (11,13 et al). The difficulty with this explanation is that we find a similar construction used in the Torah when the opposite attitude is described, i.e. והיה אם שכח תשכח (8,19).

We have learned in Avot 4,21, in the name of Rabbi Eleazar Hakappor, that the three things which cause man to depart from this world are "jealousy, greed, and the quest for personal glory." Why were these sins singled out by that Rabbi more than any others, many of which carry a mandatory death sentence at the hands of Heaven?

Fear of punishment, as its name implies, is for a person to fear transgressing the word of the L-rd, his G-d, due to the punishments incurred for the transgression, whether to body or soul. This [type of fear] is certainly easy to attain. For every man loves himself and fears for his soul and there is nothing which keeps a person from doing something more than the fear that this thing might bring harm to him.

We know from Proverbs 14,30, "envy is iike rottenness of the bones," that ordinarily, jealousy is a natural cause of death. Greed, lust, cause man's death, while he remains unsated, since "man dies while half his desires remain unfulfilled" (Kohelet Rabbah 1,34). We also have the statement of our sages that "he who chases after glory and honour, glory and honour flee from him" (Jerusalem Talmud Avodah Zarah 3,1). On this the sages comment that he dies one hundred deaths from jealousy and not just one. Rashi explains the Mishnah in Avot by Rabbi Elazar Hakappor as applying to Adam; it was these negative virtues that caused him to become mortal. He describes the angels who had to serve him delicacies in גן עדן as becoming jealous of his status, his כבוד, honor. He cites Adam's greed to eat from the tree of knowledge as contributing to his death. The honour he enjoyed in Gan Eden caused him to be expelled. He quotes other opinions that apply this Mishnah to the jealousy displayed by Korach versus Moses and Aaron. Actually we have to view these three evils as the root causes of all impurities, i.e. טומאות, which include all negative virtues. When these three characteristics are used positively, they in turn are the root causes of all positive virtues. Concerning this fact, Ben Zoma asks at the beginning of that chapter in Avot "Who is a wise man? He who is willing to learn from any person. Who is a hero? He who is able to restrain his passions. Who is wealthy? He who is satisfied with his lot." "Heroism" is an aspect of "jealousy," as we know from Jeremiah 46,12, גבור בגבור כמותן, "for hero encounters a hero of similar stature" [the competitive element is the jealousy]. We also have Rashi's comment on Numbers 25,11, בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם, "when he displayed jealousy on My behalf," that this "jealousy" displayed by Pinchas was the retribution G–d was entitled to exact from Zimri, i.e. it was נקמה. We know that קנאת סופרים, a competitive spirit between scholars is laudable, since it means that a person battles his evil urge, trying to excel in good deeds and character traits. This is the most important battle a person has to fight in his life. We have the story of the philosopher who encountered soldiers returning from a great conquest. He told them: "you did win a minor battle, but you have failed to win the major battle, namely man's battle with his evil urge." The reason it is called "the great battle," is that it is a never-ending battle. Concerning that battle, Ben Zoma said that the true hero is he who vanquishes his evil urge. The statement "who is wealthy, he who is satisfied with his lot," is the exact opposite of the negative virtue of תאוה, greed, i.e. never being satisfied. This is why the rabbis said that a person who is afflicted with the disease of being greedy dies before he has achieved even half of what he had hoped for. Lastly Ben Zoma described the חכם, wise person, as someone who is willing to learn from anybody else. The true meaning of honour is to be considered a wise man, as we know from Proverbs 3,35: "The wise shall inherit honour." When a person does not chase after glory it is liable to pursue him. Rabbi Yossi is on record as saying: "I have learned a great deal from my teachers; I have learned even more from my friends; but most of all have I learned from my students" (Taanit 7).

At that point they had not yet formulated the thought of slandering the land of Israel, they had merely hoped that the conditions would be such that conquest by natural means would not be feasible. Since, as we know, one sin brings other sins in its wake, the spies became trapped by their personal ambitions. This is the reason that the Torah describes their activities as וירגלו, similar to Psalms 15,3: "his tongue was not generally given to evil."

The thirteenth principle of repentance is to take seriously the transgressions which one has treated lightly. For example, looking at women or speaking over-much with them, or conversing about idle things, or doing nothing, or mentioning the name of God in vain. All these and many more like them are considered trivial by many people and even by great men of the day — they must be regarded as very serious matters. And there are four reasons for this : First, one should never look at the smallness of the sin but at the greatness of Him who warned against it. A parable will illustrate this. A king commanded his two servants, the one to bring him something to drink for he was very thirsty, and the other to do something that he really did not need very much; and he warned each one, on pain of death. Certainly, if either one of them disobeyed his command he would be liable to death, for they hang a man who has stolen one dinar just as they hang one who has stolen a thousand, for each one has transgressed the command of the king. In the same way the Lord has warned us concerning all of the Torah, "Keep all the commandment which I command you this day" (Deut. 27:1). And it is written, "Cursed be he that confirmeth not the words of this law to do them" (Deut. 27:26). The second reason is that when one transgresses a little matter many times, it becames a very severe matter, because the punishments for each individual transgression are combined. Thirdly, when one is accustomed to commit sins, he comes to regard them as permissible and does not guard himself against them, and he is reckoned among those who cast off the yoke of the Torah and who are "apostates with respect to one matter." Fourthly, it is the way of the evil inclination that after he conquers in some small matter, he goes on to conquer in a serious one. Therefore our Sages said, "Be heedful of a light precept as of a grave one" (Aboth 2:1). And they said further, "For one good deed draws another in its train, and one sin, another sin" (Aboth 4:2).

"With three crowns was Israel crowned : the crown of the Torah, the crown of the Priesthood and the crown of Kingdom" (Aboth 4:17, Yoma 72b, Eccl. Rabbah 7:1). Aaron merited the crown of the Priesthood, as it is said, "And it shall be unto him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood" (Num. 25:13). David merited the crown of Kingdom, as it is said, "His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before Me" (Ps. 89:37). As for the crown of the Torah — it lies there waiting for all Israel, as it is said, "Moses commanded us a law, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (Deut. 33:4) : anyone who wants the crown of Torah can come and take it. And should you say that the other crowns are greater than the crown of Torah, then behold he says, "By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth" (Prov. 8:15—16). From this you learn that the crown of the Torah is greater than the crown of Priesthood, and greater than the crown of Sovereignty. And the Sages said, "A bastard who is a scholar takes precedence over a High Priest who is ignorant" (Horayoth 13a). As it is said, "She (wisdom) is more precious than rubies" (Prov. 3:15). The Hebrew word "peninah" means both "ruby" and "inside", and the verse can therefore be interpreted as meaning : More precious is the Torah and he who studies it than the High Priest who enters the very inside of the Temple — into the Holy of Holies.

Now it is known that of all the hope of a man, ennobled by the name "Israel," the primary hope is to merit life in the world to come, the greatest delight of all the delights of the world. As stated in Avoth 4:17: "Better one moment of pleasure in the world to come than all the life of this world." And it is also known what has been written in many sefarim, including the GRA, on (Mishlei 13:13): "He who cheapens a thing will be injured by it," viz.: When a man cheapens a mitzvah, he injures himself. For every thing in his organs receives its vital force from a mitzvah. For the 248 positive commandments correspond to the 248 organs of a man, as we find in the Midrash, so that there is thereafter found [(by the cheapening of a mitzvah)] an injury in the soul in [the area of] the corresponding limb.

When G–d spoke of the Israelites being His witnesses in Isaiah 43,10, this was an allusion to the good G–d will perform for the Jewish people in the days of the Messiah when He will renew the covenant with us -one that will never be severed- and one which will symbolise that Israel has been totally refined, both the patriarchs and their descendants. At that time the השגחה will be based on the Israelites being צדיקים בני צדיקים, righteous people descended from righteous people. Our sages have stated in Avot 4,19: "Nothing is in our hands: we can neither explain the prosperity of the lawless nor the sufferings of the righteous."

When G–d spoke of the Israelites being His witnesses in Isaiah 43,10, this was an allusion to the good G–d will perform for the Jewish people in the days of the Messiah when He will renew the covenant with us -one that will never be severed- and one which will symbolise that Israel has been totally refined, both the patriarchs and their descendants. At that time the השגחה will be based on the Israelites being צדיקים בני צדיקים, righteous people descended from righteous people. Our sages have stated in Avot 4,19: "Nothing is in our hands: we can neither explain the prosperity of the lawless nor the sufferings of the righteous."

Let us now return to the subject we discussed previously. Our sages are on record as saying that every מצוה performed by a person creates a מלאך, angel (Avot 4,11). This is somewhat difficult. Granted that the performance of a positive commandment may create such an angel [a constructive force in G–d's universe ], how can the non-transgression of a negative commandment "create" such an angel? If we consider that observance of negative commandments through intensive study is equal to performance of a positive commandment we no longer have a problem with this statement of our sages. The fact that מלאך is alluded to in the names we have for "sun," is to make us aware that even the 365 negative commandments can be performed in a way that confers the same advantages on us as if we had performed positive commandments.

The righteous spies that Joshua sent out repaired the metaphysical damage caused by ten of the original spies whom Moses had sent out. The "hope" for the future of the Jewish people was summarized by the תקות חוט השני, whereas the damage caused by the original spies can be described as symbolizing the statement of our sages that תקות אנוש רימה, that the only thing humans have to look forward to is to become worms (man's body in the grave). All this because they abused their power of speech to libel G–d and the land of Israel. At the root of their corruption lay their desire to occupy positions of influence within the nation. All that the above teaches is to follow very carefully the advice of our sages in Avot 4,4, "be very very humble, seeing that man's prospects are only to decay!" The spies who had started out by being described as אנשים, i.e. men of stature, ended up by being considered "אנוש," the lowest appellation of humans.

While I am on this subject I shall also deal with the unusual fact that in 24,50, Laban pre-empts his father by speaking up before his father. Rashi comments that it was because of Laban's wickedness that he tried to forestall his father Bethuel. Assuming that Rashi is correct, what advantage did the clever Laban hope to gain by answering first? I have already written that the patriarchs and matriarchs represented the whole of mankind, and that they repaired the spiritual and physical damage inflicted on the universe by Adam (Adam and Eve combined). G–d's whole purpose in the creation of the universe had of course been none other than Adam. We have learned in Avot 4:28 that "jealousy, greed and thirst for honor drive man out of this world," i.e. cause his death. Adam's sin involved elements of all these three negative traits. The serpent was jealous of Adam as Eve's husband and wanted to "marry" Eve himself; hence he tried to seduce Adam. It had thought that Adam would be the first to eat, Eve offering him the first bite, and that thus Adam would become the victim of G–d's warning not to eat from the tree on penalty of death. The serpent would then have been free to mate with Eve. The reward that the serpent held out to Eve (Genesis 3,5-6) was gratification of her greed, "the tree was lovely to look at and good as food." The promise of becoming G–d-like was the additional honour that would result from eating of that tree. Regarding the lives of Abraham and Sarah we find that they practised the very opposite traits. It is natural for a woman to be jealous of another woman's ability to have children when she herself is unable to do so, but Sarah offered Hagar to her husband in order that Abraham should be able to have a child with her instead (Genesis 16,2); she was free of that kind of jealousy. Abraham, who was offered material wealth by the King of Sodom, exclaimed that he would not even accept a shoelace from the booty he himself had captured when he defeated Kedor-Leomer and freed Lot (14,23). Not only did Abraham not display traits of greed, his entire life was filled with acts of generosity towards others. He practiבed humility to the point where he – who had been the recipient of several revelations by G–d – even described himself as being merely "dust and ashes " (18,27).

Having praised the virtue of modesty and humility, we must try to understand the statement of Rabbi Chiyah son of Ashi in Sotah 5a that a "Torah scholar must possess one eighth of an eighth" (of pride). This statement is followed by one of Rabbi Hunna son of Rabbi Joshua who says: "This amount of pride crowns him just like the beard is a crown of the ear of corn." The deeper meaning of this statement is related to the eight manifestations of pride we have listed and corresponding to which we recite eight (respectively 7) times מה in the רבון prayer every morning. Our sages have said on numerous occasions that the number "one" is not really part of any count. It follows that if a Torah scholar possesses only "one" of eight parts of pride this is hardly something to be concerned about. The problem is that the eight manifestations of pride are all rooted in the same source, i.e. the head, as we have pointed out. In such a situation, even a small amount such as one eighth becomes significant because it contains some of all the eight aspects. This is why Rabbi Chiyah does not want the תלמיד חכם to cultivate more than 1 /8th of 1 /8th i.e. 1/64th of pride. The only reason even this small amount of pride or self-confident bearing is permitted to the scholar is so that the people for whom he is to represent authority should not misconstrue his humble bearing as indicating an inability to lead.

Let us analyse the eight possible sources of pride which we refer to in the prayer cited above. The words מה אנחנו refer to the ability to hear, or the loss of one's hearing. When someone has caused someone else an injury resulting in his becoming deaf, he has to compensate him with all five categories of compensation the Talmud provides for (Baba Kama 85b). The words מה חיינו refer to food and drink without which life cannot be sustained. The words מה חסדנו are a reference to the eyes, and the words מה צדקותינו refer to the forehead. We are told by Rabbi Ami in Taanit 8a that rain is granted to earth only on account of בעלי אמנה, people who keep promises made in business life. He supports this with the quotation from Psalms 85,12: "Justice looks down from Heaven." The supply of rain is considered an act of צדקה. On the previous folio Rav Shilo, quoting Rav Hamnuna said that rain is withheld only on account of עזי פנים, insolent people, people with a brazen forehead. The connection between the forehead and insolence is supported by several verses from the Bible. The words מה ישועתינו refer to one's face, as we know from Psalms 80,20: האר פניך ונושעה, "Show us Your countenance that we may be delivered." G–d's "face" is indispensable to our survival. The words מה כחינו, are, of course, a reference to strength and power, and we know that the true hero is the one who can control his rages, his temper. The words מה גבורתינו are a reference to courage, something centered in the heart. It also describes an arrogant attitude. The words מה נאמר לפניך is clearly a reference to the tongue which can and will boast. The word מה in מה ה' אלוקיך שואל מעמך וגו' is an allusion to the suppression of the eight areas in which the ego asserts itself and which we vow not to assert in our morning prayer. We go so far as to state that we consider our advantage over the animals in this respect to be nil. The word ועתה in the same verse may be divided into ועת ה', that there will be a time – namely in the World to Come – when we will no longer comport ourselves as humbly as we do in this world. At that time, G–d will שואל מעמך, will be in the position of a "borrower," (שואל). A borrower is legally liable for any damage sustained by the animal or tool he has borrowed. Allegorically speaking, G–d will have to pay us the reward for all the suffering we experience in this world. This is why our Rabbis (Berachot 6a) said that if a person intends to perform a commandment and is prevented from doing so by forces beyond his control, he is nevertheless entitled to the reward for the commandment in question. ולאהבה אותו בכל לבבך, בכל נפשך – Continuing G–d's expectations from the Jewish people in 10,12 the Torah describes love of G–d to be expressed both by the heart and by the soul. These correspond to the two kinds of perfections to be attained by Israel as ישראל and as ישרון. Such love for G–d refers to the Celestial Spheres i.e. when we are in the World to Come. There is also an allusion to perfection of the way we relate to money, i.e. to life on this earth, when verse 13 continues לשמור את מצות ה' ואת חקותיו, "To observe G–d's commandments and statutes," something that cannot be done in the Hereafter. The words לטוב לך indicate the purpose of these commandments, i.e. for our own good.

We need to appreciate that the name יעקב is in fact ישראל. The name יעקב alludes to an exalted position on earth, i.e. in this world; it reflects observance of Torah in this world, not expecting to be rewarded in this world, but being content היום, לעשותו, מחל לקבל שכרם, as we have explained earlier. The name ישראל is the direct outcome of יעקב having been what he was here on earth. Our sages have taught us that שכר מצוה מצוה, that the reward of performing a commandment is the מצוה itself (Avot 4,2). This means that the spiritual element of the מצוה one performs on earth becomes the glue with which one attaches oneself to G–d in the Hereafter. When David refers to the great reward in store as a result of observing the commandments, i.e. בשמרם עקב רב (Psalms 19,12), he points to the seemingly insignificant commandments people are in the habit of ignoring. The word Eikev means סוף, end. The word סוף also means תכלית, the ultimate purpose of life as defined by Solomon in Kohelet 12,13 in the words: סוף דבר את האלוקים ירא ואת מצותיו שמור כי זה כל האדם. "To sum up: Fear the Lord, observe His commandments, for this is what man is all about." This סוף which Solomon speaks about in Kohelet is the latter part of Jacob's name עקב, heel, itself the tail-end of a person. This יעקב was alluded to earlier in the Torah when G–d said to Isaacs, “I shall multiply your seed like the stars of the heaven" (26,4). G–d goes on to say that inheritance of the land of Israel will be due to Abraham having listened to G–d's voice and having observed His commandments, עקב אשר שמע אברהם בקולי. The word עקב refers to that part of יעקב's name.

Verse 14, הן לה' אלקיך, which commences with the word הן, alerts us to the fact that the letters in this word have no partners. All other letters in the alphabet can be combined with another letter to form the number ten or one hundred except these two. The letter ה is an allusion to this present world, whereas the latter י alludes to the World to Come. Five times ten is fifty, a reminder of the 50 gates of בינה. The word הן is a reminder that all our activities in this world must be oriented towards the World to Come. The fact that these letters have no "mate" means that G–d is One and has no partner. The expression שמי השמים in the same verse alludes to the eternal existence of Israel on the ישראל and ישרון level. The words הארץ וכל אשר בה at this point tell us that the universe, i.e. הן, is made up of both Heaven and Earth. רק באבותיך חשק י-ה-ו-ה. The letters in the word חשק form an acronym of the first letters in the description of the vowel pattern חולם שוא קמץ of the four-lettered name of G–d. Maimonides, who usually advises the golden mean, states that when it comes to humility a person should practice extremism, i.e. become as humble as is possible. This is also why the advice to practice humility given in tractate Avot 4,4 is prefaced with the unusual "מאד מאד." [The author sees allusions in the vowel patterns, especially the difference between Cholam-Kometz on the one hand and Sheva and Chirik on the other. The former alludes to the World to Come, the latter to the Here and Now. Ed.] The author illustrates his point and applies it to the virtue of humility versus pride and arrogance.

The Mishnah quoted from Avot 4,4 concludes by reminding us that all we have to look forward to in the grave is רימה, i.e. worms. The editor of that Mishnah implies that this is so only when the person in question has not adopted the lifestyle suggested by the author of the Mishnah, and has instead adopted a high profile, i.e. רמה קרנו. In other words: Employing the wrong vowel in this world results in the wrong vowel becoming your destiny after death.

We have learned in Avot 4,21, that "jealousy, lust, greed, and ego (i.e. the desire for public recognition) drive man from this world." These very negative virtues had driven Adam from the world. There was the jealousy of the serpent of Adam possessing Eve, its pursuit to gratify its lust, and the pursuit of ego, i.e. Adam and Eve wanted to usurp the unique place of G–d in the universe, since they responded to the lure והייתם כאלוקים, "you will be like G–d." Eve had squeezed out a cluster of grapes, ate it, found that they were unripe. This suggests that in this material world one must not pursue honor. Honor will be inherited by the scholars in the world to come. At that time what is written in Isaiah 24,23: "G–d's Presence will be revealed to His elders," will be fulfilled. This is what is meant when the sages describe יין המשומר, "well aged wine," as being part of the reward in store for the righteous in the future. Concerning what happens to the wicked at that time, it is written in Malachi 3,19: "For lo! that day is at hand, burning like a furnace.. All the arrogant and doers of evil shall be straw, etc." It also says in Samuel II 22,9: "smoke rose from His nostrils," i.e. when G–d was angry, and burned those whom He was angry at." Since we have shown that what happens on earth has its counterpart in the heavens, the Torah reports that the season the spies were dispatched was when the grape harvest commences on earth, i.e. a hint that many grapes are not ripe yet. The spies ignored the items mentioned in Avot as destructive. They ate unripe grapes, i.e they were greedy, they were concerned with their own honor and glory, hence they had to suffer what is described in Proverbs 10,26.

I have already commented in חיי שרה on the meaning of the different ways the patriarchs' blessings are described in the Torah, i.e. the words בכל-מכל-כל as used with the respective blessings for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I mentioned that one קליפה was removed from around Abraham, i.e. Ishmael. He was still burdened with the קליפה represented by his grandson Esau, however. Another קליפה was removed from around Isaac, i.e. Esau. The whole subject of קליפות as applied to the patriarchs must be viewed as the removal of the husk before the fruit in all its beauty can be revealed and become fully accessible. It is in the nature of things that the husk precedes the kernel. One can hardly perceive of a fruit not surrounded by a husk or peel. It is the early part of the fruit, the flower or blossom. Jacob represented the fully ripened fruit. There is a spiritual dimension to all this, namely that even the husk is originally attached to the same holy source as the eventual fruit itself. The same applies to the parallel situation of their respective counterparts in the Celestial Regions. Despite the expansion of impure negative influences in this world, even the קליפה will eventually return to the source of its holy origin. The catalyst that will bring this about are the צדיקים, the righteous people, who will subdue the evil urge displaying true heroism as described in Avot 4,1: "Who is the true hero? He who can conquer his urges." I have pointed out on several occasions that the evil urge is not to be killed, but to be subjugated, to be channeled into positive constructive activities. One example of such subjugation is if a normally jealous person applies his streak of jealousy to Torah scholars who have mastered more Torah than he has. By using this trait to redouble his efforts to achieve mastery over Torah disciplines, he proves himself to be a hero.

Let us now explain some of the mystical dimensions of the other furnishings of the Tabernacle, the Holy Ark, the Table and the Golden Altar. All of these had a golden border or "crown" around them. Our sages in Avot 4,13 said that there are three crowns; The crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood and the crown of monarchy. These crowns are superseded by the crown of the good name. The Holy Ark, containing the tablets with the Ten Commandments, symbolises the crown of Torah; the Table, representing economic welfare, symbolises the crown of monarchy. The Golden Altar, representing service to G–d, symbolises the crown of priesthood.

The reason Jacob had to be called Israel is to teach us that he had a dual task. First he had to remove the influence of evil. We should not think that tricking Esau was unethical; on the contrary, it was part of the process of neutralizing spiritually negative influences. Next, as Israel, his task was to help positive spiritual forces to assert themselves, and for him personally to achieve ever closer affinity to G–d. The name Jacob was never discarded, not even after he was given the name Israel. The reason for this is that even the name ישראל contains elements of the name יעקב. We have demonstrated that the עקב part equals the number 172, the number of words in the Ten Commandments, whereas the letter י before is the link to them. We have also pointed out that Jacob's function as יעקב is the principle of היום לעשותם, whereas the function of ישראל is the מחר לקבל שכרם, receiving the reward for the מצות in the Celestial Spheres as alluded to in the name ישראל. The name יעקב contains numerous allusions to a variety of moral imperatives, some of which we have already mentioned. When Isaac said to Jacob, in his blessing: הוה גביר לאחיך, "be your brother's superior" (27,29), this was a command to subjugate the אדומי, the evil urge represented by Esau. Jacob was to do this in his capacity of יעקב. This is analogous to the Mishnah in Avot 4,1 we quoted earlier.

The Baal HaTurim draws our attention to the opening verse of our פרשה, and compares it with the last verse in the previous פרשה which speaks about performance of the commandments. He arrives at the conclusion that whereas the commandment has to be performed in this life, the reward for its performance, עקב, will have to await the Hereafter. Whereas the Baal HaTurim arrives at the same conclusion as the Talmud in Eruvin 22a where the word היום is stressed as opposed to the מחר, i.e. the Hereafter, when the reward is to be collected, he derives it from a different nuance in the text of the Torah. The reason may be that the Baal HaTurim found some problems with the exegesis of the Talmud. Had the interpretation of the Talmud been correct then all the Torah had to write in 7,11 is the whole verse without the word לעשותם at the end Furthermore, the Torah could simply have written לעשות instead of לעשותם. It seems therefore that the suffix ם is to contrast the difference between לעשותם and לעשותך. The difference between these two wordings is an allusion to the motivation which governs performance of the commandments. The Torah does not want us to perform the commandments for the sake of the eventual reward but לעשותם, for their own sake, i.e. לשמה. The fact that a new פרשה begins with the reference to the reward emphasizes that the reward is a corollary, a consequence of performance, but is not in a relationship of על מנת, "on condition that," to our performance of the מצוה. The humility implied in performance of the commandments on the basis of לעשותם (as we have explained the word) is further underlined by the Torah in 7,7: לא מרובכם מכל העמים .. כי אתם המעט מכל העמים, "It is not because you are the most numerous of all the nations that G–d took a liking to you….indeed you are the smallest of all the nations, etc." There was no need for the Torah to write that we are not the most numerous nation and to follow it up with the statement that we are the smallest nation. The last statement would have sufficed. The Talmud Chulin 89a concludes from this that the Torah's choice of language means that G–d likes us because, even when we are granted importance by G–d, we do not make this a pretext to become haughty, but we deprecate ourselves, behave humbly and modestly, ממעטים את עצמכם. This is reinforced in the lesson that Rabbi Levitas in Avot 4,4 urges us to heed: מאד מאד הוה שפל רוח, "Be exceedingly humble in spirit."

The Baal HaTurim draws our attention to the opening verse of our פרשה, and compares it with the last verse in the previous פרשה which speaks about performance of the commandments. He arrives at the conclusion that whereas the commandment has to be performed in this life, the reward for its performance, עקב, will have to await the Hereafter. Whereas the Baal HaTurim arrives at the same conclusion as the Talmud in Eruvin 22a where the word היום is stressed as opposed to the מחר, i.e. the Hereafter, when the reward is to be collected, he derives it from a different nuance in the text of the Torah. The reason may be that the Baal HaTurim found some problems with the exegesis of the Talmud. Had the interpretation of the Talmud been correct then all the Torah had to write in 7,11 is the whole verse without the word לעשותם at the end Furthermore, the Torah could simply have written לעשות instead of לעשותם. It seems therefore that the suffix ם is to contrast the difference between לעשותם and לעשותך. The difference between these two wordings is an allusion to the motivation which governs performance of the commandments. The Torah does not want us to perform the commandments for the sake of the eventual reward but לעשותם, for their own sake, i.e. לשמה. The fact that a new פרשה begins with the reference to the reward emphasizes that the reward is a corollary, a consequence of performance, but is not in a relationship of על מנת, "on condition that," to our performance of the מצוה. The humility implied in performance of the commandments on the basis of לעשותם (as we have explained the word) is further underlined by the Torah in 7,7: לא מרובכם מכל העמים .. כי אתם המעט מכל העמים, "It is not because you are the most numerous of all the nations that G–d took a liking to you….indeed you are the smallest of all the nations, etc." There was no need for the Torah to write that we are not the most numerous nation and to follow it up with the statement that we are the smallest nation. The last statement would have sufficed. The Talmud Chulin 89a concludes from this that the Torah's choice of language means that G–d likes us because, even when we are granted importance by G–d, we do not make this a pretext to become haughty, but we deprecate ourselves, behave humbly and modestly, ממעטים את עצמכם. This is reinforced in the lesson that Rabbi Levitas in Avot 4,4 urges us to heed: מאד מאד הוה שפל רוח, "Be exceedingly humble in spirit."

We find there are three (wearers of) "crowns,” i.e. Joseph, Levi Yehudah. The "crown" of a good name, which is described in Avot 4,13 as surpassing all other crowns, is Jacob, who is the root of all the other "crowns. Joseph is the highest ranking of the other three "crowns," because the other two exist only for the sake of the "crown" of Torah.

The third element of repentance, that it be performed while a person is in his prime, when he is still subject to the temptation of the evil urge, is represented here by the tribe of Gad. The Mishnah in Avot 4,1, which describes a hero as a person who can conquer his passions, clearly shows that unless one has such passions, one does not qualify for the reward of having suppressed them. On Psalms 112,1, אשרי איש ירא את ה', "happy the man who fears the Lord," Rabbi Joshua ben Levi says that it refers to someone who does penitence while he is yet a man, in full possession of all his virility (Avodah Zarah 19a) [After all, why should a G–d-fearing woman not be described as happy? Ed.] The men of Gad were known as heroes. We know this from Genesis 49,19, when Jacob described him as turning the tables on any raiders. Compare Jerusalem Talmud Sotah 8,5. The heroism described there refers to his repentance, his sin having being due to his haste. Moses accused the members of that tribe by saying: "Shall your brothers go to war and you will sit it out here?" (Numbers 32,7) Note that although Gad was junior to Reuben, he was the first to make the request to stay in Trans-Jordan. Having been chastened by Moses, this tribe did more than it had been asked to do so as to compensate for its unbecoming conduct. This teaches that when repenting one should do so as wholeheartedly as the members of Gad and Reuven.

This is the mystical aspect of what the sages in Avot 4,2 described as שכר מצוה מצוה, that the reward of fulfilling a commandment is a commandment." The fulfilling of a commandment will bring about a deeper understanding of all the spiritual values associated with its performance; this in turn will will deepen one's attachment to G–d and Torah. This is truly what Solomon meant when he described the Torah as אור, "spiritual enlightenment of the highest order" (Proverbs 6,23). I have already outlined that when the Torah said החודש הזה לכם, Israel was granted sanctity, whereas when the Sabbath was given to them the sanctity of G–d in His aspect of the Ineffable Name was granted to them. In the future there would be an attachment between G–d and Israel as described in Deut. 4,4; "You who are deeply attached to G–d are all alive this day." This dual concept of אחת דיבר ושתים שמענו, is also present in connection with Israel's counting according to the lunar calendar.

Having said all this, we can better understand the disagreement between the first three sages in the Mishnah Megillah 19 dealing with which parts of the Megillah a person must have heard or read in order to have discharged his minimal duty to hear the Purim story. All three sages are agreed that the part in which G–d's goodness is displayed after the Jews had embraced the Torah voluntarily is an essential part of such a reading. This is why none of these three sages accepts the view of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai that it suffices to read from the point where the king could not sleep (Esther 6,1), an event which took place after the first feast Esther gave for the King and Haman, i.e. after the Jews did תשובה. The view that the Megillah has to be read from the very beginning, i.e. describing the power of Ahasverus, is easy to understand. It points out that the treatment of the Jews by Ahasverus at that meal contrasted sharply with his treatment of his queen whom he had tried to force to display herself in front of his ministers. The king displayed self-control in his dealings with the Jews at the time, i.e. his תקף, consisted of what our sages have described in Avot 4,1: "Who is a hero? He who can control his passions." Since the king had displayed the ability to conquer his natural urges, the Jews likewise could do no less but overcome their reluctance to accept the yoke of the Torah and embrace the Torah voluntarily, joyfully. The sage who believes that it suffices to read the Megillah from the point where the outstanding personality of Mordechai is described, i.e. from where the text introduces Mordechai in Esther 2,5, appears to hold that the reason the Jews accepted the Torah voluntarily at that time is similar to the second reason I have listed, the revolutionary change that occurred in the political constellation and which brought Mordechai the Torah-true Jew, member of an exiled nation, to a position of such great power. We are to appreciate that the half-shekel contribution which is described in the Torah in connection with the allusion to the name Mordechai was the key to Haman's failure and Israel's survival. Once they realised this, the Jews naturally embraced Torah enthusiastically. The third view, which holds that it is sufficient to read from the part in which Haman's rise to power, i.e. the troubles he caused the Jews, is described (Esther 3,1), considers the failure of the Jews to offer to change their religion as tantamount to accepting the Torah voluntarily. Rabbi Yossi, the sage who held this view, assumed that wholesale conversion by the Jews would have saved them from Haman's decree.

In order to survive in our lengthy exile we must employ the weapons of repentance, prayer and charity so as to mobilize the support of G–d on our behalf. The equivalent of "war" is repentance, which reflects the battle with our evil urge. He who can conquer his baser urges has proved himself to be a mighty warrior. This condition will prevail until the prophecy that we will conquer Mount Se'ir will be fulfilled. The redemption will come as a result of repentance, as we know from: ובא לציון גואל ולשבי פשע ביעקב "The redeemer will come to Zion and to those in Jacob who have repented their iniquities" (Isaiah 59, 20).

And in truth they said "a person is known through his pocket" (Eruvin 65b). Truly, the desire for money is a formidable adversary, especially in this generation, which is a generation focused on money, in which a person can be more eager for money than for any other transgression and any other pleasure, and the money of a person can be more dear to some than their bodies and even their souls. But this is the Torah for people in this world, that one should conquer their desires (Avot 4:1) and open their eyes and see that silver collects souls, gold grieves souls, and they will understand that this is truthful truth, because it is better for a person to die of hunger and not be evil in the presence of the Place and not anger their Creator, God forbid.