Talmud su Pirkei Avoth 1:27

⁹⁷The following is a series of homilies on Eccl. 12:11, without direct connection with the theme of the Chapter; cf Note 96. Parallels are found in Pesiqta rabbati 3 (ed. Ish-Shalom 7b–8a); Midrash Qohelet 12:11–12; Lev. rabba 129(6), Num. rabba 13:11–13).The words of the Sages are like goads; Rebbi Huna said, like a pearl. There, they call a pearl dirah⁹⁸In Babylonia one uses the Arabic דּוּרָּה. Read דורה with G.. Another explanation, like goads, like a girl’s ball. Just as this ball is caught from hand to hand but in the end will come to rest in one hand, so “Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly⁹⁹Mishnah Avot 1:1..” Another explanation, like goads. It has three names, mardea`, da̅r<sup>e</sup>va̅n, malmad. Mardea`, because it teaches knowledge to the cow¹⁰⁰It already is noted in the Pesiqta that מרדע is a Mishnaic, not a biblical word.. Da̅r^eva̅n, because it plants understanding in the cow. Malmad, because it teaches the cow to plough, to keep its owners alive. Rebbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina said, if a person makes a goad for his cow, certainly [he has to make one] for his bad inclinations which will remove him from this world and the World to Come.

[And raise up many students.] For the House of Shammai, say: One should teach only a person who is wise, humble, of good pedigree, and rich. But the House of Hillel say: Teach everyone, for there were many sinners in Israel, and they were brought close to Torah study, and they came out righteous, kind, and proper.

A similar case: When does a man acquire Sabbatical fruit? Rebbi Jeremiah wanted to say, when he puts them in his vessels. Rebbi Yose wanted to say, even if he puts them into his vessels he did not acquire them; he thinks that they are his but they are not his⁴³If the fruits had a human owner, they would become property of the person who takes them. If somebody steals fruit from a farmer, once the fruit is in his vessel he is the owner but owes the farmer the value of the fruit he took. However, Sabbatical fruit are God’s property; even after they have been harvested they retain the holiness of the Sabbatical. They may be eaten but not used for industrial purposes. Hence, they cannnot be acquired as property.. Compare the following⁴⁴Different versions of the story are in Massekhet Kallah; BabliNedarim 62a.: Rebbi Tarphon went to eat single figs from somebody’s property without reciprocity, following the House of Shammai. The watchmen⁴⁵Jastrow takes the word as saf‘el of נטר “to guard”. (In Arabic, the word means “cymbal”.) saw him and started whipping him. When he saw himself in danger, he said to them, by your lives, tell in Tarphon’s house to have his burial shrouds ready. When they heard this, they prostrated themselves before him and said, Rebbi, forgive us. He said to them, so and so should come upon me if I did not forgive you beforehand every stick that was coming down on me. In these two instances did Rebbi Tarphon follow the House of Shammai and endangered himself, in the case here and in the recitation of Shema'⁴⁶Berakhot, Mishnah 1:7.. Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Ḥanina ben Gamliel: All his life did Rebbi Tarphon repent about this happening and said, woe to me that I used the Crown of the Torah⁴⁷MishnahAvot 1:13: “He who uses the Crown disappears.”.

Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Yasa: The world only continues to exist by the sacrifices¹³³In the absence of a Temple, this means that the daily recitation of the rules of daily sacrifices are necessary for the continued existence of the world. In Amoraic times this implied that the institution of the rules for bystanders to be explained in the following Halakhot was still followed, continuing the cycle of priestly watches uninterrupted theoretically from the time of Ezra (or practically from Hasmonean times.). There, we stated¹³⁴Mishnah Avot 1:2.: “Simeon the Just was of the remainders of the Great Assembly. He used to say, the world continues to exist by three things, by the Torah, by worship, and by labors of love¹³⁵Labors for which no thanks can be given, such as burying the dead or giving charity anonymously.” All three are in one verse¹³⁶Is. 51:16.: I shall put My word in your mouth, that is Torah. By the shadow of My hands I shall cover you, these are labors of love; to teach you that he who is occupied with Torah and labors of love merits to dwell in the shadow of the Holy One, praise to Him. That is what is written¹³⁷Ps. 36:8., how precious is Your grace, o God, and humans take shelter in Your wings’ shadow. To plant the Heavens and give foundation to the earth¹³⁶Is. 51:16., these are the sacrifices, and to say to Zion, you are My people, these are Israel. Rebbi Ḥinena bar Pappa said, we went over all of Scripture and only found this one that Israel was called Zion, and to say to Zion, you are My people. There, we stated¹³⁸Mishnah Avot 1:18. The following text shows that the verse quoted at the end was not part of the Yerushalmi Mishnah (and is not part of Maimonides’s autograph Mishnah.): “Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel says, the world is existing on three things, on justice, on truth, and on peace. All three are one: If justice is done, truth is accomplished. If truth is accomplished, peace is established. Rebbi Mana said, and all are in one verse¹³⁹Zach. 8:16., judge truth and law of peace in your gates.

Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Yasa: The world only continues to exist by the sacrifices¹³³In the absence of a Temple, this means that the daily recitation of the rules of daily sacrifices are necessary for the continued existence of the world. In Amoraic times this implied that the institution of the rules for bystanders to be explained in the following Halakhot was still followed, continuing the cycle of priestly watches uninterrupted theoretically from the time of Ezra (or practically from Hasmonean times.). There, we stated¹³⁴Mishnah Avot 1:2.: “Simeon the Just was of the remainders of the Great Assembly. He used to say, the world continues to exist by three things, by the Torah, by worship, and by labors of love¹³⁵Labors for which no thanks can be given, such as burying the dead or giving charity anonymously.” All three are in one verse¹³⁶Is. 51:16.: I shall put My word in your mouth, that is Torah. By the shadow of My hands I shall cover you, these are labors of love; to teach you that he who is occupied with Torah and labors of love merits to dwell in the shadow of the Holy One, praise to Him. That is what is written¹³⁷Ps. 36:8., how precious is Your grace, o God, and humans take shelter in Your wings’ shadow. To plant the Heavens and give foundation to the earth¹³⁶Is. 51:16., these are the sacrifices, and to say to Zion, you are My people, these are Israel. Rebbi Ḥinena bar Pappa said, we went over all of Scripture and only found this one that Israel was called Zion, and to say to Zion, you are My people. There, we stated¹³⁸Mishnah Avot 1:18. The following text shows that the verse quoted at the end was not part of the Yerushalmi Mishnah (and is not part of Maimonides’s autograph Mishnah.): “Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel says, the world is existing on three things, on justice, on truth, and on peace. All three are one: If justice is done, truth is accomplished. If truth is accomplished, peace is established. Rebbi Mana said, and all are in one verse¹³⁹Zach. 8:16., judge truth and law of peace in your gates.

MISHNAH: He who sows one species on his field gives one peah even though he works⁸²Literally: He makes two threshing floors. Not only the act of threshing is involved, but also the collection of threshed grain into orderly heaps. The best translation is: processing (grain on the stalk into a commercial commodity.) at two different threshing floors. If he sows two species, he gives two peot even though he threshes them together⁸³And puts them together in the same heap.. He who sows two different kinds of wheat on his field gives one peah if he processes them together⁸⁴That means that he treats them as one kind of wheat., two peot if he threshes them separately.
It happened that Rebbi Simeon from Miẓpah⁹³A Mishnah collector in the times of Rabban Gamliel I; one of a very small number of scholars who lived during Second Temple times who is always mentioned with the title “Rebbi.” {It is possible that before the destruction of the Temple, “Rebbi” did not designate a rabbi but a collector of legal statements.} Miẓpah probably is today’s Nebi Samwil, N. W. of Jerusalem. sowed before Rabban Gamliel; they ascended to the stone hall⁹⁴The hall on the Temple Mount whose walls were formed by hewn stone and in which the high court held its sessions. and asked. Naḥum the scribe⁹⁵Cf. Latin libellaris, “of books.” He was the clerk of Rabban Gamliel I’s court. said: I have the tradition from Rebbi Miasha, who received it from my father, who received it from the pairs⁹⁶The pairs of authorities, chiefs and deputy chiefs of the high court in Jerusalem, who are mentioned in the first chapter of Pirqe Avot., who received if from the prophets⁹⁷Ḥaggai, Zachariah, Malachi, who by tradition are counted as members of the “Great Assembly.”, a practice going back to Moses on Sinai, that he who sows two different kinds of wheat on his field gives one peah if he stores them together, two peot if he stores them separately.

²³¹This paragraph refers to the statement about medical costs. Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel stated²³²Tosephta 4:5; Babli, 52b.: For any hurt which has a fixed medical fee, she is healed from her ketubah. If it does not have a fixed medical fee, she is healed from the estate²³³If she is a widow who preferred to be sustained by the estate instead of collecting her ketrubah in cash.. As the following: A woman came to Rebbi Joḥanan. He asked her: Did your doctor give a fixed price? She said, no²³⁴He told her to insist the doctor be paid for each visit, not to give the treatment on an all-inclusive fixed price. In Baba Batra 9:6, 17a 1. 20, the woman is identified as a relative of R. Simeon ben Abba. In the Babli, 52b, R. Joḥanan is reported to have sided with the heirs, telling them to get an all-inclusive price from the doctor.. Did not Rebbi Ḥaggai say in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi: “Do not turn yourself into an pleader²³⁵Mishnah Abot 1:8. It is unethical for a judge to dispense legal advice.,” that one shall not disclose the judgment to a party? He knew her to be honest²³⁶She would not change her behavior based on the information received from him..

(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?

Love all people. How so? This teaches us that a person should love all people and not hate anyone. For so we find with the people of the Generation of the Dispersion,¹See Genesis 11:1–9. that because they loved one another, the Holy Blessed One did not want to wipe them off the face of the earth, but instead only scattered them to the four corners of the world. But the people of Sodom, because they hated one another, the Holy Blessed One took them out of both this world and the World to Come, as it says (Genesis 13:13), “And the people of Sodom were very wicked and sinful against God.” “Sinful” – this is sexual transgression; “against God” – this the desecration of God’s name; “very” – this means that they sinned intentionally. From this you learn that because they hated one another, the Holy Blessed One took them out of both this world and the World to Come.7.

And bring them closer to Torah. How so? This teaches us that a person should prevail upon others and bring them under the wings of the Divine Presence, just as Abraham prevailed upon those around him and brought them under the wings of the Divine Presence. [And not only Abraham, but also Sarah, as it says (Genesis 12:5), “Abram took his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot, and all of their possessions, and the souls they had made in Haran.” But even if everyone in the world got together, they would be unable to create even one mosquito! So what does it mean when it says, “the souls they had made in Haran”? It teaches us that the Holy Blessed One considered it as if they had actually made new souls.
When a person does not give part of what he earns to his fellows in this world, then he will not be given anything in the World to Come, as it says (Ecclesiastes 4:1), “Look at the tears of the oppressed, and they have no comforter. Power is in the hand of their oppressors, and they have no comforter.” Why does it say “they have no comforter” twice? This refers to people who eat and drink in this world, and their sons and daughters are successful, but in the World to Come they have [nothing and they have no] comforter. For if a person has something stolen from him in this world, or if someone he knows dies, then his children, siblings, and other relatives come and comfort him. Could it be that the same is true in the World to Come? That is why the verse then says (Ecclesiastes 4:8), “He has neither son nor brother.”
So, too, with someone whose sexual transgression produces a mamzer [a child born of certain forbidden sexual relations]. They say to him: Empty one! You have ruined yourself and you have ruined him as well! [For this mamzer would have wanted to study Torah with the rest of the students] who sit and study in Jerusalem. But this mamzer would go with them only up to Ashdod, and then would stop there and say: Woe is me! If I were not a mamzer, I would have gone to sit and study among the students whom I have been studying with until now. But because I am a mamzer, I cannot sit and study among these students. For a mamzer cannot enter Jerusalem at all, as it says (Zechariah 9:6), “The mamzer will stay in Ashdod, (and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.”

He also used teach four things in the Babylonian tongue: One who pursues a name, loses his name; One who does not serve the sages, deserves death; One who does not increase, loses; and One who makes use of the crown, perishes, and then it is lost to him.
One who pursues a name, loses his name. How so? This teaches us that a person should not seek to be known in the state, for eventually they will begin to take note of him, and then kill him and take his money.
He who does not serve the sages, deserves death. How so? (They tell) There is a story about a person from Beit Ramah who conducted himself with great piety. Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai sent one of his students to go check up on him. The student went, and found him putting oil on a stovetop, and then taking it off and putting it on beans. The student said to him: What are you doing? He replied: I am a high priest, and I am eating the priestly tithe in a state of [ritual] purity. The student said: But is that stovetop impure or pure? He said: Does it say anywhere in the Torah that a stovetop can be impure? The Torah speaks only of an oven becoming impure, as it says (Leviticus 11:33), “Everything in it becomes impure.” The student replied: Just as the Torah speaks of an oven becoming impure, so it speaks also of a stovetop becoming impure, as it also says (Leviticus 11:35), “An oven and a stovetop must be smashed; they are impure.” And if that is so, you have never eaten the priestly tithe in a state of purity in your entire life!
He who does not add, loses. How so? This teaches us that if a person learns only one tractate – or even two, or three – but does not keep adding to them, in the end he will forget even those he did learn.
He who uses it as a crown, perishes, and then it is lost to him. How so? For anyone who uses the Ineffable Name of God has no share in the World to Come.

Greet everyone with a smile. How so? This teaches that if a person gives his friend all the finest gifts in the world, but does so with a pained face, Scripture considers it as if he had given him nothing. But one who receives his friend with a smile, even if he gives him nothing, Scripture considers it as if he had given him all the finest gifts in the world.

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.

Wisdom does not produce words, and words do not produce wisdom; only action does. Anyone who talks too much brings about sin, as it says (Proverbs 10:19), “When there is too much talking, there is no lack of sin.” And it says (Proverbs 17:28), “Even a fool, if he keeps silent, is deemed wise.”