Comentário sobre Pirkei Avot 4:15

NEITHER THE TRANQUILITY OF THE WICKED ETC. Rav: we do not know why the wicked succeed or why the righteous are crushed with suffering. The mishna’s two cases then go from the lesser to the greater: not only do we not understand the tranquility of the wicked, who we know are wicked and whom we see doing well, we don’t understand the suffering of the righteous, who might only appear to be but not truly be righteous; this is why the mishna uses “nor even”—Midrash Shmuel in the name of the commentators.
According to Rav’s second explanation,¹⁷¹“We in exile have neither the tranquility that G-d would grant the truly wicked in order to deny them any portion in the World to Come, nor the suffering that is brought upon the righteous which is likewise for their good—we are somewhere in between, being neither fully wicked nor fully righteous.” the reason the mishna says “nor even” is because the first part—that we do not have tranquility—is obvious to us who strain in the exile.
One might ask: according to Rav’s second explanation, what is R. Yannai telling us? What is the purpose of this mishna? Midrash Shmuel writes in the name of Rabbenu Ephraim and Ramah that this is so that we do not despair and see ourselves as totally wicked people with no hope, G-d forbid; neither should we think we are righteous and have done all that we are supposed to in terms of studying Torah and keeping the commandments.

Rabbi Yanai says: We do not have the tranquility of the wicked: As the righteous do not have the quiet and security and wealth and all the needs of the world like the wicked.

He said that a man's being a student to someone who is wiser than he is better and more fit than being a teacher to someone lesser than he - as in the first situation he will gain and in the second situation he will decrease. And you should understand [it] from that which we elucidated in Sanhedrin, that they placed the head of an academy of twenty-three [scholars] at the back of a great academy of seventy-one, because of the principle that 'we bring up in holiness and we do not bring down' - as they saw that they raised his rank with this.

[It is in the format of] teaching, not only this [which is more obvious] but also this [which is less so]: It is not necessary [to mention] the tranquility of the wicked which is not understood to us, as we know that he is wicked and see that it is well for him; but even the afflictions of the righteous, as it is possible that he appears to be righteous but he is not - and that is why it teaches, "or even" - Midrash Shmuel. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"We do not have in our hands": Like (Yevamot 105a), "it was not in his hand;" meaning to say this matter is not known to us, why the way of the wicked is successful and for what reason the righteous are suffering with afflictions. Another explanation: During the time of the exile, we do not have any of the tranquility and quiet that the Holy One, blessed be He, is accustomed to give to the wicked in order to drive them out of the world to come; and not even any of the afflictions that are designated for the righteous, which are the 'afflictions of love,' which do not entail the squandering of Torah [study]. This is to say, we have left the category of the wicked, as we do not have the tranquility that the wicked have; but we have not reached the category of the righteous, as our afflictions are not ['afflictions] of love,' like the afflictions of the righteous.

Introduction Again, this mishnah is really two mishnayoth and we will treat each separately. Rabbi Yannai is probably the father of Rabbi Dostai who was mentioned above in mishnah 3:8. This is his only statement in the mishnah

BE AT THE TAIL OF LIONS ETC. Rav: people greater than yourself. For this will be of benefit to you, as Rambam writes.
Midrash Shmuel writes in the name of Meiri that the text of the mishna should include: “as the verse says, ‘he who walks with the wise will grow wise, and he who befriends fools will end badly’ (Proverbs 13:20).” Rabbenu Yonah does not have this verse in his text of the mishna but does quote it as a proof to the mishna. He explains that the word “with” implies that he is secondary to them, while the word ro`eh, “befriend” here connotes that he is a master over them, as the ro`eh¹⁷²The word also means “shepherd”. is always at the head.

or even the suffering of the righteous: The afflictions of love of the righteous, in such a way that they will not be prevented from Torah study. And there are some that explain, "We do not have the tranquility of the wicked," that even though it is just that the wicked has it good and the righteous [suffers] - nonetheless we do not grasp the reason of the thing. And it is from the truths the argument for which our knowledge does not grasp. And this is what Yirmiyah, peace be upon him, said (Jeremiah 12:10), "You are correct, Lord, if I argue upon You; yet I shall present cases with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper; are the workers of treachery at ease?" And about this is it said, "We do not (have) the tranquility of the wicked" - since we know that there is truthfully an argument for the matter, but we do not grasp to know it.

And it teaches, "or even," as it is an obvious thing that we do not have tranquility in our hands, we the tired ones of the exile. And Rabbi Yanai wants to teach us about this, to say that we should not despair to think of ourselves as completely wicked and that our hope is lost, God forbid. And also that we are not righteous, that we have already perfected that which is upon us to perfect in Torah [study] and [the performance of] the commandments - Midrash Shmuel.

"Be the first to greet every person": and even to a gentile in the marketplace.

Rabbi Yannai said: it is not in our hands [to explain the reason] either of the security of the wicked, or even of the afflictions of the righteous. Rabbi Mathia ben Harash said: Upon meeting people, be the first to extend greetings; And be a tail unto lions, and not a head unto foxes. Although we have seen that on several occasions tractate Avoth attempts to answer the question why do the wicked sometimes prosper and the righteous suffer, Rabbi Yannai admits that humans do not truly know the answer to this question. Usually the rabbis say that the wicked receive whatever reward is due to them in this world, so that in the world to come they will only suffer, whereas the opposite is true of the righteous. However, Rabbi Yannai evidently finds this answer, or others of its nature, not to be satisfactory. We should note that the translation above reflects one explanation of this mishnah. The words “to explain the reason” do not actually appear in the mishnah itself. Without them, others explain that Rabbi Yannai is making a statement about life without a Temple in Jerusalem. In this time, we don’t have the security that the wicked often enjoy, nor do we have the afflictions that the righteous suffer. In other words, Rabbi Yannai considers his generation to be neither fully wicked, nor totally righteous. Upon meeting people, be the first to extend greetings: When relating to others we should always try to be the first to wish them well, even, and perhaps especially, to those that we consider to be below our social status. One of the praises that was told of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was that no one ever greeted him before he greeted them. And be a tail unto lions, and not a head unto foxes: It is better to attach oneself to a group of people who are above you, in wisdom and goodness and to be accounted the least among them, then to be the head of a group of people who are below you in wisdom or goodness, and to be the first among them. A person should not measure himself against a lower group of people and thereby make himself feel better about his standing. Rather he should strive to join a higher group, one where he can grow more. We could apply this saying to many situations. For example an athlete will grow more when he plays with other players better than he, than if he were to play with those of lesser talent. Midrash Shmuel makes an interesting note on this saying. A lion waves its tail above his head whereas a fox puts it between his legs. So too honorable people honor those who are lesser than them and are not concerned that their own honor will be thereby impinged; whereas dishonorable people belittle those lesser in order to (seemingly) increase their own import.

AND NOT AT THE HEAD OF FOXES. Lions seem appropriate for the first part of the parable, as they are the most honorable of and rule over all the animals, and possess great strength and courage; they appropriately stand for the great and famous men, who possess the great strength it takes to bear the yoke of the Torah. Foxes, however, do not seem as appropriate. There are certainly lesser animals, so why use them in the parable?
Midrash Shmuel writes in the name of R. Yehuda Lerma that the parable conveys that one should not be lazy and abandon the study of wisdom to the point that he must get his victories through cunning and trickery—for example, by mocking a colleague and thereby causing him to fumble his arguments and other such tricks. For such a one is like the foxes, who must be victorious over the other animals through their cunning because of their lack of strength.
I say that “at the head of foxes” is discussing people who have not yet learned enough to answer legal questions, of whom the verse says “she has felled many dead” (Proverbs 7:26).¹⁷³This is the Talmud’s reading of the verse in Avodah Zarah 19b. They are likened to foxes, for when they decide to occupy the seat of judgment and they wish for people to accept their rulings they must engage in cunning and trickery and fool people.¹⁷⁴Who would not accept them based on the true level of their learning. And the mishna says “at the head of foxes”¹⁷⁵And not just “do not be one of the foxes”. According to Tosafot Yom Tov, the mishna is warning against assuming the position of judge or decisor when one is actually not ready for it. Why, then, does it warn specifically against being “at the head of foxes”? Being one of the foxes is itself the problem. to teach that even if one sees many unqualified people issuing legal decisions and knows that he is a greater scholar than they, i.e. “at their head”, he should not be envious of these sinful people.¹⁷⁶That is, he should not be envious of them because he thinks of himself as being at their head and yet does not have a position. They are unworthy of issuing rulings and their positions were gotten by dishonest means, so he shouldn’t take them into account at all. And I say of them what King Solmon said: “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes destroying the vineyards, for our vineyard is in blossom” (Song of Songs 2:15)—the vineyard being the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts, which is the gathering of the Sages, as I write on the mishna in Eduyot 2:4 which mentions “the vineyard of Yavneh”.¹⁷⁷These were the Sages of Yavneh, called Jamnia in non-Hebrew sources. Seforno on Song of Songs comments that the foxes in question are those who pretend to be scholars.
I subsequently found that Rambam in Hilchot Talmud Torah 5:4 quotes the abovementioned reading of the verse “she has felled many dead” as referring to insufficiently learned students who decide legal questions and then adds: and of them Solomon said in his wisdom, “catch us the foxes, the little foxes destroying the vinyeards”—i.e., the vineyards of the Lord of Hosts. It pleased me that I was able to arrive at the conclusion that someone as great as he had arrived at previously.

Rabbi Mattia ben Charash says: Be the first to greet every person: And this is from the ethical path.

"They will benefit him" (Bartenura). And there are those that have the textual variant, "as it is stated (Proverbs 13: 20), 'One who walks with (et) the wise will be wizened and one who befriends (roeh) the fools will be broken (yeroah).'" And [the word,] "with (et)", [means] he is subordinate . And roeh (which can also mean to shepherd), [means] he is the master and the head.

"and be a tail to lions": [meaning] to those greater than you.

and be a tail to lions: He wants to say that one should service Torah scholars and cling to their company.

"to foxes": Even as there are lesser animals than them, he chose to make a metaphor with them, as King Shlomo, peace be upon him, compared one who has not yet reached [the level] to make legal decisions to foxes when he said, "Take for us the foxes, etc. that destroy the vineyards" - [which is referring to] the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts; about [such scholars] it is stated, "she has felled many corpses," as was stated by Rambam. And it is impossible [for him] to sit in the seat of judgment and be accepted as a decisor, unless [he will resort] to tricks and machinations to fool the people. And that is why it said, even if you see many legal decisors like this and you are the head and more important than them, do not be jealous of these sinners to be[come] like them. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"and do not be a head to foxes": [meaning] to those lesser than you.

and do not be a head to foxes: [This is] saying to you that it is better for a man to be a student to someone greater than him in wisdom, since it will come out that he will be adding to his wisdom every day; than to be the master of someone lesser than he in wisdom, as it will come out that the will continually lessen in his wisdom. [It is] as they said, "One who was the head of a lower court is made secondary to the high court." Another explanation: "and do not be a head to foxes" - that he should not be a head and a minister and an officer to the wicked. And this is what Shlomo, peace be upon him, stated (Proverbs 13:20), "He who walks with the wise becomes wise; he who consorts (roeh) with dullards will be broken." He wanted to say that the one who walks with the wise - to be lowly [towards them] - becomes wise; as he makes himself "a tail to lions." But one who consorts with dullards - that he becomes a lord over them, since a roeh (which also means shepherd) is a head - will be broken.