Pirkei Avot- Ethics of the Fathers, Chapter 6
Click here for Chapter 5 of Pirkei Avot.
1. Rabbi Meir taught: Whoever engages in the study of Torah for its own sake achieves a host of merits; moreover, it was worth creating the world for his sake alone. He is called: beloved friend, lover of God, lover of humanity, a joy to God, a joy to humanity.
Torah clothes him with humility and reverence, it equips him to be righteous, saintly, upright and faithful. It keeps him far from sin and draws him near to virtue.
People benefit from his counsel and skill, his understanding and strength, as it is written, "Counsel and skill are Mine; I am understanding, strength is Mine" (Proverbs 8:14).
It endows him with soverignty, with authority, with power of keen judgment.
The secrets of Torah are revealed to him; he becomes an effluent fountain, a never-failing stream; he becomes modest and patient, forgiving of insults; it magnifies and exalts him over all creation.
2. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi taught:
Ever day a Heavenly Voice is heard from Mount Horeb proclaiming: "Woe to those creatures who have contempt for Torah." Whoever does not engage in the study of Torah is called detestable, as it is written, "Like a golden ring in the snout of a swine is a beautiful woman lacking discretion" (Proverbs 11:22).
Furthermore, it is written, "And the tablets were the work of God, graven (harut) upon their tablets" (Exodus 32:16). Do not read 'harut' (graven) but rather 'heirut' (freedom), for no person is free except one who engages in the study of Torah.
Whoever engages in the study of Torah regularly is exalted, as it is written, "From Mattanah (gift) to Nehaliel (Inheritance of God) and from Nahaliel to Bamot (high places)" (Numbers 21:19).
3. One who learns from his colleague one chapter, or one halakhah, or one verse, or one expression, or even one letter, is obliged to pay him honor. This we learn from David, King of Israel, who learned but two things from Ahitofel, yet called him his master, his guide, his dear friend, as it is written, "But it is you, my equal, my guide, my dear friend" (Psalm 55:14). It follows, then, that if King David, who learned only two things from Ahitofel, called him his master, his guide, his dear friend, one who learns from his colleagues one chapter, one halakhah, one verse, one expression, or even one letter, surely is obliged to pay him honor.
Honor and Torah are synonymous, as it is written: "The wise shall inherit honor" (Proverbs 28:10).
Good and Torah are synonymous, as it is written: "I give you good doctrine, forsake not My Torah" (Proverbs 4:2).
4. This is the life style for Torah students:
Eat a salty crust of bread, ration your drinking water,
Sleep on the ground, live a life of privation,
Exhaust yourself in Torah study.
If you live in this manner, "You will be happy and all will go well with you" (Psalm 128:2). "You will be happy" in this world; "all will go well with you" in the World to Come.
5. Do not seek high position; do not covet honor.
Let your deeds exceed your learning.
Do not crave the table of kings--
Your table is greater than theirs
And your crown greater than their crowns;
Your Employer can be relied upon to compensate you for your labors.
6. Torah is greater than Priesthood and Royalty.
Royalty is acquired through thirty virtues,
Priesthood through twenty-four.
Torah, however, is acquired through forty-eight virtues.
By study; by attentiveness; by orderly speech; by an understanding heart; by a perceptive heart; by awe; by fear; by humility; by joy; by ministering to the sages; by cleaving to colleagues; by acute discussion with pupils; by a minimum of business; by a minimum of sleep by a minimum of small talk; by a minimum of worldly pleasure; by a minimum of frivolity; by a minimum of worldly pursuits; by patience; by a generous heart; by trust in the sages; by acceptance of suffering.
By knowing one's place; by contentment with one's lot; by guarding one's speech; by taking no personal credit; by being beloved; by loving God; by loving all creatures; by loving charitable deeds; by loving rectitude; by loving reproof; by shunning honor; by not boasting of one's learning; by not delighting in rendering decisions; by sharing one's burden with one's fellow; by influencing him to virtue; by setting him on the path of truth; by setting him on the path of peace; by concentrating on one's studies; by asking and answering questions; by absorbing knowledge and contributing to it; by studying in order to teach and perform mitzvot; by sharpening the wisdom of his teacher; by being precise in transmitting what he has learned; by quoting his source; Form this we learn that a person who quotes his source brings deliverance to the world, as it is written: "And Esther spoke to the king, in the name of Mordecai" (Esther 2:22).
7. How great is Torah! To those who fulfill it, it provides life both in this world and in the World to Come, as it is written: "For they are life to those that find them and health to all their flesh" (Proverbs 4:22), and as it is written, "It shall be health to your body and marrow to your bones" (Proverbs 3:8). And it is written, "It is a tree of life to those who grasp it, and those who hold it fast are happy" (Proverbs 3:18). And it is written, "For they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck" (Proverbs 1:9). And it is written, "Long life in her right hand, in her left are riches and honor" (Proverbs 3:16). And it is written, "For a long life, years of life and peace will they bring you (Proverbs 3:2).
8. Rabbi Shimon ben Yehudah, int he name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai, taught:
Beauty, strength, riches, honor, old age and the hoary head, and children--all these are becoming to the righteous and becoming to the world, as it is written, "The hoary head is a glorious crown, achieved by a righteous life" (Proverbs 16:31). And it is written, "The crown of the wise is their riches" (Proverbs 14:24). And it is written, "Children's children are the crown of the old, the glory of children are their parents" (Proverbs 17:6). And it is written, "The moon will be ashamed and the sun abashed, for Adonai tzeva'ot will reign in Zion and Jerusalem, and before His elders shall be glory" (Isaiah 24:23).
Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya taught:
These seven virtues which the Sages ascribed to the righteous were all present in Rabbi and in his sons.
9. Rabbi Yose ben Kisma related:
Once I was traveling on a journey. A certain man met me and extended greetings. I greeted him in return. He inquired, "From where do you come?" I replied, "I come from a great city of scholars and sages." He said, "Rabbi, if it would please you to live with us in our community, I would give you thousands of gold dinarim, as well as the most precious stones and pearls in the world." I replied, "Though you give me all the silver, gold, precious stones, and pearls in the world, I would not live anywhere except in a community where there is Torah." Moreover, at the time of a person's death, neither silver, gold, precious stones, nor pearls will accompany him, only his Torah and his good deeds, as it is written, "When you walk it will lead you"--in this world; "when you lie down it will watch over you"--in the grave; "when you awake it will talk with you"--in the World to Come. Thus it is written in the Book of Psalms by David, King of Israel, "The teaching you have proclaimed means more to me than a fortune in gold and silver" (Psalm 119:72). As it is written, "Mine is the silver, Mine the gold, says Adonai tzeva'ot" (Haggai 2:8).
10. The Holy One, Praised be He, acquired five possessions in His world. These are: Torah, Heaven and Earth, Abraham, the people Israel, and the Holy Temple.
How do we know about Torah? It is written, "The Lord possessed me as the first of His works, the beginning of His creation in the days of old" (Proverbs 8:22).
How do we know about Heaven and Earth? It is written, "Thus said the Lord, the Heaven is My throne and the Earth My footstool. What kind of House would you build for Me, what kind of place for My dwelling?" (Isaiah 66:1). And it is written, "How manifold are Your works, O Lord! In wisdom have You made them all. The Earth is full of Your possessions" (Psalm 104:24).
How do we know about Abraham? It is written, "He blessed him and said, 'Blessed be Abraham of God most high, possessor of Heaven and Earth" (Genesis 14:19).
How do we know about the people Israel? It is written, "TIll Your people pass over, Lord, till this people You have acquired, pass over" (Exodus 15:17). It is further written, "He brought them to His holy region, to the mountain which His right hand had acquired" (Psalm 78:54).
11. Everything that the Holy One, Praised be He, created in his world, He created solely for His glory, as it is written, "Everything that is called by My name, I created it, I formed it, I made it, for My glory" (Isaiah 43:7). It is further written, "The Lord shall reign for ever and ever" (Exodus 15:18).
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