4 A disciple of R, Akiba. Another Eliezer b. Jacob is referred to in the Mishnah (cf. Midd. i*) who survived the fall of the Temple.
5 Yeb. 12*; Kel. 5*. A disciple of R. Akiba.
6 Again, without patronymic, in Tern. 3*. Many texts here omit ‘b. Shammua*.
7 Some texts omit ‘as thine own and’ (cf. 2'*).
8 B, Uai. The most frequently mentioned teacher (some 650 times) in the Mishnah. Like R. Eleazar he was a disciple of R. Meir.
He belongs to the post-Mishnaic era, and lived c. a.d. 250.
1 1 Middle ot the second century. Another of his sayings is reported in Yom 85.
12 Perhaps Jacob b. Korshai, the teacher of R. Judah the Patriarch.
1 8. R. Simeon b. Eleazar1 said: Appease not thy fellow in the hour of his anger, and comfort him not while his dead lies before him, and question him not in the hour of his vow, and strive not to see him in the hour of his disgrace.
19. Samuel the Younger2 said: Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he is overthrown, lest the Lord see it and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.3 20. Elisha b. Abuyah4 said: He that learns as a child, to what is he like? To ink written on new paper. He that learns as an old man, to what is he like? To ink written on paper that has been blotted out. R. Jose b. Judahs of Kefar ha-Babli6 said: He that learns from the young, to what is he like? To one that eats unripe grapes and drinks wine from his winepress. And he that learns from the aged, to what is he like? To one that eats ripe grapes and drinks old wine. Rabbi said: Look not on the jar but on what is in it; there may be a new jar that is full of old wine and an old one in which is not even new wine.
21. R. Eleazar ha-Kappar7 said: Jealousy, lust, and ambition put a man out of the world.
22. He used to say: They that have been bom [are destined] to die, and they that are dead [are destined] to be made alive, and they that live [after death are destined] to be judged, that men may know and make known and understand that he is God,8 he is the Maker, he is the Creator, he is the Discerner, he is the Judge, he is the Witness, he is the Complainant, and it is he that shall judge, blessed is he, in whose presence is neither guile nor forgetfulness nor respect of persons nor taking of bribes; for all is his. And know that everything is according to the reckoning. And let not thy [evil] nature promise thee that the grave will be thy refuge: for despite tiiyself wast thou fashioned, and despite thyself wast thou born, and despite thyself thou livest, and despite thyself thou diest, and despite thyself shalt thou hereafter give account and reckoning before the King of kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed is he.
5. 1. By ten Sayings9 was the world created. And what does the Scripture teach thereby? Could it not have been created by one Saying? But this was to requite the ungodly which destroy the world that was created by ten Sayings, and to give a goodly reward to the righteous which sustain the world that was created by ten Sayings.
2. There were ten generations from Adam to Noah, to show how great was his longsuffering, for all the generations provoked him continually until he brought upon them the waters of the Flood. There were ten generations from Noah to Abraham, to show how great was his long- suffering, for all the generations provoked him continually until Abraham our father came and received the reward of them all.
3. With ten temptations was Abraham our father tempted, and he stood steadfast in them all, to show how great was the love of Abraham our father.
4. Ten wonders were wrought for our fathers in Egypt and ten at the 1 End of the second century. 2 End of the first century. 1 Prov. 24”*.
* e. a.d. 90-150. He was put under a ban because of his heretical opinions, and in the Talmud is referred to as ‘that other one’ (see Hag. 15a).
s End of the second century. 6 A village in Galilee. Cf. Eduy. 6*.
7 A contemporary of R. Judah the Patriarch.
8 Some teats omit ‘he is God’ and the concluding ‘blessed is he’.
456 FOURTH DIVISION: NEZIKIN Sea. Ten' plagues did the Holy One, blessed is he, bring upon the Egyptians in Egypt and at the Sea. With ten temptations did our fathers tempt the Holy One, blessed is he, in the wilderness, as it is written, Yet have they tempted me these ten times and have not hearkened to my voiced 5. Ten wonders were wrought for our fathers in the Temple: no woman miscarried through the smell of the flesh of the Hallowed Things; and no flesh of the Hallowed Things ever turned putrid; and no fly was seen in the shambles; and the High Priest never suffered a pollution on the Day of Atonement;3 and the rains never quenched the fire of the wood-pile [on the Altar]; and no wind prevailed over the pillar of smoke; and never was a defect found in the Omer* or in the Two Loaves5 or in the Shewbread;6 [and the people] stood pressed together yet bowed themselves at ease; and never did serpent or scorpion do harm in Jerusalem; and no man said to his fellow, The place is too strait for me 7 that I should lodge in Jerusalem.
6. Ten things were created on the eve of Sabbath between the suns at nightfall:8 the mouth of the earth,9 the mouth of the well,10 the mouth of the she-ass,n the rainbow.12 and the manna13 and the rod14 and the Shamir.15 the letters and the writing and the Tables [of stone].16 Some say also: The evil spirits and the sepulchre of Moses17 and the ram of Abraham our father.18 Some sav also: The tongs made with tongs.19 7. There are seven marks of the clod and seven of the wise man. The wise man does not speak before one that is greater than he in wisdom; and he does not break in upon the words of his fellow; and he is not hasty in making answer; he asks what is relevant and makes answer according to the Halakah;10 and he speaks on the first point first and on the last point last; and of what he has heard no tradition he says, ‘I have not heard’; and he agrees to what is true. And the opposites of these are the marks of the clod.
8. Seven kinds of retribution come upon the world for seven classes of transgression. If some give tithe and some do not give tithe, there comes famine from drought: some suffer hunger while some have enough. If [all] resolved that they would not give tithe there comes famine from tumult and drought. And if they will not set apart Dough-offering21 there comes an all-consuming famine. Pestilence comes upon the world because of crimes deserving of the death-penalties enjoined in the Law that are not brought before the court; and because of [the transgressions of the laws of] the Seventh Year produce.22 The sword comes upon the world because of the delaying of justice and the perverting of justice; and because of them that teach the Law not according to the Halakah.13 9. Noisome beasts come upon the world because of false swearing and the profaning of the Name. Exile comes upon the world because of idolatry and incest and the shedding of blood; and because of [neglect of ' Many texts, omit the following sentence. 2 Num. tv*. 2 Cf. Yom. t'.
8 Some texts omit 'on the eve of Sabbath' and at nightfall’. The moment is meant between the six days of creation and the nightfall which ushered in the first Sabbath Day.
10 Which gave water to the Israelites in the wilderness. Cf. Num. 2i‘*~l*.
16 Cf. Ex. 32“'. 17 Deut. 34' 18 Gen. zzu.
19 Solving the problem. Who made the tongs which held the first tongs that were made?
20 Bert, explains: The disciple keeps to the point in his questions, so that his teacher can keep his answer within the limits of the Halakah (App. I.11) that he is expounding.
the year of] the Release1 of the land. At four periods pestilence increases: in the fourth year and in the seventh year and in the year after the seventh year, and at the end of the Feast [of Tabernacles] every year. ‘In the fourth year’ — because of [neglect of] Poorman’s Tithe2 in the third year; ‘in the seventh year’ — because of [neglect of] Poorman’s Tithe in the sixth year; ‘in the year after the seventh year’ — because of [transgressing the laws of] Seventh Year produce; ‘and at the end of the Feast of [Tabernacles] every year’ — because of wrongfully withholding the dues3 of the poor.
10. There are four types among men: he that says, ‘What is mine is mine and what is thine is thine’ — this is the common type, and some say that this is the type of Sodom; [he that says,] ‘What is mine is thine and what is thine is mine’— he is an ignorant man;4 [he that says,] ‘What is mine is thine and what is thine is thine own’ — he is a saintly man; [and he that says,] ‘What is thine is mine, and what is mine is mine own’ — he is a wicked man.
11. There are four types of character: easy to provoke and easy to appease — his loss is cancelled by his gain; hard to provoke and hard to appease— his gain is cancelled by his loss; hard to provoke and easy to appease— he is a saintly man; easy to provoke and hard to appease — he is a wicked man.
12. There are four types of disciple: swift to hear and swift to lose — his gain is cancelled by his loss; slow to hear and slow to lose — his loss is cancelled by his gain; swift to hear and slow to lose — this is a happy lot; slow to hear and swift to lose — this is an evil lot.
13. There are four types of almsgivers: he that is minded to give but not that others should give — he begrudges what belongs to others; he that is minded that others should give but not that he should give — he begrudges what belongs to himself; he that is minded to give and also that others should give — he is a saintly man; he that is minded not to give himself and that others should not give — he is a wicked man.
14. There are four types among them that frequent the House of Study: he that goes and does not practise — he has the reward of his going; he that practises but does not go — he has the reward of his practising; he that goes and also practises — he is a saintly man; he that neither goes nor practises— he is a wicked man.
1 5. There are four types among them that sit in the presence of the Sages: the sponge, the funnel, the strainer, and the sifter. ‘The sponge’ — ' which soaks up everything; ‘the funnel’—- which takes in at this end and lets out at the other; ‘the strainer’ — which lets out the wine and collects the lees; ‘the sifter’ — which extracts the coarsely-ground Hour and collects the fine flour.
16. If love depends on some [transitory]thing, and the [transitory] thing passes away, the love passes awray too; but if it does not depend on some [transitory] thing it will never pass away. Which love depended on some [transitory] thing? This was the love of Amnon and Tamar.5 And which did not depend on some [transitory] thing? This wTas the love of David and Jonathan.6 17. Any controversy that is for God’s sake shall in the end be of lasting 3 The gleanings, prescribed in Lev. 19*' 10; 23--; Deut. I426-28; 2413"--.
458 FOURTH DIVISION: NEZ1KIN worth, but any that is not for God’s sake shall not in the end be of lasting worth. Which controversy was for God’s sake? Such was the controversy of Hillel and Shammai. And which was not for God’s sake? Such was the controversy of Korah and all his company.1 18. He that leads the many to virtue, through him shall no sin befall; but he that leads the many to sin, to him shall be given no means for repentance. Moses was virtuous and he led the many to virtue; the virtue of the many depended on him, as it is written, He executed the justice of the Lord and his judgements with Israel.2 Jeroboam sinned and he led the many to sin; the sin of the many depended on him, as it is written, For the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned and wherewith he made Israel to sin.3 19. He in whom are these three things is of the disciples of Abraham our father; but [he in whom are] three other things is of the disciples of Balaam the wicked. A good eye and a humble spirit and a lowly soul — [they in whom are these] are of the disciples of Abraham our father. An evil eye, a haughty spirit, and a proud soul — [they in whom are these] are of the disciples of Balaam the wicked. How do the disciples of Abraham our father differ from the disciples of Balaam the wicked? The disciples of Abraham our father enjoy this world and4 inherit the world to come, as it is written, That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance and that I may fill their treasuries.5 The disciples of Balaam the wicked inherit Gehenna and go down to the pit of destruction, as it is written, But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction; bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days.6 20. Judah b. Tema7 said: Be strong as the leopard and swift as the eagle, fleet as the gazelle and brave as the lion to do the will of thy father which is in heaven. He used to say: The shameless are for Gehenna and the shamefast for the garden of Eden. May it be thy will, O Lord our God and the God of our fathers, that the Temple be built speedily in our days, and grant us our portion in thy Law with them that do thy will.8 21. He used to say:9 At five years old [one is fit] for the Scripture, at ten years for the Mishnah, at thirteen for [the fulfilling of] the command¬ ments, at fifteen for the Talmud, at eighteen for the bride-chamber, at twenty for pursuing [a calling], at thirty for authority, at forty for discern¬ ment, at fifty for counsel, at sixty for to be an elder, at seventy for grey hairs, at eighty for special strength,10 at ninety for bowed back, and at a hun¬ dred a man is as one that has [already] died and passed away and ceased from the world.
22. Ben Bag-Bag said11: Turn it and turn it again for everything is in it; and contemplate it and grow grey and old over it and stir not from it for than it thou canst have no better rule.
23. Ben He-He said: According to the suffering so is the reward.
6. Kinyan Torah [These things] have the Sages taught in the language of the Mishnah. Blessed is he that made choice of them and their Mishnah!
4 Some texts omit ‘enjoy this world and’.! Prov. 8“. 6 Ps. 55”.
2 End of the second century. * Some texts omit ‘with them that do thy will’.
s Some texts omit this paragraph. It is by some authorities attributed to Samuel the Younger (cf. above, 4“).
10 Ps. go10, ‘though men be so strong they come to four score years’.
" Like Ben He-He he is said to have been a proselyte and a disciple of Hillel. In the parallel work Aboth d'R. Nathan both these sayings are attributed to Hillel.
12 'The acquisition of the law’. This chapter (sometimes from its first words called ‘the 1. Rabbi Meir said: He that occupies himself in the study of the Law for its own sake merits many things, and, still more, he is deserving of the whole world. He is called friend, beloved [of God], lover of God, lover of mankind; and it clothes him with humility and reverence and fits him to become righteous, saintly, upright, and faithful; and it keeps him far from sin and brings him near to virtue, and from him men enjoy counsel and sound knowledge, understanding and might, for it is written, Counsel is mine and sound knowledge, I am understanding, I have might.1 And it gives him king- ship and dominion and discernment in judgement; to him are revealed the secrets of the Law, and he is made like to a never-failing spring and like to a river that flows ever more mightily; and he becomes modest, longsuffering, and forgiving of insult; and it magnifies him and exalts him above all things.
2. R. Joshua b. Levi 2 said: Every day a divine voice goes forth from mount Horeb, proclaiming and saying, ‘Woe to mankind for their contempt of the Law!’ For he that occupies himself not in the study of the Law is called ‘reprobate’ ( NaZuF ), as it is written, As a golden ring in the snout (Ntzem Zahab b'aF) of a swine, so is a fair woman without discretion? And it is written, And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven (haruth) upon the tables.4 Read not haruth but heruth (free¬ dom), for thou findest no freeman excepting him that occupies himself in the study of the Law; and he that occupies himself in the study of the Law shall be exalted, for it is written, From Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth.* 3. He that learns from his fellow a single chapter or a single Halakah or a single verse or a single expression or even a single letter, must pay him honour, for so we find it with David, king of Israel, who learned only two things6 from Ahitophel, but called him his teacher, his companion, and his familiar friend; for it is written, But it was thou, a man mine equal, my com¬ panion and my familiar friend? And is there not here an inference from the less to the greater? — if David king of Israel, who learned but two things from Ahitophel, called him his teacher, his companion, and his familiar friend, how much more then must he that learns from his fellow a single chapter or a single Halakah or a single verse or a single expression or even a single letter pay him honour! And ‘honour’ is naught else than ‘the Law’, for it is written, The wise shall inherit honour, 8 and The perfect shall inherit good;0 and ‘good’ is naught else than ‘the Law’, for it is written, For I give you good doctrine; forsake ye not my Law.10 4. This is the way [to get thee knowledge] of the Law. Thou shalt eat bread with salt and thou shalt drink water by measure,11 and on the ground shalt thou sleep and thou shalt live a life of trouble the while thou toilest in the Law. If thou doest thus, Happy shalt thou be and it shall be well with thee; 12 happy shalt thou be — in this world; and it shall be well with thee — in the world to come.
chapter of R. Meir’) is a very late gloss to the five chapters of Aboth. It was probably added because of the common liturgical use of Aboth since the eleventh century as a reading on the six Sabbath afternoons between Passover and Pentecost, when a sixth section was called for.
2 He belongs to a time after the Mishnah, to the middle of the third century.
s Num. 211*. The three place-names are understood literally: Mattanah, a gift; Nahaliel, God has led me; Bamoth, (to) high places.
6 ‘Not to learn by himself alone, and not to enter the House of Study with a haughty mien’ (Tif. Yis.).
10 Prov. 4*. The first two of these three passages equate ‘honour’ with ‘good’ because of the word ‘inherit’ which is common to both; and the third passage equates ‘good’ with ‘the Law’ since they are regarded as balanced items in the two clauses; therefore ‘honour’ is thus equated with ‘the Law’. • * Ezck. 411. 12 Ps. 128*.
FOURTH DIVISION: NEZIKIN 5. Seek not greatness for thyself and covet not honour. Practise more than thou learnest; and crave not after the tables of kings, for thy table is greater than their table and thy crown than their crown; and faithful is thy task¬ master who shall pay thee the reward of thy labour.
6. Greater is [learning in] the Law than priesthood or kingship; for kingship is acquired by thirty excellences and the priesthood by twenty- four; but [learning in] the Law by forty-eight. And these are they: by study, by the hearing of the ear, by the ordering of the lips, by the understanding of the heart, by the discernment of the heart, by awe, by reverence, by humility, by cheerfulness; by attendance on the Sages, by consorting with fellow-students, by close argument writh disciples; by assiduity, by [know¬ ledge of] Scripture and Mishnah; by moderation in business, wordly occu¬ pation, pleasure, sleep, conversation, and jesting; by longsuffering, by a good heart, by faith in the Sages, by submission to sorrows; [by being] one that recognizes his place and that rejoices in his lot and that makes a fence around his words and that claims no merit for himself; [by being one that is] beloved, that loves God, that loves mankind, that loves well-doing, that loves rectitude, that loves reproof, that shuns honour and boasts not of his learning, and delights not in making decisions; that helps his fellow to bear his yoke, and that judges him favourably, and that establishes him in the truth and establishes him in peace; and that occupies himself assiduously in his study; [by being one] that asks and makes answer, that hearkens and adds thereto; that learns in order to teach and that learns in order to practise; that makes his teacher wriser, that retells exactly what he has heard and reports a thing in the name of him that said it. Lo, thou hast learnt that he that tells a thing in the name of him that said it brings deliverance unto the world, for it is written, And Esther told the king thereof in Mordecai's name} 7. Great is the Law, for it gives life to them that practice it both in this world and in the world to come, as it is written, For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh; 2 and it says, It shall be health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones; 3 and it says, She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is everyone that retaineth her; 4 and it says, For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thine head, and chains about thy neck; 5 and it says, She shall give to thine head a chaplet of grace, a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee; 6 and it says, For by me thy days shall be multiplied and the years of thy life shall be increased; 7 and it says, Length of days is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honour; 8 and it says, For length of days, and years of life, and peace, shall they add to iheeP 8. R. Simeon b. Judah in the name of R. Simeon b. Yohai said: Beauty and strength and riches and honour and wisdom and old age and grey hairs and children are comely to the righteous and comely to the w'orld, for it is written, The hoary head is a crvzun of beauty; it shall be found in the way of righteousness; 10 and it says, The glory of young men is their strength and the beauty of old men is the hoary head; 11 and it says, The crown of the wise is their riches; 12 and it says, Children’s children arc the croton of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers; 13 and it says, Then the moon shall be con¬ founded and the sun ashamed; for the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before his elders shall be glory}* R. Simeon b. Menasya 15 said: These seven qualities which the Sages have reckoned as comely to the righteous were all of them fulfilled in Rabbi and in his sons.
9. R. Jose b. Kisma 16 said: I was once walking by the way and a man met me and greeted me and I returned his greeting. He said to me, ‘Rabbi, from 15 See Hag. i7. A contemporary of ‘Rabbi’, R. Judah the Patriarch.
Iu A contemporary of R. Hananiah b. Teradion.
what place are thou?’ I answered, 'I come from a great city of Sages and scribes’.1 He said to me, ‘If thou wilt dwell with us in our place I will give thee a thousand thousand golden denars and precious stones and pearls’. I answered, ‘If thou gavest me all the silver and gold and precious stones and pearls in the world I would not dwell save in a place of the Law’.2 And thus it is written in the Book of Psalms by David, king of Israel, The Law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver,3 Moreover at the time of a man’s departure, neither silver nor gold nor precious stones nor pearls go with him, but only (his knowledge of] the Law and good works; for it is written. When thou walkest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall watch over thee; and when thou awakest it shall talk with thee* When thou walkest it shall lead thee — in this world; when thou sleepest, it shall watch over thee — in the grave; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee — in the world to come. And it says, The silver is mine. and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.* 10. Five possessions did the Holy One, blessed is he, take to Himself in his world; and these are they: the Law is one possession, and the heaven and earth are one possession, Abraham is one possession, Israel is one possession, and the Temple is one possession. Whence [do we learn this of] the Law? Because it is written, The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.6 Whence [do we learn this of] heaven and earth? Because it is written, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what manner of house will ye build unto me and what place shall be my rest? 7 And it says, O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made thetn all: the earth is full of thy riches.8 Whence [do we learn this of] Abraham? Because it is written, And he blessed him, and said. Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth.9 Whence [do we learn this of] Israel? Because it is written, Till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over which thou hast gotten.10 And it says, Unto the saints that are in the earth, and the excellent in whom is all my delight." Whence [do we learn this of] the Temple? Because it is written, The place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in; the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.11 And it says, And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, to this mountain, which his right hand had gotten.13