Avos 1:10-11

בס״ד

אבות א:י-יא

Shammaya and Avtalion accepted the gift of Torah from them. Shammaya says: Love work; and despise arrogance; And don’t get too close to rulers. Avtalion says: Sages! Be careful with your words — For you might be exiled to a place of evil waters, And the students coming after you might drink and die. And thus the name of Heaven would be profaned.

שְׁמַעְיָה וְאַבְטַלְיוֹן קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. שְׁמַעְיָה אוֹמֵר, אֱהֹב אֶת הַמְּלָאכָה, וּשְׂנָא אֶת הָרַבָּנוּת, וְאַל תִּתְוַדַּע לָרָשׁוּת: אַבְטַלְיוֹן אוֹמֵר, חֲכָמִים, הִזָּהֲרוּ בְדִבְרֵיכֶם, שֶׁמָּא תָחוּבוּ חוֹבַת גָּלוּת וְתִגְלוּ לִמְקוֹם מַיִם הָרָעִים, וְיִשְׁתּוּ הַתַּלְמִידִים הַבָּאִים אַחֲרֵיכֶם וְיָמוּתוּ, וְנִמְצָא שֵׁם שָׁמַיִם מִתְחַלֵּל:

        

        The next two links in the chain of Pairs, Shammaya and Avtalion, are unique.  According to the Talmud (Bavli Gittin 57b), they were both descendants of the Assyrian conquerors of Israel who had converted to Judaism in the days of the Assyrian King, Sankheriv.  Despite being members of a powerful world empire that dominated the Jews, the ancestors of Shammaya and Avtalion saw the beauty of Torah and gave themselves to the Jewish people.  Even their names proclaim their origins.  Shammaya means “He has heard HaShem” and, according to Rabbi Ovadiah of Bertinora, the name “Avtalion” is an Aramaic pun that means “Father of the Meek” —that is, of those who humbled themselves to accept the life of Torah.

        

The participation of Shammaya and Avtalion in the chain of tradition stemming from Sinai reminds us how important converts are in the life of Judaism.  Coming from the “outside” they bring their own distinctive insights and talents into the community.  Precisely because they made a conscious decision to transform their relationship to HaShem, they become models to born Jews of how to be truly obedient and humble before the Creator of the World and the Teacher of Torah.  They themselves become models of Torah, like Shammaya and Avtalion.  And like the first convert, Avraham Avinu.

        Notice the simple virtues that Shammaya, the “God Hearer”, recommends:  work hard, don’t magnify your own role in the world, and avoid hobnobbing with the powerful in order to elevate your own status.  That is, remind yourself that your real identity will be found in the simple circumstances of your daily rhythms and duties.  If you can’t hear HaShem in the midst of where you really live, you won’t hear Him on some mountain height or in a royal palace.

        Avtalion’s teaching is equally humble, even though it is expressed in mysterious images and has to be decoded.  It is all about the nature of a teacher’s authority and the power of words.  Teachers enjoy immense authority over their students.  For this very reason they must cultivate a form of humility that is difficult for a person in an official teaching role: to speak carefully and thoughtfully instead of shooting from the hip like a know-it-all.  A thoughtless teacher can convey partial-truths or even errors (“exiled to evil waters”) that will be repeated as truth by unsuspecting students (“they will drink and die”).  The result will be the perversion of truth and a slander against the Lord of Truth.

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Avos 1:8-9

בס״ד

אבות א:ח-ט

Yehudah ben Tabbai and Shimon ben Shatakh accepted the gift of Torah from them. Yehudah ben Tabbai says: Don’t act like a slick lawyer. And when litigants come before you in a case, treat them as if they are guilty; But when they leave the court, treat them as innocent, because they have accepted the judgement on themselves. Shimon ben Shatakh says: Question witnesses very carefully; But be careful in what you say, For your words might teach them how to lie.

יְהוּדָה בֶן טַבַּאי וְשִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן שָׁטָח קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. יְהוּדָה בֶן טַבַּאי אוֹמֵר, אַל תַּעַשׂ עַצְמְךָ כְעוֹרְכֵי הַדַּיָּנִין. וּכְשֶׁיִּהְיוּ בַעֲלֵי דִינִין עוֹמְדִים לְפָנֶיךָ, יִהְיוּ בְעֵינֶיךָ כִרְשָׁעִים. וּכְשֶׁנִּפְטָרִים מִלְּפָנֶיךָ, יִהְיוּ בְעֵינֶיךָ כְזַכָּאִין, כְּשֶׁקִּבְּלוּ עֲלֵיהֶם אֶת הַדִּין: שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן שָׁטָח אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מַרְבֶּה לַחְקֹר אֶת הָעֵדִים, וֶהֱוֵי זָהִיר בִּדְבָרֶיךָ, שֶׁמָּא מִתּוֹכָם יִלְמְדוּ לְשַׁקֵּר:

        

        While the first two Pairs teach us about the role of Torah in our homes, Yehudah ben Tabbai and Shimon ben Shatakh remind us that the Sages had lives outside their homes.  As judges in the Beis Din (Sanhedrin) of Yerushalayim and other local courts, Sages were the primary representatives of social justice in Jewish society.  The teachings in these mishnahs remind disciples of the most important traits that a judge must embody — absolute impartiality.

        This trait is not simply a practical piece of common sense.  The establishment of fairness in the courts is both a positive and a negative mitzvah from the Torah.    As Moshe Rabbenu teaches us: “Do not sway justice, do not show favoritism, and do not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the Sages and pervert the words of the righteous.  Justice, justice shall you pursue so that you may live and inherit the Land that HaShem your Gd is giving you.”  (Deuteronomy 16:19-21; also Exodus 23:2-3).

        Rambam’s commentary on this verse lists a number of reasons for the Torah’s repetition of the word “justice” in Moshe’s sentence. Among them is: “you should not only establish justice in the courts, but you yourself ought to pursue personal virtue by becoming a disciple of the Sages.”  It seems to me, though, that both Yehudah ben Tabbai and Shimon ben Shatakh are interpreting Moshe’s words a little differently.  According to them, the repetition of “justice” means that justice must be given to the powerful just as justice must be given to the weak.  We are not free to favor either party beyond what the evidence of the case suggests.

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Avos 1:6-7

בס״ד

אבות א:ו-ז

Yehoshua ben Perhya and Nittai of Arbel accepted the gift of Torah from them. Yeshoshua ben Perahya says: Make for yourself a Master; Create for yourself a study partner; And judge each person more kindly than they deserve. Nittai of Arbel says: Avoid a bad neighbor; And don’t associate with the wicked; And don’t despair—everyone will ultimately get what they’ve earned!

יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן פְּרַחְיָה וְנִתַּאי הָאַרְבֵּלִי קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. יהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן פְּרַחְיָה אוֹמֵר, עֲשֵׂה לְךָ רַב, וּקְנֵה לְךָ חָבֵר, וֶהֱוֵי דָן אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם לְכַף זְכוּת: נִתַּאי הָאַרְבֵּלִי אוֹמֵר, הַרְחֵק מִשָּׁכֵן רָע, וְאַל תִּתְחַבֵּר לָרָשָׁע, וְאַל תִּתְיָאֵשׁ מִן הַפֻּרְעָנוּת:

        

The two Yoses taught general principles (klalim) about the importance of turning our homes into places of Torah and hospitality.  Their two main disciples, Yehoshua ben Perahya and Nittai of Arbel, now teach the details (pratim).  It is not enough to open your doors to Sages or to “wallow in the dust of their feet” as Yose ben Yoezer taught.  Nor is it enough to maintain open doors to all guests, as Yose ben Yohanan insisted.  Here we learn how to apply these teachings in practice.

        Yehoshua ben Perahya focuses on the relationships that make it possible to learn Torah from others.  There are two kinds of relationships in which we learn.  The first is when we learn from someone who knows more than we do.  The second is when we learn from our peers.  Yehoshua ben Perahya uses two words for these types of learning.  We “make” (in Hebrew oseh, עשה) our Master, but we “create” (qoneh, קנה) our study partner.  What is behind the use of these different words?

        In the Psalms that we sing during Hallel, HaShem is calledOseh Shamayim ve-Aretz, the “Maker of Heaven and Earth.”  That is, in His desire for the world’s companionship, He called it into existence from nothing.  Similarly, in our own desire for Torah, we should call a Master into existence, even where a teacher might seem scarce.  This is what Rambam means in his comment on Yehoshua ben Perahya’s teaching: “Even if a person isn’t really suitable to be your Master, you must place him in the position of authoritative Master, and continue to learn from him until he truly fulfills your expectations for wisdom.”  Just as HaShem allowed himself to become related to the world, through his love and concern for it, we must enable ourselves to learn how to be connected to a teacher, even if we have to first lower our expectations.  Everyone who teaches Torah in honesty and respect is someone from whom we can learn humility.

        The word qoneh also carries an important lesson.  In the Torah, when Avraham Avinu receives his blessing from Malkhizedek, the Priest of Shalem, Malkhizedek says: “Blessed be Avram from God Most High, Qoneh (Creator) of Heaven and Earth” (Genesis 14:9).  To call HaShem “Creator” in this sense is to acknowledge that he “owns” the world that He has made.  That is why, in Hebrew, the same word means “to buy” and “to create”.  Just as HaShem created the world and now possesses it, Yehoshua ben Perahya tells us to create a study partner so that we can truly possess the Torah we learn from each other.

        Either way, the point is that true Torah-study takes place in relationship to another person.  By making ourselves a teacher, we humble ourselves and accept that we always need instruction from those wiser.  By creating for ourselves a study partner, we have the beautiful experience of completely sharing our discoveries in Torah.  And this sharing roots them firmly in our memories, so that as we come to possess Torah, it also comes to possess us and speak in our own voices and through the faces and gestures of those with whom and from whom we learn.

        The result is spelled out in Yehoshua ben Perahya’s last point.  Having learned the humility of our own limitations in learning, and having seen how much we have grown in our shared learning with a friend, we are truly able to give each new person the benefit of the doubt.  That is, no matter how they may appear to our superficial gaze, that person, too, can become a source of Torah for us.

        All that being said, Nittai of Arbel’s teaching comes to remind us of an important reality.  As the Av Beis Din of his generation, he knew that the world isn’t made up only of people illuminated by the light of Torah!  So he tells us in simple words — sometimes we run out of reasons for giving a person the benefit of the doubt, and we must avoid him or her.

        We should, of course, open our households to all who wish to learn Torah.  But if a person routinely demeans the Torah and insults those who embrace it, our duty of hospitality has ended.  We must bring Torah to other Jews and accept that many will be unable to honestly embrace all or even part of it.  But these are not the bad neighbors that Nittai of Arbel has in mind.  Honest doubt and scepticism have to be respected, and we must try to maintain real relationships with others whose Jewish way is not our own.  But we must also know when enough is enough.

         In his commentary on this mishnah, Rabbi Ovadiah of Bertinora quotes a pretty spicy Talmudic warning about the dangers of spending too much time among people who demean the Torah and insult those who love it: “One who associates freely with wicked people is likely to become like them.  It’s like a person who enters a tannery — even though you don’t buy anything, the stink you absorb travels around with you!”

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Avos 1:4-5

בס״ד

אבות א:ד-ה

יוֹסֵי בֶן יוֹעֶזֶר אִישׁ צְרֵדָה וְיוֹסֵי בֶן יוֹחָנָן אִישׁ יְרוּשָׁלַיִם קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. יוֹסֵי בֶן יוֹעֶזֶר אִישׁ צְרֵדָה אוֹמֵר, יְהִי בֵיתְךָ בֵית וַעַד לַחֲכָמִים, וֶהֱוֵי מִתְאַבֵּק בַּעֲפַר רַגְלֵיהֶם, וֶהֱוֵי שׁוֹתֶה בְצָמָא אֶת דִּבְרֵיהֶם: יוֹסֵי בֶן יוֹחָנָן אִישׁ יְרוּשָׁלַיִם אוֹמֵר, יְהִי בֵיתְךָ פָתוּחַ לִרְוָחָה, וְיִהְיוּ עֲנִיִּים בְּנֵי בֵיתֶךָ, וְאַל תַּרְבֶּה שִׂיחָה עִם הָאִשָּׁה. בְּאִשְׁתּוֹ אָמְרוּ, קַל וָחֹמֶר בְּאֵשֶׁת חֲבֵרוֹ. מִכָּאן אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים, כָּל זְמַן שֶׁאָדָם מַרְבֶּה שִׂיחָה עִם הָאִשָּׁה, גּוֹרֵם רָעָה לְעַצְמוֹ, וּבוֹטֵל מִדִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה, וְסוֹפוֹ יוֹרֵשׁ גֵּיהִנֹּם.

Yose ben Yoezer of Tzeredah and Yose ben Yohanan of Yerushalayim .accepted the gift of Torah from them :Yose ben Yoezer says Let your home become a .gathering place for Sages And may you become filthy .with the dust of their feet And may you thirstily .drink in their words Yose ben Yochanan of Yerushalayim :says Let your home be open wide ;for hospitality ,And may the poor be like family But don’t be overly casual .with women This was said about a man’s own wife—it applies even more !strictly to his friend’s wife :For this reason the Sages said Whenever a man becomes overly casual with a woman, he does harm to himself, wastes time he could be ,using to learn Torah, and, in the end !he’ll inherit Gehinnom

        

        Both Yose ben Yoezer and Yose ben Yohanan received the teachings of Shimon the Tzaddik, and Antigonus of Sokho.  With “the two Yoses”, the “Age of the Pairs” began in about 150 CE.  It ended with Hillel and Shammai about 170 years later.  For all this time, during the royal Jewish dynasties of the Hasmonean and Herodian families, Torah was transmitted by the two main teachers of each generation who, in turn, taught it to their disciples.  This chapter of our mishnah lists the five Pairs in their historical order (mishnahs 4-15).

        The first person mentioned in each generation’s “Pair” served the people as Nasi (“Leader”).  This was Yose ben Yoezer’s role — as Nasi he was like the Chief Rabbi of Israel under the first Hasmonean Kings.  The second person of each Pair, like Yose ben Yohanan, served as the Av Bes Din, or Chief Justice of the Sanhedrin.  While each member of each pair had greatderekh eretz for his colleague, they didn’t always agree about everything.  In fact, you can study some of their halakhic disputes in Mishnah Hagigah 2:2.

        Notice that neither Yose ben Yoezer nor Yose ben Yohanan — nor any of the other Pairs — was a King or a High Priest.  During this period, Torah was transmitted outside the main political and religious institutions of Klal Yisroel.  The Talmud, in fact, tells many stories about the vicious policies of Israel’s rulers during this time (see Berakhos 48a-b), the way the Kings appointed unqualified priests to govern the Temple (Yoma 18a), and how even the disciples of Antigonus of Sokho corrupted his teachings (Avos d’Rabbi Noson, B).  The result was that Torah was taught outside the circles of the powerful.  Why were the “official” leaders of our people so deaf to the Torah of the Pairs?  Why did they ignore the teachings of the Sages?  Perhaps they confused political and religious power with possession of the Truth.  The Kings and High Priests were so in love with their roles as official leaders that they resented anyone who reminded them of one simple fact — that the job of a leader of Klal Yisroel is to lead the people toward Torah.

        So the Pairs — and the two Yoses were the first among them — stepped in and taught Torah as it should be taught.  Perhaps, in the light of their tensions with their own government, we shouldn’t be surprised that both of them focus their teachings on the home rather than the public arena.  Yose ben Yoezer stresses that our homes should be places in which Torah teachers feel welcome; Yose ben Yohanan reminds us of the middah of Avraham Avinu — that hospitality to the stranger is the primary duty of every Jewish householder.

        Many meforshim  are troubled by the mishnah’s additional comment on Yose ben Yohanan’s teaching.  He advises his young disciples to treat women respectfully but without too much intimacy.  He wanted to keep them from the social distractions that might lead them to forget their studies.  The mishnah’s additions to his comment certainly put a stronger twist on his words.  Now it sounds like there is something about women themselves that makes them dangerous for a man to talk to.

        Here we have to focus on what the mishnah says.  The Hebrew words I’ve translated as “overly casual” are marbeh sikhah — literally “to extend conversation with.”  The word sikhah is the key.  It doesn’t mean “chatting”.  It refers to the kind of seductive talk that the Snake used in tempting Havah to eat the forbidden fruit.  So the mishnah’s point is that suggestive familiarity between men and women is dangerous because it leads us into the original situation of human rebellion against HaShem.  By ensuring only respectful and appropriate relations between men and women, the halakhah helps to keep us all from reproducing the sin that first brought Exile into human experience.

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