Avos 3:1

בס׳ד

אבות ג:א

Akavya ben Mehalalel says: Consider three things and you won’t fall into the clutches of transgression; Know from where you came; And know to what you’re headed; And know before whom you will eventually have to give an account of yourself. From where did you come? A rotten drop! And to what are you headed? To dirt, worms, and maggots! And before whom will you eventually give an accounting?  Before the King of Kings, the Blessed Holy One!

עֲקַבְיָא בֶן מַהֲלַלְאֵל אוֹמֵר, הִסְתַּכֵּל בִּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים וְאִי אַתָּה בָא לִידֵי עֲבֵרָה. דַּע מֵאַיִן בָּאתָ, וּלְאָן אַתָּה הוֹלֵךְ, וְלִפְנֵי מִי אַתָּה עָתִיד לִתֵּן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן. מֵאַיִן בָּאתָ, מִטִּפָּה סְרוּחָה, וּלְאָן אַתָּה הוֹלֵךְ, לִמְקוֹם עָפָר רִמָּה וְתוֹלֵעָה. וְלִפְנֵי מִי אַתָּה עָתִיד לִתֵּן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן, לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא:

        Like Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, Akavya ben Mehalalel was a disciple of Hillel’s.  His teachings are not included among those of Rabban ben Zakkai’s for two reasons.  First, he did not hold communal office.  In fact, he declined an offer to promote him to the Office of Av Beis Din.  And this leads to the second reason that his teachings are included after those of the students of Rabban Yohanan.  As we learn in Mishnah Eduyyos 5:6-7, Akavya was quite a controversial figure, maintaining his own halakhic opinions on some key issues in the face of an opposing majority of the Sages.  When offered the post of Av Beis Din in return for complying with the majority, he stood his ground, saying: “I’d rather be called a fool all my life than appear wicked for a single moment in the eyes of HaShem!”  Right or wrong, he stuck to his principles and died in a state of herem (isolation) from the community of Sages.

        Despite his controversial career, his teaching remained influential.  Generations later Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi borrowed Akavya’s style of teaching about “considering three things and you won’t fall into the clutches of transgression” (Avos 2:1).  And aren’t these “three things” something to think about!  Akavya’s recipe for avoiding transgression is to attack any appearance of self-pride.  Do you think you’re the crown of Creation?  Well, you had your origins in a sexual act that humans share with even the lowest animals!  Have you achieved a lot in your life?  Are you a real beauty?  It won’t matter much when your soul leaves your body and your body becomes food for worms!  And about that soul - when you start congratulating yourself about your moral virtue, don’t forget Who will ultimately decide about the purity of your motives! Akavya ben Mehalalel’s concern for proper motive explains why he refused to accept appointment to high office in return for compromise on a matter of halakhic principle.

        The Besht (Keser Shem Tov, #55) has a wonderful comment on this mishnah.  It is built on some observations about the spelling of some key Hebrew words.  He notices that the word for “I” - ani (aleph-nun-yod) - is a rearrangement of the letters for “where” - ayin (aleph-yod-nun), and that the word “what” - an - has an aleph and a nun, but is missing a yod.  Finally, the same three letters, with the addition of a dalet, spell the name of HaShem (aleph-dalet-nun-yod). From this, he concludes:

“One who performs a mitzvah or prays with kavanah should not let any self-glorification enter his heart.  For his ability to perfect his ‘I’ (aleph-nun-yod) in this way comes from the aleph-dalet-nun-yod of HaShem.  And if he praises himself, thinking that the achievement comes from his own merits, he’ll lose the yod from his ‘I’ and become a ‘what’ (aleph-nun).  And this is the meaning of ‘from where you came’- when you think of yourself as Nothing (ayin) you come into genuine intimacy with HaShem.  And this is not what happens to the person who glorifies himself.  Rather, he alienates himself from HaShem and causes his yod to depart and he is left a ‘what’, a mere object.  And this is the meaning of ‘to what you are headed’ - by glorifying yourself you transform yourself into an object.”

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