Avos 4:13

בס׳ד

אבות ד:יג

Rabbi Yehudah says: Be very careful in learning, for a careless error in learning is regarded as intentional. Rabbi Shimon says: There are three Crowns - The Crown of Torah, The Crown of Priesthood, And the Crown of Royalty. But the Crown of a Good Reputation surpasses them all.

רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי זָהִיר בַּתַּלְמוּד, שֶׁשִּׁגְגַת תַּלְמוּד עוֹלָה זָדוֹן. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, שְׁלשָׁה כְתָרִים הֵם, כֶּתֶר תּוֹרָה וְכֶתֶר כְּהֻנָּה וְכֶתֶר מַלְכוּת, וְכֶתֶר שֵׁם טוֹב עוֹלֶה עַל גַּבֵּיהֶן:

        It is very fitting that Rabbi Yehudah bar Ilai and Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai (who last appeared in Avos 3:3) share this mishnah.  Both were among the stellar disciples of Rabbi Aqiva.  Rabbi Yehudah is one of the most frequently mentioned Sages in the Mishnah, his halakhic rulings covering virtually every topic.  The Talmud (Sanhedrin 86a) regards him as the main compiler of the midrash Sifra, a Tannaitic midrash on Vayikra.

        Rabbi Yehudah’s caution about care in studying echoes the advice of Hillel’s teacher, Avtalion (Avos 1:11), and Rabbi Ishmael ben Rabbi Yose (Avos 4:7).  Rabbi Yehudah’s concern is that careless study habits will yield an inexact knowledge of the halakhic and theological dimensions of Torah.  The problem, though, does not end with your imperfect knowledge.  Especially if you are respected as a teacher, people will take your half-baked observations seriously and be misled about matters that have a deep impact upon their performance of mitzvahs and their larger conceptions of the spiritual possibilities of Yiddishkeit.  This is why a “careless error” is treated like an intentional sin. Misleading people about Torah can lead to public desecration of HaShem’s name - and whoever causes the public to sin denies himself a claim to the Future World (Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:2). The moral of the story: if you want to shoot from the hip, make sure you’re the only one within firing range!

        Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai’s teaching about Crowns reminds us of the words of Rabbi Tzadok and Hillel at Avos 4:5.  There we were told that the Crown of Torah is an adornment, not a tool for enhancing your own wealth or privilege. Rabbi Shimon now goes further.  HaShem has provided Israel with three institutions that represent His Presence among them.  There are, however, important distinctions between the Crown of Torah, on the one hand, and the Crowns of Priesthood and Royalty on the other.  First, the Crown of Torah is available to any Jew who cares to learn and grow in Torah.  The Crowns of Priesthood and Royalty, by contrast, can be acquired only by birth into the kohanim or by birth into the lineage of David.  The Crown of Torah, therefore, takes precedence in order, coming first in Rabbi Shimon’s enumeration.  The second point also explains why the Crown of Torah takes precedence in the order of Crowns.  The Crowns of Priesthood and Royalty are dependent upon the presence of the Bes HaMikdash and the Malkhus Bes David (the Davidic Kingdom).  While we pray for their restoration in the Messianic future, the only Crown continuously available to us is the Crown of Torah.

        Rabbi Shimon’s final comment introduces a new wrinkle into the story.  In what sense does a “Good Reputation” surpass all these other Crowns?  The point is NOT that a good name is more important than these divine gifts to Israel. Rather, all of them come to nothing if the person wearing any of these Crowns is undeserving.  The talmid hakham whose behavior makes people wonder about his morals, loses the Crown of Torah no matter how many tough passages of Tosfos he can explain.  The High Priest or the King who publicly show themselves to be haughty or cruel bring their own reign to ruin and, through that, bring ruin to all Israel.

        Rabbi Shimon’s list of three Crowns is explained very beautifully in midrash Shmos Rabbah (parshas Terumah, 34:3) as a reference to holy objects in the Inner Sanctuary:

“The Crown of Royalty - this refers to the Table, of which it is said: ‘a diadem (zer) of gold shall surround it’ (Shmos 25:24).  The Crown of Priesthood - this refers to the Incense Altar, of which it is said: ‘a diadem of gold shall surround it’ (Shmos 30:3).  And the Crown of Torah - this is the Ark, of which it is written: ‘a golden diadem’ (Shmos 25:11).  Now why are they spelled as zar, but pronounced zer? To teach you that if a person is worthy of any of these they become his diadem (zer); but if not they become alien (zar) to him!  And why is it written of the two of them ‘you shall make for it’, while of the Crown of Torah it is written, ‘you shall place upon it’?  Only to teach you that the Crown of Torah is elevated above the others.  If a person is worthy of the Crown of Torah it is as if he had acquired the others.”

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