meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt_done/Mishnah/Seder Nezikin/Pirkei Avot/English/Sefaria Community Translation.txt"}
text: Pirkei Avot
  משנה אבות
  Sefaria Community Translation
  
  
  Pirkei Avot
  
  
  
  
  
  Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua, and Yehoshua to the Elders, and the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be deliberate in judgment, raise up many disciples and make a fence for the Torah.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  He [Rabbi Hillel] used to say: If I am not for me, who will be for me?  And when I am for myself alone, what am I? And if not now, then when?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Akavia ben Mahalalel says: Keep your eye on three things, and you will not come to sin: Know from where you came, and to where you are going, and before Whom you are destined to give an account and a reckoning. From where did you come? From a putrid drop. And to where are you going? To a place of dust, worms, and maggots. And before Whom are you destined to give an account and a reckoning? Before the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.
  Rabbi Chanina, the Deputy High Priest, says: Pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear of it, man would swallow his fellow alive. Rabbi Chananya ben Teradyon says: Two who are sitting together and there are no words of Torah [spoken] between them, this is a session of scorners, as it is said (Psalms 1:1): “[Happy is the man who has]... not sat in the session of the scorners.” But two who are sitting together and there are words of Torah [spoken] between them, the Divine Presence rests with them, as it is said (Malachi 3:16): “Then those who feared the Lord spoke one with another, and the Lord hearkened and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him, for those who feared the Lord and for those who thought upon His Name.” I have no [Scriptural support for this] except [in a case of] two. From where [is there proof that] that even [when there is only] one [person studying Torah], the Holy One, blessed be He, determines a reward for him? As it is said (Lamentations 3:28): “He sits alone and is silent, since he takes [a reward] for it.”
  Rabbi Shimon says: Three who ate at one table and did not say upon it words of Torah - it is as if they ate from the offerings of the dead, as it is said (Isaiah 28:8): "For all of the tables are full of vomit and feces without the Omnipresent." However, three who ate at one table and said upon it words of Torah - it is as if they ate from the table of the Omnipresent, blessed be He, as it is said (Ezekiel 41:22): "And he said to me, this is the table that is before the Lord."
  Rabbi Chananya ben Chakhinai says: One who stays awake at night, and one who wanders on a road alone, and one who turns his heart to idleness, such a one is liable for [forfeiture of] his life.
  Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah says: Anyone who accepts the yoke of Torah upon himself, they lift from him the yoke of government and the yoke of the way of the world (<i>derekh erets</i>). And anyone who casts from himself the yoke of Torah, they place upon him the yoke of government and the yoke of the way of the world (<i>derekh erets</i>).
  Rabbi Chalafta [ben Dosa] of Kfar Chananiah says: Ten who are sitting together and engaging in Torah, the Divine Presence rests among them, as it is said (Psalms 82:1): “God stands in the congregation of God.” And from where [is there proof that this is true] even [when there are only] five? As it is said (Amos 9:6): “And He has founded His band upon the earth.” And from where even three? As it is said (Psalms 82:1): “In the midst of judges He judges.” And from where even two? As it is said (Malachi 3:16): “Then those who feared the Lord spoke one with another, and the Lord hearkened and heard.”  And from where even one? As it is said (Exodus 20:20 (20:21 in NJPS)): “In every place where I cause My Name to be mentioned I will come to you and bless you.”
  Rabbi Elazar, man of Bartuta, says: Give Him from what is His, for you and yours are His, and thus with David it says, "For all comes from You, and from Your hand we have given to You" (I Chronicles 29:14). Rabbi Shimon says: He who is walking on the way and repeating his studies, and interrupts his studies and says, "How lovely is this tree! And how lovely is this newly plowed field!" - Scripture considers him as if he is liable for [forfeiture of] his life.
  Rabbi Dostai beRebbe Yannai in the name of Rabbi Meir says: Anyone who forgets one thing from his studies - Scripture considers him as if he is liable for [forfeiture of] his life, as it is said (Deuteronomy 4:9): "Only guard yourself, and guard your life diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw." One could [suppose this statement applies to] even one whose studies have overpowered him; therefore, the verse says, "and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life" - he is not liable for [forfeiture of] his life until he sits down and [intentionally] removes them from his heart.
  Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa says: Anyone whose fear of sin precedes his wisdom, his wisdom endures. And anyone whose wisdom precedes his fear of sin, his wisdom does not endure.  He would [also] say: Anyone whose actions are more plentiful than his wisdom, his wisdom endures. And anyone whose wisdom is more plentiful than his actions, his wisdom does not endure.
  He would say: Anyone from whom the spirit of creations find pleasure, from him the spirit of God finds pleasure. And anyone from whom the spirit of creations do not find pleasure, from him the spirit of God does not find pleasure. Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinus says: [Late] morning sleep, midday wine, chatter of children, and sitting in the assembly houses of the <i>Am Ha'arets</i> (unlearned people, who are lax in observing tithes and purity laws) remove a person from the world.
  Rabbi Elazar of Modi'in says: One who profanes the <i>Kodeshim</i> (sacred material); one who desecrates the holidays; one who whitens (embarrasses) the face of another in public; one who nullifies the covenant of Abraham our father, peace be upon him; one who reveals meanings in the Torah that run contrary to the law, even though he has Torah knowledge and good deeds, he has no share in the world to come.
  Rabbi Yishmael says: Be yielding to an elder, pleasant to a youth and greet every person with joy.
  Rabbi Akiva says: Joking and lightheartedness acclimate toward promiscuity. Tradition is a safeguarding fence around Torah. Tithes are a safeguarding fence around wealth. Vows are a safeguarding fence around abstinence. A safeguarding fence around wisdom is silence.
  He would say: Beloved is man, since he is created in the image [of God]. A deeper love - it is revealed to him that he is created in the image, as it says (Genesis 9:6): "for in God's image He made man." Beloved are Israel, since they are called children of the Omnipresent. A deeper love - it is revealed to them that they are called children to God, as it says (Deuteronomy 14:1): "You are children of the Lord, your God." Beloved are Israel, since a precious instrument has been given to them. A deeper love - it is revealed to them that the precious instrument with which the world was created has been given to them, as it says (Proverbs 4:2): "For a good lesson I have given to you; do not forsake my teaching."
  Everything is foreseen, and freewill is given, and with goodness the world is judged. And all is in accordance to the majority of the deed.
  He would say: Everything is given as collateral, and a net is cast over all of life. The shop is open, and the shopkeeper grants credit, and the accounting ledger is open, and the hand writes, and everyone who wants to borrow can come and borrow, and the collectors go constantly on their daily rounds and exact payment from man - with his knowledge or without his knowledge - and they have that upon which to rely, and the judgement is true judgement, and everything is prepared for the feast.
  Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah says: If there is no Torah, there is no worldly occupation; if there is no worldly occupation, there is no Torah. If there is no wisdom, there is no fear; if there is no fear, there is no wisdom. If there is no understanding, there is no knowledge; if there is no knowledge, there is no understanding.  If there is no flour, there is no Torah; if there is no Torah, there is no flour. He would say: Anyone whose wisdom exceeds his deeds, to what is he compared? To a tree whose branches are many but whose roots are few; and the wind comes and uproots it and turns it upside down; as it is said; "And he shall be like a lonely juniper tree in the wasteland and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places of the wilderness, a salty land that is uninhabitable." (Jeremiah 17:6).  But one whose deeds exceed his wisdom, what is he like? Like a tree whose branches are few but whose roots are many; since even if all the winds of the world come and blow upon it, they do not move it from its place, as it is said; "He shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and spreads out its roots by the river, and shall not perceive when heat comes, but its leaf shall remain fresh; and it will not be troubled in the year of drought, nor will it cease to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:8).
  Rabbi Eliezer ben Chisma says: [the laws of] <i>Kinin</i> (bird offerings) and the beginnings of <i>Niddah</i> (menstruation), these are the body of the laws. Astronomical calculations and <i>Gematria</i> [numerical calculations] are the condiments to wisdom.
  
  
  
  Ben Zoma says: Who is the wise one? He who learns from all men, as it says, "I have acquired understanding from all my teachers" (Psalms 119:99). Who is the mighty one? He who conquers his impulse, as it says, "slowness to anger is better than a mighty person and the ruler of his spirit than the conqueror of a city." (Proverbs 16:32). Who is the rich one? He who is happy with his lot, as it says, "When you eat [from] the work of your hands, you will be happy, and it will be well with you" (Psalms 128:2). "You will be happy" in this world, and "it will be well with you" in the world to come. Who is honored? He who honors the created beings, as it says, "For those who honor Me, I will honor; and those who despise Me will be held in little esteem" (I Samuel 2:30).
  Ben Azai says: Run to do an easy commandment as to a difficult one, and flee from sin; since a commandment leads to another commandment, and a sin leads to another sin; since the reward for a commandment is another commandment, and the reward for a sin is another sin.
  He would say: Do not disparage anyone, and do not shun any thing. For you have no man who does not have his hour, and you have no thing that does not have its place.
  Rabbi Levitas, a man of Yavneh, says: Be very, very humble in spirit, for the hope of man is worms. Rabbi Yochanan ben Beroka says: Anyone who desecrates the Name of Heaven secretly, they punish him publicly. There is no differentiation between unintentional and intentional when it comes to desecration of the Name.
  Rabbi Yishmael his son says: One who studies Torah in order to teach will be given the opportunity both to study and to teach. One who studies in order to practice will be given the opportunity to study, to teach, to observe, and to practice. Rabbi Tzadok says: Do not make it [the Torah] into a crown with which to aggrandize yourself, and not into a spade with which to dig into them. And thus Hillel used to say: And one who makes use of the crown [of learning] passes away. From here you learn that any one who benefits from the words of the Torah removes his life from the world.
  Rabbi Yosi says: Anyone who honors the Torah - his body will be honored by the created beings. Anyone who desecrates the Torah - his body will be desecrated by the created beings.
  Rabbi Yishmael, his son, says: One who withholds himself from judging - removes from himself enmity, theft, and the false oath. One who is nonchalant about giving legal decisions is an imbecile, wicked, and arrogant in spirit.
  He would say: Do not judge alone, for there is no lone judge aside from One [God]. And do not say,"Accept my opinion," for they are permitted and not you.
  Rabbi Yonatan says: Anyone who implements the Torah in poverty, his end will be to implement it in wealth. And anyone that disregards the Torah in wealth, will in the end disregard it in poverty.
  Rabbi Meir says: Minimize business and engage in Torah. Be humble of spirit before everyone. If you neglect the Torah, many reasons for neglecting it will be presented to you. And if you labor in Torah, [He (God)] has abundant reward to grant you.
  Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: One who does a single commandment acquires a single defender. One who does a single sin acquires a single prosecutor. Repentance and good deeds are like a shield against punishment. Rabbi Yochanan the shoemaker says: Every gathering that is for the sake of Heaven, its end is to endure. And every gathering that is not for the sake of Heaven, its end is not to endure.
  Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua says: Let the honor of your student be dear to you as your own, and the honor of your fellow like the reverence of your teacher, and the reverence of your teacher like the reverence of Heaven.
  Rabbi Yehuda says: Be careful in study, for an error in study is considered an intentional transgression. Rabbi Shimon says: There are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood and the crown of monarchy - but the crown of a good name outweighs them all.
  Rabbi Nehorai says: Exile yourself to a place of Torah, and do not say that it will follow after you, that your colleagues will make it yours. Do not rely on your understanding.
  Rabbi Yanai says: We do not have [the ability to explain] the tranquility of the wicked or even the suffering of the righteous. Rabbi Mattia ben Charash says: Be the first to greet every person, and be a tail to lions, and do not be a head to foxes.
  Rabbi Yaakov says: This world is like a hallway before the world to come. Fix yourself in the hallway so you may enter the drawing room.
  He would say: One hour of repentance and good deeds in this world is better than all the time in the world to come. And one hour of pleasure in the world to come is better than all the time in this world.
  Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: Do not assuage the anger of your friend at the time of his anger; do not console him at the time when his deceased lies before him; do not question him at the time of his vow; and do not seek to see him at the time of his humiliation.
  Shmuel the Younger says: (Proverbs 24:17-18) "When your enemy falls, do not be happy, and when he stumbles, let your heart not rejoice. Lest God see and it be bad in His eyes and He turn from him [the enemy] His anger."
  Elisha ben Abuya says: One who learns as a child is compared to what? To ink written on new parchment. And one who learns as an elder is compared to what? To ink written on scraped parchment. Rabbi Yose bar Yehuda, man of Kfar HaBavli, says: One who learns from young ones is compared to what? To one who eats unripe grapes and drinks wine from its press. And one who learns from elders is compared to what? To one who eats ripe grapes and drinks aged wine. Rebbi says: Do not look at the jug but rather at what is in it. For there are new jugs full of old, and old that do not have even new within them.
  Rabbi Elazar HaKapor says: Envy, lust and honor drive a man from the world.
  He would say: Those that are born will die, and those that are dead will be revived, and the living will be judged. [It is necessary] to know, to make known, and to become conscious that He is God, He is the Maker, He is the Creator, He is the Understander, He is the Judge, He is the Witness, He is the Litigant, and He is destined to judge. Blessed be He, who has before Him no wrong, no forgetfulness, no respect of persons, no taking of bribes, for all is His. And know that everything is according to the reckoning. And do not let your [evil] impulse assure you that the netherworld is a place of refuge for you; because against your will you were created, and against your will you were born, and against your will you live, and against your will you die, and against your will you are destined to give account and reckoning before the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.
  
  
  
  With ten utterances the world was created.  And what is learned - couldn't it have been created by one utterance? Rather, [it was done this way] in order to punish the wicked who destroy the world that was created with ten utterances and to give reward to the righteous who sustain the world that was created with ten utterances.
  There were ten generations from Adam to Noah, to demonstrate the great extent of [God's] patience, for each one of those generations provoked [God] continually until [God] brought the waters of the flood upon them. There were ten generations from Noah to Abraham, to demonstrate the extent of [God's] patience, for each one of those generations provoked [God] continually, until Abraham came and received the reward of them all.
  With ten tests Abraham, our father, was tested - and he withstood them all; in order to show how great was the love of Abraham, our father - peace be upon him.
  Ten miracles were performed for our ancestors in Egypt, and ten [miracles were performed] at the [Reed] Sea. [With] ten trials did our ancestors test the Omnipresent, blessed be He, in the Wilderness, as it is said (Numbers 14:22): “Yet have they tested Me these ten times, and have not hearkened to My voice.”
  Ten miracles were performed for our forefathers in the Temple: No woman had a miscarriage from the scent of the meat; and no holy flesh ever went putrid; and a fly was not seen in the room of slaughtering; and a High Priest did not have an accidental emission on Yom Kippur; and rain did not extinguish the fire of the wood pile; and the wind did not overpower the pillar of smoke; and there was not found a disqualification in the <i>omer</i> (a special barley offering, offered the day after Pesach, which permits grain harvested in the new harvest  to be eaten) or in the two breads or in the showbreads; they would stand up crowded and bow down with [enough] space; and a snake or scorpion never hurt a person in Jerusalem; and a person did not say to his fellow, "The place is too cramped that I should lodge in Jerusalem."     
  Ten things were created on the eve of the [first] Shabbat at twilight. And these are they: The mouth of the earth [that swallowed Korach in Numbers 16:32]; and the mouth of the well [that accompanied the Israelites in the wilderness in Numbers 21:17]; and the mouth of the donkey [that spoke to Bilaam in Numbers 22:28–30]; and the rainbow [that served as a covenant after the flood in Genesis 9:13]; and the manna [that God provided the Israelites in the wilderness in Exodus 16:4–21]; and the staff [of Moshe]; and the <i>shamir</i> (the worm that helped build the Temple without metal tools); and the letters; and the writing; and the tablets [all of the latter three, of the Ten Commandments].  And some say, also the destructive spirits, and the burial place of Moshe, our teacher, and the ram of Abraham, our father.  And some say, also the [first human-made] tongs, made with [Divine] tongs.
  Seven things are [found] in an unformed person and seven in a wise man. A wise man does not speak in front of someone who is greater than him in wisdom or in number; and he does not interrupt the words of his fellow; and is not impulsive in answering; and he asks to the point and answers as is proper; and he speaks to the first [point] first and the last [point] last; and about that which he has not heard [anything], says, "I have not heard [anything]"; and he concedes to the truth. And their opposites [are the case] with an unformed person.
  Seven kinds of punishment come to the world for seven categories of sin:  [When] some of [the people] give tithes, and others do not give tithes, a famine from drought comes; and some go hungry, and others have plenty.  [When] they all decide not to give tithes, a famine from tumult and drought comes.  [And when they decide, in addition,] not to set apart the dough [offering], a famine of annihilation comes.   Pestilence comes to the world for the death penalties set forth in the Torah that are not given over to the court [to carry out];  and for [violation of the laws governing] the produce of the Sabbatical year.   [The] sword comes to the world for the delay of justice, and for the perversion of justice, and because of those who interpret the Torah counter to the accepted law.
  Destructive animals come to the world because of false oaths and because of the desecration of God's name. Exile comes to the world because of the worshipers of idols and because of sexual immorality and because of the spilling of blood and because of [the violation] of the resting of the earth. At four periods of time does pestilence become more widespread: in the fourth [year], in the seventh [year], after the seventh [year] and after the holiday (Sukkot) in every single year. In the fourth [year], it is because of [negligence] of the tithe to the poor in the third [year]. In the seventh [year], it is because of [negligence] of the tithe to the poor in the sixth [year]. And after the seventh [year], it is because of [negligence] with the produce of the seventh [year]. And after the holiday (Sukkot) in every single year, it is because of the theft of gifts to the poor [during the harvest before Sukkot].
  There are four temperaments among men: the one who says "what is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours" -- that's an [average] temperament. And there are some who say that is the temperament of Sodom. [A second type is one who says] "what is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine" -- [that's an] <i>am ha'arets</i> (uneducated person). [A third type is one who says] "what is mine is yours, and what is yours is yours" -- [that's a] pious person. [A final type is one who says] "what is yours is mine, and what is mine is mine" -- [that's a] wicked person.
  There are four temperaments among dispositions: [a person who is] easy to anger and easy to appease -- his gain is canceled by his loss. [A person who is] hard to anger but [also] hard to appease -- his loss is canceled by his gain. [A person who is] hard to anger, but easy to appease -- [that's a] pious person. [A person who is] easy to anger and hard to appease -- [that's a] wicked person.
  There are four temperaments among students:  Quick to understand and quick to forget -- his gain is canceled by his loss. [A student who is] slow to understand and slow to forget -- his loss is canceled by his gain. [A student who is] quick to understand and slow to forget -- he is a sage. [A student who is] slow to understand and quick to forget -- that is a bad portion.
  There are four temperaments among givers of charity: One who wishes to give, but [that] others not give -- he has an evil eye with respect to others. [One who wishes that] others give, and he [himself] not give -- he has an evil eye with respect to himself. [One who wishes to] give and [that] others give -- [that's a] pious person. [One who wishes] not to give and [that] others not give -- [that's a] wicked person.
  There are four temperaments among those who go to the House of Study: [One who] goes but does not do obtains the reward for going. [One who] does but does not go obtains reward for doing. [One who] goes and does is a pious person. [One who] neither goes nor does is a wicked person.
  There are four temperaments among those who sit before the sages: the sponge, the funnel, the strainer, and the sieve. The sponge -- because it absorbs everything. The funnel -- because it lets in at [one end] and lets out at [the other]. The strainer -- because it lets the wine out and retains the sediment. The sieve -- because it lets out the [inferior] flour and retains the fine flour.
  Any love that is dependent on something, when that thing perishes, the love perishes. But [a love] that is not dependent on something, does not ever perish. What's [an example of] a love that is dependent on something? That's the love of Amnon and Tamar. And [a love] that is not dependent on something? That's the love of David and Jonathan.
  Every argument that is for [the sake of] heaven's name, it is destined to endure. But if it is not for [the sake of] heaven's name -- it is not destined to endure. What is [an example of an argument] for [the sake of] heaven's name? The argument of Hillel and Shammai. What is [an example of an argument] not for [the sake of] heaven's name? The argument of Korach and all of his congregation.
  Anyone who brings merit to the many, sin does not result from him. And anyone who brings the many to sin is not given enough [time] to repent. Moshe -- who was meritorious and brought merit to the many; the merit of the many is appended to him, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 33:21), "He fulfilled the righteousness of God and His statutes with Israel." Jeroboam -- who sinned and caused the many to sin; the sin of the many is appended to him, as it is stated (I Kings 15:30), "for the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned and that he caused Israel to sin." 
  Anyone who has these three things is from the students of Abraham, our father, and [anyone who has] three other things is from the students of Bilaam the evildoer: [one who has] a good eye, a humble spirit and a small appetite -- is from the students of Abraham, our father. [One who has] an evil eye, a haughty spirit and a broad appetite - is from the students of Bilaam the evildoer. What [difference] is there between the students of Abraham, our father, and the students of Bilaam the evildoer? The students of Abraham, our father, eat in this world and possess the next world, as it is stated (Proverbs 8:21), "There is what for those that love Me to inherit, and their treasuries will I fill." But the students of Bilaam the evildoer inherit <i>Gehinnom </i> (Purgatory) and go down to the pit of destruction, as it is stated (Psalms 55:24), "And You, God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction; the people of blood and deceit, they will not live out half their days; and I will trust in You."
  Yehudah ben Teimah says: Be brazen like the leopard, light like the eagle, swift like the deer, and mighty like the lion to do the Will of your Father Who is in Heaven. He used to say: [the] brazen-faced [are bound] for <i>Gehinnom </i> (Purgatory), and [the] shamefaced [are bound] for the Garden of Eden. May it be Your Will, Lord, our God and the God of our forefathers, that Your city be rebuilt, speedily and in our days, and grant us our share in Your Torah.
  He [Yehudah ben Teima] used to say: Five years [is the age] for [the study of] Scripture, Ten [is the age] for [the study of] Mishnah, Thirteen [is the age] for [observing] commandments, Fifteen [is the age] for [the study of] Talmud, Eighteen [is the age] for the [wedding] canopy, Twenty [is the age] for pursuit, Thirty [is the age] for [full] strength, Forty [is the age] for understanding, Fifty [is the age] for [giving] counsel, Sixty [is the age] for mature age, Seventy [is the age] for a hoary head, Eighty [is the age] for [superadded] strength, Ninety [is the age] for [a] bending [stature], One hundred, is [the age at which one is] as if dead, passed away, and ceased from the world.
  Ben Bag Bag says: Search in it and search in it, since everything is in it. And in it should you look, and grow old and be worn in it; and from it do not move, since there is no characteristic greater than it.
  Ben Hey Hey says: According to the pain is the reward.   
  
  
  
  The Rabbis taught in the language (style) of the Mishnah: Rabbi Meir says: Anyone who involves himself in Torah for its own sake merits many things, and moreover the entire world is worthwhile for his sake;  He is called "friend," "beloved," "lover of the Omnipresent," "lover of [all] creatures," "delighter of the Omnipresent," "delighter of [all] creatures."  He is clothed in humility and reverence, and it prepares him to be righteous, devout, upright and trustworthy, and it distances him from sin, and draws him near to merit.  We enjoy from him counsel and comprehension, understanding and strength, as it is said (Proverbs 8:14): "Mine is counsel and comprehension, I am understanding, mine is strength."  It gives him kingship and dominion, and [the ability to] investigate in judgement, and the secrets of the Torah are revealed to him, and he becomes like an ever-strengthening spring, and like a river that does not stop.  He is modest and long-tempered, and forgives insult to him;  And it enlarges him and raises him above all [that God] made.
  Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said:  Each and every day a heavenly echo goes out from Mount Horeb, and announces and says: "Woe to the creatures for disparaging the Torah;"  for anyone who does not involve himself in the Torah is called "rebuked," as it is said (Proverbs 11:22): "A ring of gold in a swine's snout is a beautiful woman who turns from discretion," and it says (Exodus 32:16): "And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tablets," do not read "graven" (<i>harut</i>) but rather "freedom" (<i>herut</i>), for there is no free man except one that involves himself in Torah learning;  And anyone who involves himself in Torah learning is elevated, as it is said (Numbers 21:19): "and from Mattanah (a place name that means 'gift,' and so can refer to the gifting of the Torah), Nachaliel; and from Nachaliel, Bamot (a place name that means 'high places')."
  One who learns from his fellow one chapter or one law or one verse or one utterance or even one letter must treat him with honor, and we found it to be thus with David, King of Israel, who learned only two things from Achithophel, [yet] called him his teacher, his guide, and his intimate, as it is said (Psalms 55:14) "But it was you, a man my equal, my guide, and my intimate." And is it not a fortiori argument? If David, King of Israel, who only learned two things from Achithophel called him his teacher, his guide, and his intimate, how much more must one who learns one chapter or one law or one verse or one utterance or one letter from his fellow treat him with honor. And there is no honor except Torah, as it is said (Proverbs 3: 35) "The wise shall inherit honor," and "the whole-hearted shall inherit good" (Proverbs 28: 10), and there is no good except Torah as it is said (Proverbs 4:2) "I give you a good doctrine, do not forsake my Torah".
  This is the way [to toil in] Torah: eat bread with salt and drink a small amount of water and sleep on the ground and live a life [whose conditions will cause you] pain and in Torah you toil; if you do so (Psalms 128: 2) "happy shall you be, and it shall be well with you" - happy shall you be in this world, and it shall be well with you in the world to come.
  Do not seek greatness for yourself, and do not covet honor. More than your study, do. And do not desire the tables of kings since your table is greater than their tables and your crown is greater than their crowns. And your Employer is trustworthy to pay you the wages of your labor.
  Greater is Torah than priesthood and kingship, for kingship is obtained with thirty levels, and priesthood with twenty-four, and Torah is obtained with forty-eight things. And these are them: learning, listening of the ear, preparation of speech, understanding of the heart, intellect of the heart, reverence, awe, humility, happiness, purity, service of sages, care of friends, debate of the students, clarification, scripture, mishnah, minimization of merchandise, minimization of worldly occupation, minimization of pleasure, minimization of sleep, minimization of conversation, minimization of laughter, patience, generosity, trust of the sages, acceptance of afflictions, knowing one's place, gladness in one's portion, erection of a fence to one's words, lack of self-aggrandizement, lovableness, love of God, love of the creatures, love of the righteous, love of the upright, love of rebuke, distancing from honor, lack of arrogance in learning, lack of joy in issuing legal decisions, lifting of a burden with one's friend, judging him with the benefit of the doubt, placing him with the truth, placing him with peace, deliberation in study, questioning and responding, hearing and adding, learning in order to teach and learning in order to act, making one's master wiser, focusing one's teaching, saying [a thing] in the name of the one who said it; for you learned that one who says something in the name of the one who said it brings redemption to the world, as it says (Esther 2:22): "Esther told the king in Mordekhai’s name."
  Great is Torah, for it gives life to those who do it in this world and in the next world, as it says: "For they are life to those that find them, and healing to all his flesh" (Proverbs 4:22); and it says, "It will be healing for your navel, and tonic to your bones" (Proverbs 3:8). And it says, "It is a tree of life to those who hold it, and those who grasp it are happy" (Proverbs 3:18). And it says, "For they are an accompaniment of grace for your head, and a necklace for your  throat" (Proverbs 1:9). And it says, "She will give your head an accompaniment of grace; with a crown of glory she will protect you" (Proverbs 4:9). And it says, "For by me your days will be multiplied, and you will be given additional years of life" (Proverbs 9:11). And it says, "Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left is wealth and honor" (Proverbs 3:16); and it says, "For length of days and years of life and peace will be added to you" (Proverbs 3:2); and it says, "her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace" (Proverbs 3: 17).
  Rabbi Shimon ben Yehuda, in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, says: beauty, strength, riches, honor, wisdom, maturity, hoary head, and children are fitting for the righteous and fitting for the world, as it is written: "The hoary head is a crown of glory, it will be found in the way of righteousness" (Proverbs 16:31). And it says (Proverbs 20:29), "The glory of young men is their strength; and the beauty of old men is the hoary head." And it says (Proverbs 14:24), "The crown of the wise is their wealth." And it says (Proverbs 17:6), "Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers." And it says (Isaiah 24:23), "Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for the Lord of hosts will reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His elders shall be honor." Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya says: These seven qualities enumerated by the sages about the righteous were all fulfilled in Rebbi (Yehuda haNasi) and his sons. 
  Said Rabbi Yosi ben Kisma: One time I was walking on the road, and a man met me, and greeted me, and I returned the greeting. He said to me, "My master, from which place are you?" I said to him, "I am from a great city of sages and scribes." He said to me, "My master, do you wish to live among us in our place, and I will give you a thousand of thousands of golden <i>Dinarim</i>, and precious stones and pearls?" I said to him, "If you were to give me all the silver, gold, precious stones and pearls in the world, I would not live but in a place of Torah." And so it is written in the book of Psalms by David, King of Israel (Psalms 119:72), "The law of Your mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver." Moreover, at the time of a person's passing, neither silver, gold, nor precious stones nor pearls accompany him, but Torah and good deeds alone, as it says (Proverbs 6:22), "When you walk, it shall lead you, when you lie down, it shall watch over you; and when you awake, it shall be your conversation"; "When you walk, it shall lead you" - in this world; "when you lie down, it shall watch over you" - in the grave; "and when you awake, it shall be your conversation" - for the world to come. And it says (Haggai 2:8), "Mine is the silver, and Mine the gold, speaks the Lord of hosts."
  Five possessions has the Holy One, Blessed be He, declared His own in His world, And these are them: The Torah [is] one possession, Heaven and earth [are] one possession, Abraham [is] one possession, Israel [is] one possession, [and] the Sanctuary [is] one possession.  From where [do we infer that] the Torah [is] one possession? For it is written: “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, the first of His of old” (Proverbs 8:22).  From where [do we infer that] heaven and earth [are] one possession? For it is written: “Thus says the Lord: ‘The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Which house might you build for Me? And which place might be My resting-place?’” (Isaiah 66:1). And it [also] says: “How manifold are Your works, O Lord! In wisdom have You made them all; full is the earth with Your possessions” (Psalms 104:24).  From where [do we infer that] Abraham [is] one possession? For it is written: “And [Melchizedek] blessed him, and said: ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth’” (Genesis 14:19).  From where [do we infer that] Israel [is] one possession? For it is written: “Till Your people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over whom You have made Your own” (Exodus 15:16). And it [also] says: “As for the holy that are in the earth, they are the excellent in whom is all My delight” (Psalms 16:3).  From where [do we infer that] the Sanctuary [is] one possession? For it is written: “The Sanctuary, O Lord, that Your hands have established” (Exodus 15:17). And it is [also] said: “And He brought them to His holy border, to the mountain, which His right hand had possessed” (Psalms 78:54).
  Everything that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created in this world, He created only for His honor, as it says (Isaiah 43:7): "Every one that is called by My name, and whom I have created for My honor, I have formed him, yes, I have made him." And it also says (Exodus 15:18 ), "The Lord shall reign for ever and ever."(Makkot 3:16) Rabbi  Chananya ben Akashia says, The Holy One, Blessed be He, wanted to give Israel merit; therefore He multiplied for them Torah and commandments, as it said, "The Lord desired, for the sake of His righteousness, to make the Torah great and glorious," (Isaiah 42:21).