Pirke Avot: The Sayings of the Jewish Fathers

10. R. Dostai (31), the son of Jannai, said in the name of R. Meir (32), "Whoso forgets one word of his study, him the Scripture regards as if he had forfeited his life, for it is said, 'Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen' (33). Now, one might suppose (that the same result follows) even if a man's study has been too hard for him. (To guard against such an inference), it is said, 'And lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life' (34). Thus a person's guilt is not established until he deliberately and of set purpose removes those lessons from his heart."

(32) Rabbi Meir was the celebrated pupil of Akiba. His wife was the well-known Bruriah. On his interesting career, see Blumenthal, Rabbi Meir, Myers, The Story of the Jewish People, I, pp. 189-204, and Danziger, Jewish Forerunners of Christianity, pp. 185-210.

11. R. Chanina, the son of Dosa (35), said, "He in whom the fear of sin precedes wisdom, his wisdom shall endure; but he in whom wisdom comes before the fear of sin, his wisdom will not endure" (36). 12. He used to say, "He whose works exceed his wisdom, his wisdom shall endure; but he whose wisdom exceeds his works, his wisdom will not endure" (37). 13. He used to say, "He in whom the spirit of his fellow-creatures takes not delight, in him the Spirit of the All-present takes not delight."

(36) Cf. Ps. CXI, 10: "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord." "A man's fear of sin should be instinctive, rather than a result of calculation, . . . a man should build upon the foundation of religious feeling, rather than upon philosophy" (Taylor).

15. R. Eleazar ha-Mudai said, "He who profanes things sacred, and despises the festivals, and puts his fellow-man to shame in public, and makes void the covenant of Abraham, our father (40), and makes the Torah bear a meaning other than the right (41); (such a one) even though knowledge of the Torah and good deeds be his, has no share in the world to come" (42).

(45) [l'tishchoret] is variously rendered as the "young" (Maimonides, Bartenora, Geiger, Jastrow), "impressment" (Rashbam, Taylor), "sovereign authority" (Levy, Chald. Worterbuch, sub [shachar (shin-chet-resh)], Fiebig), and "a suppliant" (Singer).

17. R. Akiba (47) said, "Jesting and levity lead a man on to lewdness. The Massorah (48) is a rampart around the Torah; tithes are a safeguard to riches (49); good resolves are a fence to abstinence (50); a hedge around wisdom is silence" (51).

18. He used to say, "Beloved is man, for he was created in the image (of God); but it was by a special love that it was made known to him that he was created in the image of God, as it is said, 'For in the image of God made he man' (52). Beloved are Israel, or they were called children of the All-present, but it was by a special love that it was made known to them that they were called children of the All-present, as it is said, 'Ye are children unto the Lord your God' (53). Beloved are Israel, for unto them was given the desirable instrument (54); but it was by a special love that it was made known to them that that desirable instrument was theirs, through which the world was created, as it is said, 'For I give you good doctrine; forsake ye not my Torah' (55).

20. He used to say, "Everything is given on pledge (58), and a net is spread for all living (59); the shop is open (60); the dealer gives credit; the ledger lies open; the hand writes; and whosoever wishes to borrow may come and borrow; but the collectors regularly make their daily round, and exact payment from man whether he be content or not (61); and they have that whereon they can rely in their demand; and the judgment is a judgment of truth (62); and everything is prepared for the feast" (63).

(47) Akiba ben Joseph (born about 50 C.E., died about 132) was the greatest of the Tannaim (teachers mentioned in the Mishnah). He was a "proselyte of righteousness" (ger tzedek). Until middle age, he remained illiterate and averse to study, but was spurred on to become learned in the Torah by the daughter of the rich Kalba Shabua, whom he subsequently married. He was the pupil of R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanos, R. Jochanan ben Chanania, and Nahum of Gimzo. He espoused the cause of Bar Kochba, acknowledging him as the Messiah, and is said to have travelled throughout the land stirring up opposition to Rome. At the fall of Betar, he was captured by the Romans, and most cruelly put to death, expiring with the Shema upon his lips. R. Akiba definitely fixed the canon of the Old Testament. He compiled and systematized the traditional law, in this respect being the forerunner of R. Judah ha-Nasi (see chapter II, n. 1), whose Mishnah may be considered as being derived from that of the school of Akiba. His importance may be gauged by the following statement from the Talmud, "Our Mishnah comes directly from R. Meir (a disciple of Akiba), the Tosefta from R. Nehemiah, the Sifra from R. Judah, and the Sifre from R. Simon; but they all took Akiba for a model in their works and followed him" (Sanhedrin, 86a). Akiba introduced a new method of interpreting Scripture, in which not a word, syllable, or letter was considered superfluous, finding thereby a basis for many oral laws. His hermeneutical and exegetical activities were remarkable. Many interesting legends have clustered around his name.

See Bacher, ibid., 271-348; Meilziner, Introduction to the Talmud, pp. 29, 125-126; Isaacs, Stories from the Rabbis, p. 61 et seq.; Danziger, ibid., pp. 152-184; the Jewish Encyclopedia, arts. Akiba ben Joseph and Akiba ben Joseph in Legend; Myers, Story of the Jewish People, pp. 171-188; and Geiger, Judaism and its History, p. 226 et seq., 230 et seq.

(48) Massorah, from root masar, "to deliver," "hand over," "transmit," means a "chain of tradition." It is used to designate tradition in general, and is thus correlative with kabbalah. The Massorah contains information for the correct transcription of the Scripture. As used here, it means the traditional interpretation of the Torah. Cf. chapter I, 1, "Moses received the Torah on Sinai, and handed it down (umsarah) to Joshua," and "make a fence around the Torah." Consult Driver, Notes on Samuel, Intro., p. 37 et seq.; Schurer, ibid., II, i, 328; Taylor, Sayings, p. 55, n. 33; Friedlander ibid., p. 55, 203, 266; Jewish Encyclopedia s.v.; and The Companion Bible (London, Oxford University Press), Pt. I, Appendix, 30.

(49) On tithes, see chapter I, n. 37. Cf. Shabbat, 119a, and Taanit, 9a (play on [ayin-shin-resh tof-ayin-shin resh], Deut. XXIV, 22),* [ayin-sh-resh bet-shin-bet-yud-lamed shin-tof-tof-ayin-shin-resh] "give tithes in order that thou mayest become rich."

(57) Maimonides interprets the last phrase as meaning to do many small deeds of charity rather than one great deed of goodness. For instance, it is better to distribute one hundred coins among one hundred people than to give them all to one person.