Tannaitic Aphorisms (Avot 3:2-12)

This is Pt2 of a 5-part series: “Tannaitic Aphorisms (Avot 2:10-4:22)”.¹

List of Rabbis cited in this part

1. R' Ḥanina ben Teradyon (3d generation of tannaim)

2. R' Ḥanina ben Ḥakhinai (3rd/4th generation)

3. R' Neḥunya ben HaKanah (2nd generation)

4. R' Ḥalafta ben Dosa of Kefar Ḥanania (רבי חלפתא בן דוסא איש כפר חנניה)

5. R' Elazar of Bartota (3rd generation)

6. R' Yaakov

7. R' Dostai ben Yannai (רבי דוסתאי ברבי ינאי - fifth generation)

8. R' Ḥanina ben Dosa

9. R' Dosa ben Harkinas

10. R' Elazar haModai

11. R' Yishmael

Outline

List of Rabbis cited in this part

The Passage - Tannaitic Aphorisms (Avot 3:2-12)

1. R' Ḥanina ben Teradyon - If two sit without Torah, it's a session of scorners; if they do, Shekhina rests among them - Psalms 1:1 (3:2)

   1. Proof - Malachi 3:16; Even one who studies alone is rewarded - Lamentations 3:28

2. R' Shimon - Three who eat and do not speak Torah—like eating sacrifices to the dead; if they do—it’s as if they ate from God’s table - Isaiah 28:8, Ezekiel 41:22 (3:3)

3. R' Ḥanina ben Ḥakhinai - One who walks alone at night and turns to idle thoughts is culpable (3:4)

4. R' Neḥunya ben HaKanah - Accepting Torah removes the yoke of government and labor; rejecting it brings both (3:5)

5. R' Ḥalafta ben Dosa of Kefar Ḥanania - learning Torah—Shekhina present; same for five people, three, two, even one - Psalm 82:1, Amos 9:6, Malachi 3:16, Exodus 20:21 (3:6)

6. R' Elazar of Bartota - Give to God from what is His—since everything you have is His - I Chronicles 29:14 (3:7)

7. R' Yaakov / R’ Shimon - One who interrupts Torah study to admire nature is mortally guilty (3:7)

8. R' Dostai ben Yannai citing R' Meir (3:8)

   1. One who forgets his learning is as if guilty with his life - Deuteronomy 4:9

   2. ...unless it was unintentional

9. R' Ḥanina ben Dosa

   1. Fear of sin must precede wisdom for it to endure (3:9)

   2. Actions must exceed wisdom for it to endure (3:10)

   3. If people are pleased with you, so is God; if not, God is not

10. R' Dosa ben Harkinas - Morning sleep, midday wine, idle talk with children, and sitting with amei ha’aretz destroy a person (3:10)

11. R' Elazar haModai - One who profanes sacred things, shames others in public, or distorts Torah—even if learned and pious—has no share in the World-to-come (3:11)

12. R' Yishmael - Be deferential to superiors, submissive under obligation, and greet every person cheerfully (3:12)

Appendix - The prohibition to forget Torah (Menachot 99b)

1. Reish Lakish - Anyone who causes himself to forget even one matter from his Torah studies, violates a prohibition - Deuteronomy 4:9

   1. ….Unless the forgetting was involuntary - Deuteronomy 4:9

2. R' Dostai ben Yannai - unless his Torah studies were too hard for him to remember - Deuteronomy 4:9

3. R' Yoḥanan / R' Elazar - Torah is like Soul—if one preserves his Torah studies, lives, otherwise, dies

4. R' Yishmael’s School - Parable of Master commanding his Slave to Guard a Bird, if negligent, he’s killed

The Passage

Avot.3.2-12

R' Ḥanina ben Teradyon - If two people sit without Torah, it's a session of scorners; if they do, Shekhina rests among them - Psalms 1:1 (3:2)

רבי חנינא בן תרדיון אומר:

• שנים שיושבין, ואין ביניהן דברי תורה --

  • הרי זה מושב לצים,

  • שנאמר (תהלים א): "ובמושב לצים לא ישב"

• אבל שנים שיושבין, ויש ביניהם דברי תורה --

  • שכינה שרויה ביניהם

R. Hananiah ben Teradion said:

• [If] two [people] sit together and there are no words of Torah [spoken] between them --

  • [then] this is a session of scorners (מושב לצים),

  • as it is said: “nor sat he in the seat of the scornful…[rather, the teaching of YHWH is his delight]” (Psalms 1:1);

• but if two [people] sit together and there are words of Torah [spoken] between them --

  • [then the] Shekhinah abides among them

Proof - Malachi 3:16; Even one who studies alone is rewarded - Lamentations 3:28

שנאמר (מלאכי ג)

אז נדברו יראי יי איש אל רעהו

ויקשב יי וישמע

ויכתב ספר זכרון לפניו

ליראי יי ולחשבי שמו.

אין לי אלא שנים,

מנין שאפלו אחד שיושב ועוסק בתורה, שהקדוש ברוך הוא קובע לו שכר?

שנאמר (איכה ג)

ישב בדד וידם

כי נטל עליו

as it is said:

“then they that feared YHWH spoke one with another;

and YHWH hearkened and heard,

and a book of remembrance was written before Him,

for them that feared YHWH and that thought upon His name” (Malachi 3:16).

Now I have no [scriptural proof for the presence of the Shekhinah] except [among] two [people],

how [do we know] that even one [person] who sits and studies Torah, God fixes his reward?

As it is said:

“though he sit alone and [meditate] in stillness,

yet he takes [a reward] unto himself” (Lamentations 3:28).

R' Shimon - Three who eat and do not speak Torah—like eating sacrifices to the dead; if they do—it’s as if they ate from God’s table - Isaiah 28:8, Ezekiel 41:22 (3:3)

רבי שמעון אומר:

• שלשה שאכלו על שלחן אחד, ולא אמרו עליו דברי תורה --

  • כאלו אכלו מזבחי מתים,

  • שנאמר (ישעיה כח) כי כל שלחנות מלאו קיא צאה בלי מקום.

• אבל שלשה שאכלו על שלחן אחד, ואמרו עליו דברי תורה --

  • כאלו אכלו משלחנו של מקום ברוך הוא,

  • שנאמר (יחזקאל מא): "וידבר אלי: זה השלחן אשר לפני ה' "

R' Shimon said:

• if three have eaten at one table and have not spoken there words of Torah --

  • [it is] as if they had eaten sacrifices [offered] to the dead,

  • as it is said, “for all tables are full of filthy vomit, when the All-Present is absent” (Isaiah 28:8).

• But, if three have eaten at one table, and have spoken there words of Torah --

  • [it is] as if they had eaten at the table of God

  • as it is said, “And He said unto me, ‘this is the table before YHWH’” (Ezekiel 41:22).

R' Ḥanina ben Ḥakhinai - One who walks alone at night or turns to idle thoughts is culpable (3:4)

רבי חנינא בן חכינאי אומר:

1. הנעור בלילה

2. והמהלך בדרך יחידי

3. והמפנה לבו לבטלה --

הרי זה מתחיב בנפשו

R' Hananiah ben Hakinai said:

1. one who wakes up at night,

2. or walks on the way alone²

3. or turns his heart to idle matters (בטלה) --

behold, this man is mortally guilty.

R' Neḥunya ben HaKanah - Accepting Torah removes the yoke of government and labor; rejecting it brings both (3:5)

רבי נחוניא בן הקנה אומר:

• כל המקבל עליו על תורה --

  • מעבירין ממנו על מלכות ועל דרך ארץ.

• וכל הפורק ממנו על תורה --

  • נותנין עליו על מלכות ועל דרך ארץ

R' Nehunia ben HaKanah said:

• whoever takes upon himself the yoke of the Torah --

  • they remove from him the yoke of government and the yoke of worldly concerns,

• [but] whoever unloads (פורק) from himself the yoke of the Torah --

  • they place upon him the yoke of government and the yoke of worldly concerns.

R' Ḥalafta ben Dosa of Kefar Ḥanania - learning Torah—Shekhina present; same for five people, three, two, or even one person - Psalm 82:1, Amos 9:6, Malachi 3:16, Exodus 20:21 (3:6)

רבי חלפתא בן דוסא איש כפר חנניה אומר:

1. עשרה שיושבין, ועוסקין בתורה -- שכינה שרויה ביניהם,

   1. שנאמר (תהלים פב) אלהים נצב בעדת אל.

2. ומנין אפלו חמשה?

   1. שנאמר (עמוס ט) ואגדתו על ארץ יסדה.

3. ומנין אפלו שלשה?

   1. שנאמר (תהלים פב) בקרב אלהים ישפט.

4. ומנין אפלו שנים?

   1. שנאמר (מלאכי ג) אז נדברו יראי ה' איש אל רעהו ויקשב ה' וישמע וגו'.

5. ומנין אפלו אחד?

   1. שנאמר (שמות כ) בכל המקום אשר אזכיר את שמי אבא אליך וברכתיך

R' Halafta of Kefar Hanania said:

1. when 10 [people] sit together and occupy themselves with Torah --the Shechinah abides among them,³

   1. as it is said: “God stands in the congregation of God” (Psalm 82:1).

2. How do we know that the same is true even of 5 [people]?

   1. As it is said: “This band of His He has established on earth” (Amos 9:6).

3. How do we know that the same is true even of 3 [people]?

   1. As it is said: “In the midst of the judges He judges” (Psalm 82:1)

4. How do we know that the same is true even of 2 [people]?

   1. As it is said: “Then they that fear YHWH spoke one with another, and YHWH hearkened, and heard” (Malachi 3:16).

5. How do we know that the same is true even of 1 [person]?

   1. As it is said: “In every place where I cause my name to be mentioned I will come unto you and bless you” (Exodus 20:21).

R' Elazar of Bartota - Give to God from what is His—since everything you have is His - I Chronicles 29:14 (3:7)

רבי אלעזר איש ברתותא אומר:

תן לו משלו,

שאתה ושלך שלו.

וכן בדוד הוא אומר (דברי הימים א כט):

כי ממך הכל ומידך נתנו לך.

R' Elazar of Bartotha said:

give to Him [=God] of that which is His,

for you and that which is yours is His;

and thus it says with regards to David:

“for everything comes from You, and from Your own hand have we given you” (I Chronicles 29:14).

R' Yaakov / R’ Shimon - One who interrupts Torah study to admire nature is mortally guilty (3:7)

רבי שמעון אומר:

המהלך בדרך ושונה,

ומפסיק ממשנתו ואומר:

• "מה נאה אילן זה!

• ומה נאה ניר זה!" --

מעלה עליו הכתוב כאלו מתחיב בנפשו

R' Jacob said:

if one is studying while walking on the road

and interrupts his study and says:

• “how fine (נאה) is this tree!”

• [or] “how fine is this newly ploughed field (ניר)!” --

scripture accounts it to him as if he was mortally guilty.

R' Dostai ben Yannai citing R' Meir (3:8)

(See footnote)⁴

One who forgets his learning is as if guilty with his life - Deuteronomy 4:9

רבי דוסתאי ברבי ינאי, משום רבי מאיר אומר:

כל השוכח דבר אחד ממשנתו --

מעלה עליו הכתוב כאלו מתחיב בנפשו,

שנאמר (דברים ד):

"רק השמר לך ושמר נפשך מאד

פן תשכח את הדברים אשר ראו עיניך.

R' Dostai ben R' Yannai said in the name of R' Meir:

whoever forgets one word of his study --

scripture accounts it to him as if he were mortally guilty,

as it is said,

“But take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously,

so that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

...unless it was unintentional

יכול אפלו תקפה עליו משנתו?

תלמוד לומר (שם) ופן יסורו מלבבך כל ימי חייך,

הא אינו מתחיב בנפשו עד שישב ויסירם מלבו

One could [have inferred that this is the case] even when his study proved [too] hard for him,

therefore scripture says, “that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live” (ibid.).

Thus, he is not mortally guilty unless he deliberately removes them from his heart.

R' Ḥanina ben Dosa

(See footnote.)⁵

Fear of sin must precede wisdom for it to endure (3:9)

רבי חנינא בן דוסא אומר:

• כל שיראת חטאו קודמת לחכמתו --

  • חכמתו מתקימת.

• וכל שחכמתו קודמת ליראת חטאו --

  • אין חכמתו מתקימת.

R' Hanina ben Dosa said:

• anyone whose fear of sin precedes his wisdom --

  • his wisdom is enduring,

• [but] anyone whose wisdom precedes his fear of sin --

  • his wisdom is not enduring.

Actions must exceed wisdom for it to endure (3:10)

הוא היה אומר:

• כל שמעשיו מרבין מחכמתו --

  • חכמתו מתקימת.

• וכל שחכמתו מרבה ממעשיו --

  • אין חכמתו מתקימת

He [also] used to say:

• anyone whose deeds exceed his wisdom,

  • his wisdom is enduring --

• [but] anyone whose wisdom exceeds his deeds --

  • his wisdom is not enduring.

If people are pleased with you, so is God; if not, God is not

הוא היה אומר:

• כל שרוח הבריות נוחה הימנו --

  • רוח המקום נוחה הימנו.

• וכל שאין רוח הבריות נוחה הימנו --

  • אין רוח המקום נוחה הימנו.

He used to say:

• one with whom men are pleased --

  • God is pleased.

• [But] anyone from whom men are displeased --

  • God is displeased.

R' Dosa ben Harkinas - Morning sleep, midday wine, idle talk with children, and sitting with amei ha’aretz destroy a person (3:10)

רבי דוסא בן הרכינס אומר:

1. שנה של שחרית,

2. ויין של צהרים,

3. ושיחת הילדים,

4. וישיבת בתי כנסיות של עמי הארץ

מוציאין את האדם מן העולם

R' Dosa ben Harkinas said:

1. morning sleep,

2. midday wine,

3. children’s talk

4. and sitting in the assemblies of amei ha’aretz⁶

put a man out of the world.

R' Elazar haModai - One who profanes sacred things, shames others in public, or distorts Torah—even if learned and pious—has no share in the World-to-come (3:11)

רבי אלעזר המודעי אומר:

1. המחלל את הקדשים,

2. והמבזה את המועדות,

3. והמלבין פני חברו ברבים,

4. והמפר בריתו של אברהם אבינו עליו השלום,

5. והמגלה פנים בתורה שלא כהלכה,

אף על פי שיש בידו תורה ומעשים טובים,

אין לו חלק לעולם הבא

R' Elazar of Modiin said:

1. one who profanes sacred things,

2. and one who despises the festivals (מועדות),

3. and one who causes his fellow’s face to whiten (מלבין) in public,

4. and one who annuls the covenant (בריתו - i.e. brit milah) of our father Abraham, may he rest in peace,

5. and one who interprets⁷ the Torah in a manner that is not in accordance with halakha

even though he has to his credit [knowledge of the] Torah and good deeds,

he has not a share in the World-to-Come.

R' Yishmael - Be deferential to superiors, submissive under obligation, and greet every person cheerfully (3:12)

רבי ישמעאל אומר:

1. הוי קל לראש,

2. ונוח לתשחרת,

3. והוי מקבל את כל האדם בשמחה

R' Ishmael said:

1. be suppliant to a superior,

2. submissive under compulsory service,

3. and receive every man happily.⁸

Appendix - The prohibition to forget Torah (Menachot 99b)

Menachot.99b.3-7

Reish Lakish - Anyone who causes himself to forget even one matter from his Torah studies, violates a prohibition - Deuteronomy 4:9

ואמר ריש לקיש:

כל המשכח דבר אחד מתלמודו —

עובר בלאו

שנאמר (דברים ד, ט):

השמר לך

ושמור נפשך מאד

פן תשכח את הדברים

[…]

And Reish Lakish says:

Anyone who causes himself to forget even one matter from his studies —

violates a prohibition,

as it is stated with regard to the receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai:

“Only observe for yourself,

and guard your soul diligently,

lest you forget the matters that your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life, but you should make them known to your children and to your children’s children” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

[…]

….Unless the forgetting was involuntary - Deuteronomy 4:9

יכול אפילו מחמת אונסו?

תלמוד לומר (דברים ד, ט) ופן יסורו מלבבך

במסירם מלבו הכתוב מדבר

The Talmud qualifies this statement: One might have thought this applies even to one who forgot his Torah knowledge due to circumstances beyond his control?

Therefore, the verse states: “And lest they depart from your heart.”

This indicates that the verse is speaking of one who willingly causes them to depart from his heart.

R' Dostai ben Yannai - unless his Torah studies were too hard for him to remember - Deuteronomy 4:9

רבי דוסתאי בר' ינאי אמר:

יכול אפילו תקפה עליו משנתו?

תלמוד לומר רק.

R' Dostai, son of R' Yannai, says:

One might have thought that this applies even if his studies were too hard for him to remember?

Therefore, the verse states: “Only,” which excludes one who is unable to recall his studies.

R' Yoḥanan / R' Elazar - Torah is like Soul—if one preserves his Torah studies, lives, otherwise, dies

his soul is likewise preserved,

ר' יוחנן ור' אלעזר דאמרי תרוייהו:

• תורה ניתנה בארבעים

• ונשמה נוצרה בארבעים

• כל המשמר תורתו —

  • נשמתו משתמרת

• וכל שאינו משמר את התורה —

  • אין נשמתו משתמרת

R' Yoḥanan and R' Elazar both say:

• The Torah was given in 40 days, when Moses ascended to Mount Sinai to receive it,

• and similarly the soul of man is formed in 40 days, as the formation of the fetus in the womb takes forty days from the time of conception.

This teaches that

• anyone who preserves his Torah studies —

  • his soul is likewise preserved (i.e. he’ll live),

• and anyone who does not preserve his Torah studies —

  • his soul is not preserved either (i.e. he’ll be divinely killed).

R' Yishmael’s School - Parable of Master commanding his Slave to Guard a Bird, if negligent, he’s killed

תנא דבי רבי ישמעאל:

משל ל

אדם שמסר צפור דרור לעבדו

אמר:

כמדומה אתה שאם אתה מאבדה שאני נוטל ממך איסר בדמיה?!

נשמתך אני נוטל ממך!

The school of R' Yishmael taught:

This can be illustrated by a parable, as it is comparable to

a person who delivered a sparrow to his slave for safekeeping,

and said to him:

Are you under the impression that if you lose it I will take from you an issar, a small coin, which is the value of the bird?!

It is not so; I will take your soul from you as punishment, meaning I will kill you!

Similarly, one who fails to preserve the Torah entrusted to him will be divinely killed.

1. Pt1 is here: “Tannaitic Aphorisms (Avot 2:10-3:2)“.

The intro can be found there at Part 1, where I discuss “The Major Relevant Literary and Rhetorical Formulas“.

2. מהלך בדרך יחידי.

Compare the same injunction in “Pt2 Rabbinic Advice: Practical Guidance from the Talmud (Pesachim 112a-114a)“, section “R' Yosei son of R' Yehuda's advice to R' Yehuda HaNasi: Don’t go out alone at night; don’t stand naked before a candle; don’t enter a new bathhouse until it’s proven safe“:

שלשה דברים צוה רבי יוסי ברבי יהודה את רבי:

אל תצא יחידי בלילה

[…]

And ibid., section “Agrat bat Maḥalat and Successive Sages’ Banishment of Demons to the Outskirts of Towns“:

אל תצא יחידי בלילה,

דתניא:

לא יצא יחידי בלילה,

לא בלילי רביעיות, ולא בלילי שבתות,

מפני שאגרת בת מחלת

היא ושמונה עשרה רבוא של מלאכי חבלה יוצאין

[…]

With regard to the instruction: Don't go out alone at night,

the Talmud states that this is as it was taught in a baraita:

One should not go out alone at night,

neither on Tuesday nights nor on Shabbat nights, i.e., Friday nights,

because the demon Agrat, daughter of Maḥalat,

she and 180,000 angels of destruction go out at these times

[…]

3. Compare the previous section, a few sections earlier (in this part): “R' Ḥanina ben Teradyon - If two people sit without Torah, it's a session of scorners; if they do, Shekhina rests among them - Psalms 1:1 (3:2)“.

4. On the prohibition to forget Torah, unless it was involuntary, compare the Talmudic passage discussed in the appendix at the end of this piece: “The prohibition to forget Torah (Menachot 99b)”.

5. R' Ḥanina ben Dosa’s three statements follow a tightly structured parallel form, built around chiastic antithesis. Each unit has:

1. Conditional intro (כל ש...)

2. Positive case followed by negative reversal

3. Mirrored phrasing

6. ישיבת בתי כנסיות של עמי הארץ.

This is a rare instance where the terms ‘yeshiva’ and ‘beit kenesset’ are used in regards to non-rabbis.

On the term am ha’aretz, see my discussion in the intro to this piece: “Pt1 Rabbinic Elitism and the Am Ha’aretz: Hierarchy, Hostility, Hatred, and Distrust (Pesachim 49b)“.

7. מגלה פנים - literally: “reveals faces/facets”.

8. הוי מקבל את כל האדם בשמחה.

Compare Shammai’s similar statement earlier in the tractate, Avot.1.15:

שמאי אומר:

[…]

והוי מקבל את כל האדם בסבר פנים יפות

Shammai used to say:

[…]

and receive all men with a pleasant countenance.

Ironically, Shammai is famous in the Talmud for his lack of friendliness towards others (in contrast to Hillel). See my series “Hillel’s Three Converts: Lessons in Patience, the Oral Torah, and the Golden Rule (Shabbat 31a)“ (final part here) throughout, and especially the conclusion, in section “The Three Converts Meet“:

לימים, נזדווגו שלשתן למקום אחד,

אמרו:

• קפדנותו של שמאי —

  • בקשה לטורדנו מן העולם,

• ענוותנותו של הלל —

  • קרבתנו תחת כנפי השכינה.

The Talmud relates:

Eventually, the three converts gathered together (נזדווגו) in one place,

and they said:

• Shammai’s impatience (קפדנותו) —

  • sought to drive us (לטורדנו) from the world;

• Hillel’s patience (ענוותנותו) —

  • brought us beneath the “Shekhina’s wings” (כנפי השכינה).

And see there in that same sugya, the beginning of a long baraita quoted in my piece “Hillel vs. the Heckler: A Friday Afternoon Challenge to Hillel’s Composure and Physical Anthropology in the Talmud (Shabbat 31a)“, section “Strive for Hillel's Humility and Patience, Not Shammai's Strictness“:

תנו רבנן:

• לעולם יהא אדם ענוותן כהלל,

• ואל יהא קפדן כשמאי.

The Sages taught in a baraita:

• A person should always be patient (ענוותן) like Hillel

• and not impatient (קפדן) like Shammai.