Aligned sentence by sentence
, , , .
He also said, regarding the Torah, "who shows no favor and takes no bribe" (Deut 10:17). Its meaning is not that He does not take money and so pervert judgment, for it is among the things that truth requires us to deny of Him (exalted be He) that anything of the sort could even be imagined—how, then, could a bribe be paid to Him, and what would such a bribe be?
, .
Rather, its meaning is what [the Sages] explained: that He does not "take a bribe" of good deeds. That is, a person might perform a thousand good deeds and one transgression, yet that transgression will not be cancelled for him before Him (exalted be He) on account of the multitude of his good deeds, nor will his account be reckoned as a thousand good deeds minus one—or minus several.
, .
Rather, he is held to account for this [transgression] and recompensed for those [good deeds]; and this is the meaning of "takes no bribe."
, , , $, .
And it is like "shows no favor"—that is, He does not call the great man to account, in respect of his virtue, over the slightest matter, just as He called Moses our Teacher to account for the sin of [striking the rock in] anger, as we explained in the preceding chapters; and He recompensed Esau the Wicked for honoring father and mother, and Nebuchadnezzar for honoring the Name—I mean the Name of God—as is shown in Sanhedrin (BT Sanhedrin 96a); and this is the meaning of "shows no favor."
, , , . . .
Consider his saying "for against your will you are formed" and what is connected to it (M. Avot 4:22), for he mentioned natural matters in which a person has no choice—those concerning which they say "all is in the hands of Heaven" (BT Berakhot 33b)—and he did not say "against your will you sin," or "you transgress," or "you walk," or "you stand," and the like, because all these are matters in the hand of the person, with no compulsion in them, as we explained in the Eighth Chapter. End of Chapter Five.
[]
Mishnah [1]
, .
When you reflect upon all that comes in the account of Creation, you find "and [God] said" nine times, and "in the beginning" makes ten; for although the term "and He said" is not made explicit in it, the sense indicates it, and it is as though it said "and God said: let there be heaven and earth," since [the heaven and earth] did not come to be without an utterance.
, .
He could have expressed the whole creation in a single utterance, saying "and God said: let there be heaven and earth, and let the waters be gathered, and let the earth bring forth," and so on. But He set apart a separate utterance for each matter in order to make known to you the greatness of this existence and the precision of its ordering—
, , , , , .
and that one who corrupts [his soul] is a great corrupter, and one who sets it right is a great rectifier; by "one who corrupts" I mean one who corrupts his own soul and does not become perfect in his species, and likewise "one who sets right" sets his own soul right—for it is the soul whose rectification and corruption are in his hand—as though [each soul] were the final end of the whole of existence, concerning which there came the Ten Utterances, as we explained at the head of this work of ours.
[]
Mishnah [2]
. .
These generations are [given in] the text of the Torah, that so-and-so begot so-and-so, in sequence. He mentioned this and what follows it for the sake of mentioning the Ten Utterances, which contain instruction for a person, urging him toward the rectification of his soul through the moral and rational virtues—which is the very aim of this tractate.
[]
Mishnah [3]
. , .
The ten trials with which Abraham our Father was tested are all texts of the Torah. The first of them was the displacement [from his homeland], which is His saying (exalted be He) to Abraham, "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace" (Gen 12:1).
, . . . .
The second was the famine that he found in the land of Canaan upon his arrival in the country, after He had already promised "I will make of you [a great nation]" and "I will bless you and make your name great" (Gen 12:2); and this was a great affliction, His saying "and there was a famine in the land" (Gen 12:10). The third trial was the wrong the Egyptians did him in taking Sarah for Pharaoh. The fourth was his encounter with the four kings. The fifth was his taking Hagar when he despaired of having children from Sarah.
. . . , . .
The sixth was the circumcision he was commanded to perform in old age. The seventh was the wrong King Gerar did him, again in the taking of Sarah. The eighth was the sending away of Hagar after he had taken her [as a wife]. The ninth was the sending away of his son Ishmael, which is His saying to him, "let it not be grievous in your eyes concerning the lad and concerning your handmaid" (Gen 21:12); and Scripture has testified to the severity and difficulty of this matter for him in its saying, "and the thing was very grievous in Abraham's eyes" (Gen 21:11), yet he complied with His command (exalted be He) and drove the two of them out. The tenth was the binding of Isaac.
, , , , , , .
As for the ten miracles that were wrought for our fathers in Egypt, these are their deliverance from the ten plagues, each plague being distinctive to the Egyptians and not to Israel; and these are miracles beyond doubt. The text of the Torah, concerning each plague, [shows] that it affected the Egyptians alone—except for the lice, where this is not made explicit, yet it is known that Israel was not punished; rather, [the lice] were merely present among them and did not harm them, and thus the Sages explained.
, . . . .
As for the others, it is made explicit in them. He said regarding the blood, "and the Egyptians could not drink water from the river" (Exod 7:21)—proof that the harm attached to them alone. And He said regarding the frogs, "and they shall come into your house and into your bedchamber and upon your bed, and upon you and upon your people and upon all your servants" (Exod 7:28). And He said regarding the swarm of beasts, "and I will set apart on that day the land of Goshen" (Exod 8:18). And He said regarding the pestilence, "and of the cattle of the children of Israel not one died" (Exod 9:6).
. . , .
And He said regarding the boils, "for the boils were upon the magicians and upon all Egypt" (Exod 9:11). And He said regarding the hail, "only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail" (Exod 9:26). And He said regarding the locusts, "and they shall fill your houses and the houses of all your servants and the houses of all Egypt" (Exod 10:6). And He said regarding the darkness, "but for all the children of Israel there was light in their dwellings" (Exod 10:23).
. . , , . .
As for the ten [miracles] that were at the Sea, these are received tradition. The first is its splitting, according to the plain sense of the text, "and the waters were divided" (Exod 14:21). The second sign is that after it split, it arched over until it formed something like a vaulted roof, and the path became as though it were a tunnel bored through the water, with the water on the right and on the left and above—this is the saying of Habakkuk, "You bored with his staffs through the head of his hordes" (Hab 3:14). The third is that its ground hardened and grew firm for them, as he said "they went on dry ground" (Exod 15:19), and it did not remain like the bottoms of valleys, which are mire and mud.
. . , .
The fourth is that the path of the Egyptians within it was in sticky mud—this is his saying "the abundant waters were heaped up" (Exod 15:8). The fifth is that many paths were split open, according to the number of the tribes, [each] an arc of a circle within an arc of a circle, thus—and this is his saying "to Him who cut the Sea of Reeds into parts" (Ps 136:13). The sixth is that the water froze and grew hard like stone, and of this he said "You shattered the heads of the sea-monsters upon the waters" (Ps 74:13)—meaning that the water hardened until it became such that heads could be broken upon it.
, . , .
The seventh is that it did not freeze like ice—that is, in one solid piece—but rather crumbled and broken apart, as though it were stones piled one upon another, which is his saying "You broke the sea apart by Your strength" (Ps 74:13). The eighth is that it froze like glass or crystal—that is, transparent—so that they could see one another while they went through it, which is his saying "the masses of water [were heaped], the clouds of the skies" (Ps 77:18)—meaning that the gathering of that water was like the body of the heaven, which is transparent.
. , .
The ninth is that sweet waters trickled down from it, which they would drink. The tenth is that these would freeze as they trickled, after they had taken from them what they would drink, so that they did not fall to the ground—this is his saying "the streams stood up like a heap, the floods congealed" (Exod 15:8)—meaning that the thing that was falling would freeze in the heart of the sea.
, , .
And the received tradition has also come to us that plagues descended upon the Egyptians at the Sea more numerous than the plagues of Egypt; yet they were all of those ten kinds that had descended in Egypt, only diversified into varieties at the Sea—the allusion to this being His saying "these are the gods that smote Egypt with every plague in the wilderness" (1 Sam 4:8), meaning in the wilderness of the Sea of Reeds.
. . . . .
As for the ten trials with which our fathers tried the Omnipresent, these too are all texts. The first was at the Sea of Reeds, in their saying "is it for lack of graves in Egypt [that you took us to die in the wilderness]?" (Exod 14:11). The second was at Marah, which is his saying "and the people murmured against Moses, saying: what shall we drink?" (Exod 15:24). The third was in the wilderness of Sin, when they demanded the manna, which is their saying "would that we had died by the hand of the Lord [in the land of Egypt]" (Exod 16:3). The fourth was their disobedience in leaving over the manna until the morrow, as he said "but they did not listen to Moses" (Exod 16:20).
. . . . . , .
The fifth was their disobedience in seeking it on the day of the Sabbath: "some of the people went out to gather, but found none" (Exod 16:27). The sixth was at Rephidim, again concerning water. The seventh was at Horeb, with the deed of the [golden] calf. The eighth was at Taberah, in their casting doubt, in that place, upon the truths, and their rebellion, which is his saying "and the people were as murmurers" (Num 11:1). The ninth was at Kibroth-hattaavah, in their demand for meat: he said "and the mixed multitude that was among them [lusted]" (Num 11:4). The tenth was in the wilderness of Paran, in the affair of the spies—and there it is said "they have tried Me these ten times" (Num 14:22).
[]
Mishnah [4]
, , .
You already know that the altar was in the middle of the [Temple] courtyard, and we shall explain this in its [proper] place; and it was open to the sky, yet despite this the rain would not extinguish its fire.
, . .
Nor would the wind scatter the column of smoke rising from the sacrifices; rather, at the time of the offering the air would be still. And [the people] would stand in the courtyard one beside another, yet at the prostration no crowding would befall them, nor would they press one against another, on account of the great reverence they had in that place.
[]
Mishnah [5]
, , .
I have already mentioned to you in the Eighth Chapter that they do not hold the belief in the origination of [God's] will time after time; rather, that at the first making of things He placed within their nature that everything which would [ever] come to be in them should come to be—whether the thing that comes to be is the more frequent, which is the natural matter, or is among the rare, which is the miracle.
, , , .
For this reason he said that on the sixth day it was placed in the earth that it should swallow [Korah] with his congregation, and in the well that it should bring forth water, and in the [furnace] mouth that it should speak, and likewise the rest of them.
, , . , .
"And writing"—this is the Torah written before Him (exalted be He), in the manner of which he said "and we know not how"; this is His saying "and I will give you the tablets of stone, and the Torah and the commandment, which I have written to teach them" (Exod 24:12). "And the script"—this is the writing that was upon the tablets, as he said "and the writing was the writing of God" (Exod 32:16).
, , , .
And perhaps you will say: if the miracles were all placed in the natures of those things in the six days of Creation, why were these ten singled out? Know that they are not singled out in the sense that there is no other miracle placed in the natures of things from the six days of Creation besides these; rather, he said only that these were made at twilight alone, whereas the rest of the miracles were placed in the nature of the thing in which they came to be at the time of its first making.
, , . , , .
For example, I say to you that on the second day, at the dividing of the waters, it was placed in their nature that the Sea of Reeds should divide for Moses, and the Jordan for Joshua, and likewise for Elijah and Elisha. And on the fourth day, when the sun was created, it was placed in it that it should stand still at such-and-such a time, together with Joshua's command to it; and likewise the rest of the miracles. Only these ten were placed in the natures of those things at twilight.
, . , .
"And the shamir"—it is a small creature that saws through great stones by being passed over them, and with it Solomon built the Sanctuary. "And the tongs"—the clamp with which the smiths grip the hot thing in order to work upon it what they work.
[]
Mishnah [6]
, , , , , .
I shall first explain these terms of frequent recurrence in the speech of the Sages, namely: boor, am ha-aretz, golem, sage, and pious one.
, , , , , .
As for the boor, he is the person who has no rational virtues and no moral virtues—that is, neither knowledge nor refinement—nor has he even acquired the disposition of evils; rather, he is as it were stripped bare of goods and of evils. This one is called boor, by analogy to the land in which nothing whatever is sown, which is called bur ("fallow"), as is explained in [the order] Zeraim.
, , , .
The am ha-aretz is a person who has moral virtues but has no rational virtues—that is, he has "the way of the land" but does not have Torah—and this one is called am ha-aretz, meaning that he is fit for the settlement of the land and for the social gatherings of the cities, since he has character traits by which his association with others is made good, as we explained at the head of our work.
, , , , , , , , , .
The golem is a person who has rational and moral virtues, but they are not at their perfection, nor do they run as they ought; rather, there is in them confusion and admixture, and deficiency mars them. He is therefore called golem, by analogy to the vessel that the craftsman makes, in which the artificial form has come to be, but which lacks completion and finishing—like the knife and the sword: when the smith has forged them and their form has come to be, before he hammers them and sharpens them and polishes them and engraves upon them whatever is fitting to be engraved and completes their finishing; before this they are called "unfinished metal vessels" (golmei klei matakhot), as is explained in [the tractate] Kelim. It is a Hebrew word: "Your eyes saw my unformed substance" (galmi) (Ps 139:16)—meaning my material before the form of the human being had come to be in it; and since for this [person] a complete form has not come to be, they named him golem, by analogy to the existing matter which is ready to receive another form whereby it becomes more perfect.
, . , , .
The sage is the person for whom the two kinds of virtues have come to be at their perfection and as they ought. The pious one is the sage who, when he adds in excellence—I mean in the moral matters—until he inclines somewhat toward one extreme, as we explained in the Fourth Chapter, so that his deed exceeds his knowledge, and is therefore called ḥasid ("pious") on account of his excess; for excess in a thing is called ḥesed, whether that excess be in good or in evil.
, , , . . .
He said that the sage has these seven virtues, which are great principles; and for this reason [the mishnah] aimed at them, because through them knowledge, teaching, and action are made sound. Four of them are moral virtues: "he does not speak before one greater than himself in wisdom"; "he does not break into the words of his fellow," but rather waits upon him until he has fully completed his speech; he does not lay claim to what he does not know—this is his saying "he says about what he has not heard, 'I have not heard'"; and he does not have stubborn contentiousness, but rather, when he hears the truth, he acknowledges it, even if it were possible for him to push back, to argue obstinately, and to confuse [the matter]—he does not deem this good—this is his saying "and he acknowledges the truth."
, , .
And the three rational virtues are: that when a disputant tries to confuse him through the sophistical art, he is not bewildered or stunned, and no doubts about the truth remain with him; rather, he swiftly perceives the place of the error and clarifies it—this is his saying "and he is not hasty to reply"; and this comes only through swiftness of understanding, excellence of reflection upon the words of the one who would confuse him, and command of the divisions of the discourse.
, , . , , . , , . .
The second virtue is that he asks as is fitting to ask concerning that thing: he does not demand a didactic demonstration in natural science, nor a natural argument in the mathematical [sciences], and the like; and if he is the one questioned, then likewise he answers according to the aim of the question—if [the questioner] asks about matters whose nature [admits] demonstration, he answers with demonstration; and if he asks about what is less than that, he answers according to what is in its nature. Likewise, a material cause is not demanded of him whereupon he gives a formal cause, nor is a formal cause demanded whereupon he gives a cause from the side of the end; and this is his saying "he asks according to the rule and answers according to the matter." And this comes only after much knowledge.
, . , .
And the third virtue is that he orders the teaching, putting first what it is right to put first and deferring what it is right to defer, for this manner in teaching is exceedingly, exceedingly useful—this is his saying "and he speaks about the first thing first and the last thing last." All of these are the reverse in the golem, because he is not perfect, as we explained; so he does not reach this rank.
[]
Mishnah [7]
, , . , .
"A famine of drought"—this is when the year is one of little rain: it rains in some places but not in others, and the places where it does rain, its rain is scant. "A famine of tumult"—this is when people are occupied with wars and disorders, and with calamities that befall them, so that the lands go to waste and are not sown in their time of sowing, because of the world's preoccupation.
, . , . , .
"A famine of annihilation"—this is when it does not rain at all, and the valleys and rivers dry up, in the manner of his saying "and your heavens shall be like iron" (Lev 26:19). "And the affliction of justice"—the delaying by the Sage and his postponement for many days of a matter that is clear. "And the perversion of justice"—that he judges otherwise than as he ought.
[]
Mishnah [8]
, , .
We have already explained, in the order Zeraim, the order of bringing out the dues from the produce; and there it is explained that in the third and sixth years one brings out the first tithe and gives it to the Levite as in every year, then one brings out a tithe and gives it to the poor—this is the poor-tithe (maʿaser ʿani), in place of the second tithe that is brought out in the rest of the years of the seven-year cycle.
, , , , , .
"And the gifts of the poor"—these are the gleanings, the forgotten sheaf, the corner [of the field], the separated grapes, and the [defective] grape-clusters; for at the Festival [of Sukkot] all this is completed, since the labors of the lands have been finished. Whoever has paid all these dues has paid them, and whoever, moreover, has robbed [the poor of] them has robbed them.
[]
Mishnah [9]
, .
It has already been made clear to you by this statement that the pious one is the one who increases in deeds of goodness—that is, who inclines a little toward one of the extremes.
, , .
And it has also been made clear to you that "wicked one" is the name for one who has a vice from among the vices of the soul—that is, the one who takes, in his deeds, the one excessive extreme, as we explained in the Fourth Chapter; for this one, who wishes that he should have his own wealth and the wealth of another, is greedy, and he named him wicked.
[]
Mishnah [10]
. .
Consider how he named the forbearing man who exceeds in forbearance, until he comes near to abjectness, "pious"; and he named the one who has the vice of [hot] temper "wicked."
[]
Mishnah [11]
.
Consider how he did not call the one of good memory and keen understanding "pious," because that is a rational virtue, and so he said "sage";
, .
and he did not call the one slow to grasp meanings and much given to forgetting "wicked," because that is not in his hand, nor is it among the virtues that can be acquired, as we explained in the Second Chapter.
[]
Mishnah [12]
. .
Consider how he named the one excessive in mercy—whom his showing mercy on his own does not satisfy until he adds [mercy upon] people—"pious"; and he named the hard-hearted one "wicked."
[]
Mishnah [13]
, , . . .
His saying "among those who go to the study-house"—he intends by it "in [the act of] going to the study-house," that there are four character types in it. And consider also how he named the one excessive in the acquisition of virtues "pious," and the one slothful in acquiring them "wicked."
, , , , , , , , , .
So, when the rational virtues and the moral virtues have come to be, and you have known each kind of them—and, if you wish, you may call them knowledge and action—and you have known the mean in the ways of action, which are called "good things," and the slight excess beyond the mean, which is among the deeds of the renowned excellent ones, and you have known the excess and the deficiency, which are the two evils—except that one of the two extremes is more deserving of the name "evil," while of the other it is said "error" or "an act not on the mark": an example of this being that temperance is a pure good without any doubt, and gluttony is evil absolutely, whereas the absence of feeling pleasure, though it too is an evil, is nevertheless not like gluttony, but rather of it is said "error" or "an act not on the mark"; and departing slightly from temperance toward the absence of feeling is among the things obligatory upon the perfect.
, , .
When these meanings are grasped, know that the one who has departed slightly from temperance is called "pious," as we set forth; and the one devoid of feeling is called "sinner" (ḥoteʾ), and therefore [Scripture] said "in that he sinned against the soul" (Num 6:11) regarding the Nazirite, as we explained in the Fourth Chapter.
, , , , , , . .
From all that we have set forth and clarified you will know which person among people deserves to be called boor, and who deserves to be called am ha-aretz, and who deserves to be called golem, and who deserves to be called sage, and who deserves to be called pious, and who deserves to be called wicked, and who deserves to be called sinner. These, then, are seven names falling upon seven [types of] persons, according to what they have of the moral and rational virtues and vices, in keeping with the explanation we have set forth.
, , . .
Names may [also] be combined according to the states of the person. For example, a person may have moral vices and be called "wicked," as we explained, and yet have rational virtues by which he averts the evils [against himself]—this one is called "a cunning wicked one" (rasha ʿarum) by the Sages. And if he is wicked and harms people—I mean that among his moral vices are matters that injure people, such as effrontery and cruelty and the like—this one is called "an evil wicked one" (rasha raʿ).
, .
Likewise, if he has rational virtues and moral vices by which he causes harm, he is called "wise to do evil" (ḥakham le-haraʿ), as Scripture said concerning those of this description, "they are wise to do evil, but to do good they know not" (Jer 4:22)—meaning that they direct their rational virtues into deeds of evil and not into good things.
, , , , .
As for the man in whom all the virtues are gathered together in their entirety, the rational and the moral, so that there is no rational or moral virtue but that he possesses it—this one is rarely found; and the philosophers say that the existence of such a person is remote and difficult, yet not impossible. If he is found, they call him a "divine human being," and thus our language has named him "a man of God" (ish ha-elohim); and I say that a person of this description is also called "an angel of the Lord" (malʾakh YHWH), as it said "and the angel of the Lord ascended [in the flame of the altar]" (Judg 13:20).
, , . , , , , . , .
And the philosophers said that it is impossible for there to be found a human being in whom all the vices are gathered together, all of them, the moral and the rational, so that there is in him no virtue at all; but if he is found—and this is remote—they call him a "beast of prey," a "viper," and the like among the names of harmful animals; and likewise Solomon named him "a bear bereaved [of her cubs]" (Prov 17:12), because he combined ignorance and enmity. These, then, are five combined names: four for blame—namely "cunning wicked one," "evil wicked one," "wise to do evil," and "bereaved bear"—and one for exaltation, than which there is none greater, namely "man of God" or "angel of the Lord."
. , , .
And Scripture has made explicit the naming of the man who possesses the totality of the rational and moral virtues "angel of the Lord," which is its saying "for the lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and Torah shall they seek from his mouth, for he is an angel of the Lord of hosts" (Mal 2:7). Under "knowledge" (daʿat) enter all the rational virtues, all of them, for one is perfected only by them; and his saying "Torah shall they seek from his mouth" is proof of his perfection in the moral virtues, as we explained in the Fourth Chapter—that this is the aim of the Law—and therefore it said "and all her paths are peace" (Prov 3:17). And we already explained there, in the Fourth Chapter, that "peace" is the moral virtues; and it said after that "for he is an angel of the Lord of hosts."
[]
Mishnah [14]
.
He compared the man who retains [everything], who memorizes all that he hears and does not know the sound from the corrupt, to the sponge—it is the wool of the sea that swallows up everything.
.
And he compared the one who understands at once but for whom nothing whatever is fixed—neither sound nor corrupt—to the funnel.
.
And he compared the one in whose mind the corrupt words and the unsound opinion become fixed, while he forgets the sound words upon which action depends, to the strainer, in which there remains nothing but the dregs while the clear part goes out.
, .
And he compared the one whose case is the reverse of this to the sieve, which lets out the dust and the chaff from its perforations and retains the fine flour within it; this is specifically the fine-flour sieve, since it lets out the coarse meal that is not needed and retains the choice [flour] within it.
[]
Mishnah [15]
, , .
The ordering of this statement, which is its explanation, is thus: "every love that is dependent on a thing—when the thing ceases, the love ceases; and that which is not dependent on a thing does not cease forever."
, , , .
Now you know that these bodily causes all cease and pass away, so that the ceasing of the contingent thing necessarily follows upon the ceasing of its cause; therefore, if the cause of the love was a divine matter—namely true knowledge—then that love is incapable of ever ceasing, since its cause is perpetual in existence.
[]
Mishnah [16]
, , .
All of this is clear. These are matters in the manner of recompense and punishment: that the one who disputes not for a deficient aim but in pursuit of the truth—his word stands firm and his utterance is not cut off.
. . .
And everyone who guides people, God recompenses by preventing him from [falling into] sins. And whoever leads people astray, God punishes by preventing him from repentance. And this is clear, with no difficulty in it, once you have understood what we set forth in the Eighth Chapter.
[]
Mishnah [17]
, . , . , . . . .
We have already explained several times that "a good eye" is contentment; "a lowly soul" is temperance; "a humble spirit" is the excessive humility, as was explained in the chapter before this. And the three that stand opposite them are: covetousness, which is "an evil eye"; gluttony, which is "a broad soul"; and pride, which is "a haughty spirit."
, . .
Those three virtues were renowned in Abraham our Father, and therefore everyone in whom these three virtues are found is called "a disciple of Abraham," because he is formed with his formation. Likewise everyone in whom these three vices are found is "a disciple of Balaam," since he is formed with his character.
, . , .
I shall now mention the places in which these virtues of Abraham our Father are made clear, and those vices of Balaam—and they are all texts of the Torah. As for Abraham's contentment, it is his saying to the king of Sodom, "neither a thread nor a sandal-strap [will I take]" (Gen 14:23); this is the height of contentment—that he should clear himself of great wealth and not hold onto even the slightest portion of it.
, , , .
As for his temperance, it is his saying to Sarah upon his entering Egypt, "behold now, I know that you are a woman of fair appearance" (Gen 12:11)—it comes in the interpretation that he never once gazed upon her form with a full gaze until that day, and this is the utmost in temperance; and also his saying concerning Hagar after he had taken her, "behold, your handmaid is in your hand" (Gen 16:6), which shows that he had no [self-interested] aim in indulging her and treating her gently; and when Sarah asked him to drive her out together with Ishmael, Scripture testified that only the matter of Ishmael weighed grievously upon him—so as to clear him of any inclination toward [Hagar] for the sake of intercourse—and all these are signs of temperance, which is his saying "and the thing was very grievous in Abraham's eyes on account of his son" (Gen 21:11).
.
As for his humility, it is his saying "and I am dust and ashes" (Gen 18:27).
.
And Balaam was renowned for covetousness, and that in his coming from Aram-naharaim for the sake of the money for which he was hired to wrong Israel, which is His saying (exalted be He), "and because he hired against you Balaam son of Beor from Pethor of Aram-naharaim to curse you" (Deut 23:5).
, , , , , , .
As for his gluttony, that is his counsel to Balak that he should put forward the women for fornication with Israel and make them brazen; and were it not for the dispositions of gluttony that were in his soul, and his deeming this good, and his love of it, he would not have counseled it—for a person's counsel is only according to his opinion, since the good do not counsel evils but rather forbid them—and the text of Scripture on this is "behold, these were [the cause], by the counsel of Balaam, for the children of Israel [to commit trespass]" (Num 31:16); and the Sages said "Balaam used to copulate with his she-ass" (BT Sanhedrin 105a), and there is no doubt that one whose opinion this was, such would be his deed.
. , , . .
As for his pride, it is his saying "the utterance of one who hears the words of God" and so on (Num 24:4). As for the deduction concerning Balaam from its saying "and You, O God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction" (Ps 55:24)—for he was "a man of bloodshed and deceit," since he was the cause of the slaying of Israel by the plague, and he was moreover "a man of deceit" through his employing the stratagem in the doing of evils, as we explained. And the proof concerning the followers of Abraham is its saying "to cause those who love Me to inherit substance" (Prov 8:21), just as He named him "the seed of Abraham who loved Me" (Isa 41:8).
[]
Mishnah [18]
, , , .
Together with this being so, he said "brazen-faced to Gehenna," [yet] he commanded brazenness in the rebuking of sinners and the like; so it is as though he says: direct some of the vices into their [proper] places, in the cause of God, in the manner of the prophet's saying "with the crooked You show Yourself perverse" (Ps 18:27)—but on condition that your aim be the truth, which is "the will of your Father who is in heaven."
, , , , , .
And God has bestowed grace upon this nation—I mean Israel—in that they are possessed of shamefacedness; and thus they said that among the signs of the seed of Abraham are that they are "bashful, merciful, and doers of kindness" (BT Yevamot 79a). He said "in order that His fear may be upon your faces" (Exod 20:17), and they said "this is shame" (BT Nedarim 20a). So it is as though, when he had described the virtue of shame, [he said]: O God, just as You have bestowed upon us this virtue, bestow upon us that "Your city may be built in our days."
[]
Mishnah [19]
. , . .
He said concerning the Torah: turn it over and pore over it, for everything is in it. And his saying "and by it you shall see"—meaning, by it you shall see the truth and perceive with the eye of insight; [the verb is as in] the Targum of "and he saw" (wa-yarʾ), [namely] "and he beheld" (wa-ḥazaʾ).
, . .
Then he said: "grow gray and aged over it"—meaning, grow gray and old while you are occupied with it, and do not turn away from it to anything else. He said: ben He, according to the measure of your toil in the Torah will be your reward.
, , , .
And they said that nothing of knowledge becomes fixed except what one learns through toil and labor and fear of the teacher; but as for the study of ease and comfort, it does not become fixed nor is it of profit. They said, in explaining his saying "also my wisdom stood by me" (Eccl 2:9): "the wisdom that I learned in anger (be-af), it stood by me" (Eccl Rabbah 2:9); and therefore they command the teacher to be severe with the students, and they said "cast bile upon the students" (BT Ketubot 103b).