Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 9, scan section 52

(charuth) upon the tables.' Do not read charuth, graven, TRACT ABOTH. 135 but cheruthy freedom, for there is no free man but him who is occupied in the study of the Law ; as whosoever is occupied in such study, behold he exalts himself, as it is written [Numb. xxi. 19]: 'And from Mattanah to Nachaliel ; and from Nachaliel to Barmoth.' " MiSHNA C, He who learns from his companion one chapter, or one Halakha, or one verse, or one word, or even one letter is bound to do him honor, for thus we find with David, King of Israel, who learned from Achitophel two things only, and nevertheless he named him his mas- ter, his guide, and his acquaintance, as it is written [Ps. Iv. 14] : " But it is thou, a man my equal, my guide, and my acquaintance." And is there not an a fortiori conclusion to be drawn from this, that as David, King of Israel, who learned from Achitophel two things only, called him his master, his guide, and his acquaintance, he who learns from his companion one chapter, or one Halakha, or one verse, or even one letter is so much the more bound to do him honor ? And honor is nothing but the Torah, as it IS written [Prov. iii. 35]: ''The wise shall inherit glory"; and also [ibid, xxviii. 10]: "But the men of integrity will inherit what is good " ; and good is nothing but the Torah, as it is written [ibid. iv. 2] : " For good information do I give you, my teaching (Torah) must ye not forsake." MiSHNA D, This is the path of Torah : A morsel with salt shalt thou eat. Thou shalt drink also water by meas- ure (Ezek. V. 11) and shalt sleep upon the ground, and live a life of painfulness, and in Torah shalt thou labor. If thou doest thus, " happy shalt thou be and it shall be well with thee " [Ps. cxxviii. 2]. " Happy shalt thou be " in this world, and " it shall be well with thee " in the world to come. MiSHNA E, Seek not greatness for thyself, and desire not honor. Practise more than thou learnest, and lust not for the table of kings, for thy table is greater than theirs, and thy crown greater than their crown, and faithful is 136 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. thy taskmaster, who will pay thee the wage of thy work. MiSHNA F, Greater is Torah than the priesthood, and than the kingdom ; for the kingdom is acquired by thirty degrees, and the priesthood by twenty-four, and the Torah is acquired by forty-eight. And these are they : by learn- ing, by a listening ear, by orderly speech, by discernment of heart, by reverence, by fear, by meekness, by cheerful- ness, by purity, by attendance upon the wise, by discus- sion with associates, by argumentation of disciples, by sedateness, by Scripture, by Mishna, by moderation of business, limitation of worldly things, by temperance in pleasure, by little sleep, by lessening converse, by reduc- ing merriment, by long-suffering, by a good heart, by faith in the wise, by acceptance of chastisements ; he that knows his place, and that rejoices in his portion, and that makes a face to his words, and does not claim merit to himself : he is loved, loves God, loves all creatures, loves righteousness, loves uprightness, loves reproofs, and retires from honor, and does not puff up his heart on account of his learning, and does not rejoice because he is privileged to give decision, bears the yoke with his asso- ciates, and inclines him to the scale of merit, and grounds him upon the truth and upon peace, and concentrates his mind in study, asks and answers, hears and adds thereto ; he that learns in order to teach, and learns in order to practise ; that makes his master wiser, and that considers what he has heard, and tells a thing in the name of him that said it. Lo, thou hast learned that whosoever tells a thing in the name of him that said it brings redemption to the world, as it is written [Esther, ii. 22] : " And Esther said it to the king in the name of Mordecai." Tosephtha — Aboth of R, Nathan. * There are four things which bear good fruit in this world, and yield greater benefits for the world to come, if man observes * Chapter XL. of the original. TRACT ABOTH. 137 them. They are honoring of parents, conferring favors, recon- ciliation of adversaries, and, above all, the study of the Law. There are four things for which one who is guilty of them is punished both in this and in the world to come; namely, idol- atry, incest, shedding of blood, and, above all, slander. A meritorious act has both principal and benefit, as it is writ- ten [Is. iii. 10]: " Say ye to the righteous, that he hath done well; for the fruit of their doings shall they eat." A trans- gression has principal but no benefit, as it is written [ibid. 11]: " Woe unto the wicked . . . for the recompense of his hands," etc. According to others, transgressors have benefit, as it is written [Prov. i. 31]: ** Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way," etc. ** One who causes many to be righteous, no sin prevails upon him.*' In order that he might not go to Gehenna, while his dis- ciples will enjoy the world to come, as it is written [Ps. xvi. 10]: ** For thou wilt not abandon my soul to the grave." On the other hand, ** One who causes others to sin is never afforded the faculty to repent'' — also for the reason that the reverse of the above shall not be the case, as it is written [Prov. xxviii. 17]: ** A man oppressed by the load of having shed human blood will flee even to the pit." One who says, " I will sin and then do repentance," is not afforded the opportunity to repent; " I will sin, and the Day of Atonement will atone for it," or, *' I will sin, and the day of death will wipe it out " — it does not do so. R. Elazar b. Jose says: ** One who has sinned and repented, and thenceforward seeks to perfect himself, does not move from his place until he is forgiven ; and one who says that he will sin and repent thereafter, he is forgiven only up to three times, and no more." ** There are four characters among men,^* etc. There are four characters among disciples : one who desires to teach and that others shall do likewise, he is of a good disposition ; if he desires to teach, but does not like to see others do the same thing, he is of bad disposition. That others shall teach, and not he — this is medium. According to others, this is the character of Sodom (as the Sodomites did not want any one to derive any benefit from them). If, however, he wishes that neither he nor others shall teach, he is decidedly wicked. There are four characters among those who sit in the house of learning. One who becomes friendly (with the sages who 138 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. study there) and studies with them has a share (with the sages) ; one who befriends himself but does not study with them has no