תלמוד בבלי מסכת בבא קמא דף ל עמוד א
ת"ר: חסידים הראשונים היו מצניעים קוצותיהם וזכוכיותיהם בתוך שדותיהן ומעמיקים להן ג' טפחים, כדי שלא יעכב המחרישה. רב ששת שדי להו בנורא. רבא שדי להו בדגלת. אמר רב יהודה: האי מאן דבעי למהוי חסידא, לקיים מילי דנזיקין; רבא אמר: מילי דאבות; ואמרי לה: מילי דברכות.
Our Rabbis taught this [in a Bereita]: The pious ones of old used to hide their splinters of wood and shards of glass and bury them [because they could cause damage] three handbreadths beneath the surface of their fields so that they would not impede the progress of the plow. Rav Sheshet used to throw them in a fire. Rava threw them into the river. Rabbi Judah said: a person who wants to be pious should attend to matters of liability. Rava said:to matters of Avot [ethical principles], or alternately, to matters of blessings. [translation by AJWS]
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1) What characterizes the behavior of the "pious ones of old?" Does this conform to your intuitive definition of piety?
2) Which of the definitions of piety at the end of the passage do you think is closest to the truth? Are they exclusive of one another?
Time Period: Rabbinic (Maccabees through the Talmud)