Place of Torah
(יד) רבי נהוראי אומר, הוי גולה למקום תורה ואל תאמר שהיא תבוא אחריך, שחבריך יקימוה בידך.ואל בינתך אל תשען.
(14) Rabbi Nehorai says: Exile yourself to a place of Torah, and do not say that it will follow after you, that your colleagues will make it yours. Do not rely on your understanding.
Bartenura on Pirkei Avot 4:14:1-3
"Exile yourself to a place of Torah": if there are no Torah scholars in your place.
"and do not say that it will follow after you": Torah scholars will come here.
"that your colleagues will make it yours": And do not rely upon your colleagues when they return from the house of the teacher that they will make it yours, such that you will learn from them what they learned from the teacher. But rather, exile yourself - you yourself - to the place of the teacher, since learning from the mouth of the student is not the same as learning from the mouth of the teacher. Another explanation: "as your colleagues will make it yours" - Why do I say to you, "Exile yourself to a place of Torah?" Because "your colleagues will make it yours;" as even if you are sharp and extremely analytical, the Torah will only be yours through your colleagues with whom you give and take. And that is [the reason] that it ends, "Do not rely on your understanding."
Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics by Leonard Kravitz & Kerry Olitzky
Leave home. Rashi suggests that this statement means that you should travel to a place where this is a scholar rather than (wait and) hope that a scholar will come to you. Bartenura thinks that one should travel only if there is no scholar in one's hometown.
Your companions will make it yours. Both Rashi and Bartenura warn against remaining home, expecting to learn from those who have made the trip and returned home.
Don't depend on your own understanding. Rashi, Maimonides, and Bartenura stress the importance of the scholarly community in the understanding of Torah. One needs teachers, companions, and students to fully plumb the depths of Torah. One may not, therefore, depend merely on one's own understanding of the text. This sentiment is echoed in Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in Adonai with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."
Chaim Stern's Pirke Avot, Commentary on 4:14
Go...to a place of Torah.
"Exile yourself to a place of Torah": if there are no Torah scholars in your place.
"and do not say that it will follow after you": Torah scholars will come here.
"that your colleagues will make it yours": And do not rely upon your colleagues when they return from the house of the teacher that they will make it yours, such that you will learn from them what they learned from the teacher. But rather, exile yourself - you yourself - to the place of the teacher, since learning from the mouth of the student is not the same as learning from the mouth of the teacher. Another explanation: "as your colleagues will make it yours" - Why do I say to you, "Exile yourself to a place of Torah?" Because "your colleagues will make it yours;" as even if you are sharp and extremely analytical, the Torah will only be yours through your colleagues with whom you give and take. And that is [the reason] that it ends, "Do not rely on your understanding."
Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics by Leonard Kravitz & Kerry Olitzky
Leave home. Rashi suggests that this statement means that you should travel to a place where this is a scholar rather than (wait and) hope that a scholar will come to you. Bartenura thinks that one should travel only if there is no scholar in one's hometown.
Your companions will make it yours. Both Rashi and Bartenura warn against remaining home, expecting to learn from those who have made the trip and returned home.
Don't depend on your own understanding. Rashi, Maimonides, and Bartenura stress the importance of the scholarly community in the understanding of Torah. One needs teachers, companions, and students to fully plumb the depths of Torah. One may not, therefore, depend merely on one's own understanding of the text. This sentiment is echoed in Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in Adonai with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."
Chaim Stern's Pirke Avot, Commentary on 4:14
Go...to a place of Torah.
- The Torah that one studies with others is more firmly mastered than the Torah one studies by oneself. Colleagues question one another, each tries to answer the questions of others, there is a give and take until the subject is clarified. (Joseph ben Judah ben Jacob ibn Aknin, Spain/North Africa, 1150-1220)
- If you wait for a teacher to come along, or for your friends to return from where they have gone to learn, the opportunity may never present itself, and meanwhile time keeps escaping from you. (Menachem ben Solomon Me'iri, Provence, 1249-1316. A major scholar and commentator.)
- Do not say that your friends will return and teach you. There is no comparing what one learns directly from a teacher to what one learns from a disciple's report. (Machzor Vitry, 11-12th C. pupils of Rashi, 11th century)
- Learning too is social--we must go after it and gain it by converse with teachers and students. (Jacob Neusner, Torah from Our Sages: Pirkei Avot.)
If there's no Torah
(יז) רבי אלעזר בן עזריה אומר, אם אין תורה, אין דרך ארץ.אם אין דרך ארץ, אין תורה.אם אין חכמה, אין יראה.אם אין יראה, אין חכמה. אם אין בינה, אין דעת.אם אין דעת, אין בינה.אם אין קמח, אין תורה.אם אין תורה, אין קמח.הוא היה אומר, כל שחכמתו מרבה ממעשיו, למה הוא דומה, לאילן שענפיו מרבין ושרשיו מעטין, והרוח באה ועוקרתו והופכתו על פניו, שנאמר (ירמיה יז), והיה כערער בערבה ולא יראה כי יבוא טוב ושכן חררים במדבר ארץ מלחה ולא תשב. אבל כל שמעשיו מרבין מחכמתו, למה הוא דומה, לאילן שענפיו מעטין ושרשיו מרבין, שאפלו כל הרוחות שבעולם באות ונושבות בו אין מזיזין אותו ממקומו, שנאמר (שם), והיה כעץ שתול על מים ועל יובל ישלח שרשיו ולא יראה כי יבא חם, והיה עלהו רענן, ובשנת בצרת לא ידאג, ולא ימיש מעשות פרי.
Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah says: If there is no Torah, there is no worldly occupation; if there is no worldly occupation, there is no Torah. If there is no wisdom, there is no fear; if there is no fear, there is no wisdom. If there is no understanding, there is no knowledge; if there is no knowledge, there is no understanding. If there is no flour, there is no Torah; if there is no Torah, there is no flour. He would say: Anyone whose wisdom exceeds his deeds, to what is he compared? To a tree whose branches are many but whose roots are few; and the wind comes and uproots it and turns it upside down; as it is said; "And he shall be like a lonely juniper tree in the wasteland and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places of the wilderness, a salty land that is uninhabitable." (Jeremiah 17:6). But one whose deeds exceed his wisdom, what is he like? Like a tree whose branches are few but whose roots are many; since even if all the winds of the world come and blow upon it, they do not move it from its place, as it is said; "He shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and spreads out its roots by the river, and shall not perceive when heat comes, but its leaf shall remain fresh; and it will not be troubled in the year of drought, nor will it cease to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:8).
Chaim Stern's Pirke Avot, Commentary on 3:17
We have here a series of complementary contrasts--we're not to choose one side, not to deny any part of life or self. We need both. (Neusner)
The inner and outer realms need each other. (R. Travers Herford, Pirkei Aboth, a Commentary)
Torah/derech eretz (translated as "right conduct"). Without the commandments of the Torah it is impossible to reach ethical perfection, even if by nature one is ideally suited for it. Similarly, if one has no natural inclination toward ethical conduct, the commandments of the Torah cannot bring one to such perfection. For the commandments put one on the right path only in a general way, and they are unable to provide for new and subtle problems which constantly require the guidance of ethics and morality. (Meiri)
Knowledge/Understanding. The knowledge in question is the inborn capability to acquire knowledge; understanding is what comes as a result of study and research. (Meiri)
Torah and the world's work (understood here as the flour). Some say this passage means that if everyone were studying Torah and no one attended to worldly chores, the world would perish--and vice versa. (Joseph ben Joseph Nachmias, Spain, 14th C.)
Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics by Leonard Kravitz & Kerry Olitzky
Where there is knowledge, there will be no understanding. Bartenura suggests that knowledge is the finding of reasons for things. Understanding, on the other hand, is the finding of the relationship between things.
Where there is no bread [literally, flour], there will be no Torah. Rashi comments most directly: If one does not eat, how can one learn?
Bartenura on Pirkei Avot 3:17:4-5
"If there is no flour, there is no Torah": How will one who does not have what to eat, involve himself in Torah [study]?
"if there is no Torah, there is no flour": Of what good to him is the flour that is in his hand; since he does not have Torah, it would have been better for him that he did not have flour and that would have died from starvation.
Ikar Tosafot Yom Tov on Pirkei Avot 3:17:1
The intention of the teacher is that if he does not study [Torah], even though he gives and takes, he will not be good with the creatures; as he will not know [how] to act properly - as it is found in Bava Kamma 30a, "that one that wants to be a pious man, let him study the words of [the Order of] Damages." And so [too], "if there is no worldly occupation," meaning to say, if he does not give and take well, etc.; in the end his Torah will be forgotten from him because of the sin that he committed - that he profaned the name of Heaven. As they say, "[this man] who learned Torah, ...how rotten are his deeds, etc."
Tosafot Yom Tov on Mishnah Avot 3:17:2, 6
"If there is no wisdom, there is no fear, etc.": "If there is no wisdom," then even if his thought is to be one that fears sin, his fear will not be [true] fear, as he will not know to continue to be careful. And so [too], "if there is no fear," means [to say] in his thought. "there is no wisdom;" Meaning to say, his wisdom does not endure.
And so [too] understanding is the cause for the existence of knowledge; as if he does not understand, upon what will he place his reasoning and knowledge. And knowledge is the cause for the endurance of understanding; as if he does not know the reason of a thing, that which he understands as if if were not. And so [too] flour is the cause for the existence of Torah; as there is certainly temporal precedence for the preservation of the body before the [development] of the soul. And the Torah is the cause for the preservation of the flour; as if there is no Torah, 'he will surely be punished,' and there will not be flour, and he will be famished and die.
"but whose roots are few": The deed is similar to roots, because they are the essence, as we say, "And the exposition [of Torah] is not what is essential, but the action" - Midrash Shmuel
Sforno on Genesis 49:13:1
זבולון לחוף ימים ישכון, on his own land, seeing that it borders on the sea. Yaakov mentioned Zevulun before Issachar although he was the one who would earn his livelihood as a merchant whereas Issachar would be the one studying Torah. Interestingly enough, Moses did the same thing when he blessed the Jewish people before his death. (Deut. 33:9) The reason is that one cannot devote one’s life to Torah study before first having secured an economic base providing one’s necessities. This is what the sages said in Avot 3:17 אם אין קמח אין תורה, “when there is no flour Torah cannot flourish.” However, when one person extends a helping hand to his fellowman helping him to sustain himself so that he can carry out his dream to devote himself to Torah, this is even a greater deed than studying Torah oneself.
We have here a series of complementary contrasts--we're not to choose one side, not to deny any part of life or self. We need both. (Neusner)
The inner and outer realms need each other. (R. Travers Herford, Pirkei Aboth, a Commentary)
Torah/derech eretz (translated as "right conduct"). Without the commandments of the Torah it is impossible to reach ethical perfection, even if by nature one is ideally suited for it. Similarly, if one has no natural inclination toward ethical conduct, the commandments of the Torah cannot bring one to such perfection. For the commandments put one on the right path only in a general way, and they are unable to provide for new and subtle problems which constantly require the guidance of ethics and morality. (Meiri)
Knowledge/Understanding. The knowledge in question is the inborn capability to acquire knowledge; understanding is what comes as a result of study and research. (Meiri)
Torah and the world's work (understood here as the flour). Some say this passage means that if everyone were studying Torah and no one attended to worldly chores, the world would perish--and vice versa. (Joseph ben Joseph Nachmias, Spain, 14th C.)
Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics by Leonard Kravitz & Kerry Olitzky
Where there is knowledge, there will be no understanding. Bartenura suggests that knowledge is the finding of reasons for things. Understanding, on the other hand, is the finding of the relationship between things.
Where there is no bread [literally, flour], there will be no Torah. Rashi comments most directly: If one does not eat, how can one learn?
Bartenura on Pirkei Avot 3:17:4-5
"If there is no flour, there is no Torah": How will one who does not have what to eat, involve himself in Torah [study]?
"if there is no Torah, there is no flour": Of what good to him is the flour that is in his hand; since he does not have Torah, it would have been better for him that he did not have flour and that would have died from starvation.
Ikar Tosafot Yom Tov on Pirkei Avot 3:17:1
The intention of the teacher is that if he does not study [Torah], even though he gives and takes, he will not be good with the creatures; as he will not know [how] to act properly - as it is found in Bava Kamma 30a, "that one that wants to be a pious man, let him study the words of [the Order of] Damages." And so [too], "if there is no worldly occupation," meaning to say, if he does not give and take well, etc.; in the end his Torah will be forgotten from him because of the sin that he committed - that he profaned the name of Heaven. As they say, "[this man] who learned Torah, ...how rotten are his deeds, etc."
Tosafot Yom Tov on Mishnah Avot 3:17:2, 6
"If there is no wisdom, there is no fear, etc.": "If there is no wisdom," then even if his thought is to be one that fears sin, his fear will not be [true] fear, as he will not know to continue to be careful. And so [too], "if there is no fear," means [to say] in his thought. "there is no wisdom;" Meaning to say, his wisdom does not endure.
And so [too] understanding is the cause for the existence of knowledge; as if he does not understand, upon what will he place his reasoning and knowledge. And knowledge is the cause for the endurance of understanding; as if he does not know the reason of a thing, that which he understands as if if were not. And so [too] flour is the cause for the existence of Torah; as there is certainly temporal precedence for the preservation of the body before the [development] of the soul. And the Torah is the cause for the preservation of the flour; as if there is no Torah, 'he will surely be punished,' and there will not be flour, and he will be famished and die.
"but whose roots are few": The deed is similar to roots, because they are the essence, as we say, "And the exposition [of Torah] is not what is essential, but the action" - Midrash Shmuel
Sforno on Genesis 49:13:1
זבולון לחוף ימים ישכון, on his own land, seeing that it borders on the sea. Yaakov mentioned Zevulun before Issachar although he was the one who would earn his livelihood as a merchant whereas Issachar would be the one studying Torah. Interestingly enough, Moses did the same thing when he blessed the Jewish people before his death. (Deut. 33:9) The reason is that one cannot devote one’s life to Torah study before first having secured an economic base providing one’s necessities. This is what the sages said in Avot 3:17 אם אין קמח אין תורה, “when there is no flour Torah cannot flourish.” However, when one person extends a helping hand to his fellowman helping him to sustain himself so that he can carry out his dream to devote himself to Torah, this is even a greater deed than studying Torah oneself.
Action
(יז) שִׁמְעוֹן בְּנוֹ אוֹמֵר, כָּל יָמַי גָּדַלְתִּי בֵין הַחֲכָמִים, וְלֹא מָצָאתִי לַגּוּף טוֹב אֶלָּא שְׁתִיקָה. וְלֹא הַמִּדְרָשׁ הוּא הָעִקָּר, אֶלָּא הַמַּעֲשֶׂה. וְכָל הַמַּרְבֶּה דְבָרִים, מֵבִיא חֵטְא:
(17) Shimon, his son, says, "All my days I grew up among the Sages, and I did not find anything good for the body except silence. And the exposition [of Torah] is not what is essential, but the action. And whoever increases words brings sin."
Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics by Leonard Kravitz & Kerry Olitzky
All who talk too much. According to Maimonides, most speech is without value. He notes that people are often so entranced with words that they pay little attention to their content. As an example, Maimonides tells us about people who reject Arabic poems no matter how exalted their content and accept Hebrew poems no matter how debased their content.
Akeidat Yitzchak 62:11
We can understand Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel who said that he found silence to be the essence of all wisdom, the best remedy for maintaining one's body's good health. (Avot 1,17) By moving in the company of sages, he learned that more even than the words of wisdom he learned, he learned to appreciate the importance of minimizing talk. Silence is the seyag, the protective fence built around wisdom. It ensures that the latter remains untainted.
Bartenura on Pirkei Avot 1:17:1-3
"And I did not find anything good for the body except silence": One who hears his disgrace and is silent.
"and it is not the study which is the main thing but rather the deed": And you should know that silence is better for him, since even interpretation, homily and discussion of Torah – of which there is nothing greater – the main attainment of reward is for the action. And someone who teaches but does not practice [what he teaches], it would have been better if he had been silent and had not taught.
"and anyone who increases words, brings sin": As such have we found with Chava, who increased words and said, “God said, 'Do not eat from it and do not touch it,'” and added touching, about which she was not forbidden. And the snake pushed her until she touched it and said to her, “In the same way as there is no death from touching, so [too] is there no death from eating.” And from this, she came to sin, as she ate from the fruit. This is what Shlomo said (Proverbs 30:6), “Do not add to His words, lest He reprove you and you be found a liar."
Where does this come from?
Know this: dispute is like the creation of the world. The essence of the creation of the world is the empty void, as we have shown, without which everything would be ein sof, with no space for the world to be created in. Therefore He retracted the light to the sides, forming an empty void, within which He created all of creation - time and space - using speech. (As it says: "The heavens were created by the word of the LORD" [Psalms 33:6].) This holds the aspect of dispute, for if all the wise scholars were one, there would be no space for creation. Only through the dispute between them - in which they separate from each other and each distances himself a different side - they create between them something similar to the empty void, and they are like the light retracting to the sides, through which the world was able to be created. For all the words they use are ultimately only for the creation of the world created in the void between them. Wise scholars create everything through their speech, as it says: "Say to Zion, you are my people." (Isaiah 51:16), and we are told not to read ami 'my people' but rather imi 'with me' - just as I create heaven and earth with words, so do you. (Tikkunei Zohar, Intro. 5). Still, one must be careful not to speak too much, only as much as is needed to create the world and no more. Because it was the over-abundance of light, which the vessels could not take, that cracked them, and from their shards the klippot were created. So too with speech: too much speech creates klippot through the over-abundance of light. This is the meaning of the Mishna (Avot 1:17): "I spent my days growing up between the scholars, and found nothing good for the body but silence. The exposition [of Torah] is not what is essential, but deeds. And whoever increases words brings sin." "Between the scholars" - this refers to the empty void formed through the dispute and distancing between scholars. Therefore it specifically says "between", emphasising the distance and dispute between them; if everything would be one, there would be no reason to say "between". In this void the world is created, time and space. Therefore the Mishna continues "My days growing" - meaning, I increased time and space, in a sense creating a world, making time grow, because they were his days since he created a world [in the void]. "And found nothing good for the body but silence" - in the void, nothing is better than silence, since it is forbidden to enter unless one masters the aspect of silence, like Moses. This is the meaning of the Mishna: since he could reach this aspect of silence, he created time and space in the empty void between the scholars, for only through silence can one enter this place. "The exposition is not what is essential, but deeds, and whoever increases words increases sin" - because all the words and exposition of the scholars is not only for the sake of explaining things, but rather for deeds [ma'aseh, which can also mean 'creation'], for they create worlds through their words, and yet "whoever increases words increases sin" - an over-abundance of light creates the klippot.
Chaim Stern's Pirke Avot, Commentary on 1:17
Doing. This could be translated more fully as "It's not what you know that matters, but what you do [with what you know]." As in the old saying, "Actions speak louder than words." What is notable about this is that it comes from the sages, who, as is well known, devoted themselves to teaching and learning. They never doubted that we learn in order to serve.
Silence.
Too much talk. Simeon is not referring to such things as slander, for such speech is obviously forbidden. But he teaches us to be sparing even in words of praise. (Vitry)
All who talk too much. According to Maimonides, most speech is without value. He notes that people are often so entranced with words that they pay little attention to their content. As an example, Maimonides tells us about people who reject Arabic poems no matter how exalted their content and accept Hebrew poems no matter how debased their content.
Akeidat Yitzchak 62:11
We can understand Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel who said that he found silence to be the essence of all wisdom, the best remedy for maintaining one's body's good health. (Avot 1,17) By moving in the company of sages, he learned that more even than the words of wisdom he learned, he learned to appreciate the importance of minimizing talk. Silence is the seyag, the protective fence built around wisdom. It ensures that the latter remains untainted.
Bartenura on Pirkei Avot 1:17:1-3
"And I did not find anything good for the body except silence": One who hears his disgrace and is silent.
"and it is not the study which is the main thing but rather the deed": And you should know that silence is better for him, since even interpretation, homily and discussion of Torah – of which there is nothing greater – the main attainment of reward is for the action. And someone who teaches but does not practice [what he teaches], it would have been better if he had been silent and had not taught.
"and anyone who increases words, brings sin": As such have we found with Chava, who increased words and said, “God said, 'Do not eat from it and do not touch it,'” and added touching, about which she was not forbidden. And the snake pushed her until she touched it and said to her, “In the same way as there is no death from touching, so [too] is there no death from eating.” And from this, she came to sin, as she ate from the fruit. This is what Shlomo said (Proverbs 30:6), “Do not add to His words, lest He reprove you and you be found a liar."
Where does this come from?
- Genesis 2:16-17: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying: ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it; for in the day that you eat thereof you shalt surely die.’
- Genesis 3:2-5: And the woman said to the serpent: ‘Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said: You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ And the serpent said to the woman: ‘You shall not surely die; for God knows that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as God, knowing good and evil.’
- Rashi on Genesis 3:3:1: NEITHER SHALL YE TOUCH IT — She added to God’s command (which did not forbid touching the tree, but only eating of its fruit) therefore she was led to diminish from it. It is to this that the text refers (Proverbs 30:6): “Add thou not unto His words” (Genesis Rabbah 19).
- Rashi on Genesis 3:4: YE SHALL NOT SURELY DIE — He pushed her until she touched it. He then said to her, “Just as there is no death in touching it, so there is no death in eating it” (Genesis Rabbah 19).
Know this: dispute is like the creation of the world. The essence of the creation of the world is the empty void, as we have shown, without which everything would be ein sof, with no space for the world to be created in. Therefore He retracted the light to the sides, forming an empty void, within which He created all of creation - time and space - using speech. (As it says: "The heavens were created by the word of the LORD" [Psalms 33:6].) This holds the aspect of dispute, for if all the wise scholars were one, there would be no space for creation. Only through the dispute between them - in which they separate from each other and each distances himself a different side - they create between them something similar to the empty void, and they are like the light retracting to the sides, through which the world was able to be created. For all the words they use are ultimately only for the creation of the world created in the void between them. Wise scholars create everything through their speech, as it says: "Say to Zion, you are my people." (Isaiah 51:16), and we are told not to read ami 'my people' but rather imi 'with me' - just as I create heaven and earth with words, so do you. (Tikkunei Zohar, Intro. 5). Still, one must be careful not to speak too much, only as much as is needed to create the world and no more. Because it was the over-abundance of light, which the vessels could not take, that cracked them, and from their shards the klippot were created. So too with speech: too much speech creates klippot through the over-abundance of light. This is the meaning of the Mishna (Avot 1:17): "I spent my days growing up between the scholars, and found nothing good for the body but silence. The exposition [of Torah] is not what is essential, but deeds. And whoever increases words brings sin." "Between the scholars" - this refers to the empty void formed through the dispute and distancing between scholars. Therefore it specifically says "between", emphasising the distance and dispute between them; if everything would be one, there would be no reason to say "between". In this void the world is created, time and space. Therefore the Mishna continues "My days growing" - meaning, I increased time and space, in a sense creating a world, making time grow, because they were his days since he created a world [in the void]. "And found nothing good for the body but silence" - in the void, nothing is better than silence, since it is forbidden to enter unless one masters the aspect of silence, like Moses. This is the meaning of the Mishna: since he could reach this aspect of silence, he created time and space in the empty void between the scholars, for only through silence can one enter this place. "The exposition is not what is essential, but deeds, and whoever increases words increases sin" - because all the words and exposition of the scholars is not only for the sake of explaining things, but rather for deeds [ma'aseh, which can also mean 'creation'], for they create worlds through their words, and yet "whoever increases words increases sin" - an over-abundance of light creates the klippot.
Chaim Stern's Pirke Avot, Commentary on 1:17
Doing. This could be translated more fully as "It's not what you know that matters, but what you do [with what you know]." As in the old saying, "Actions speak louder than words." What is notable about this is that it comes from the sages, who, as is well known, devoted themselves to teaching and learning. They never doubted that we learn in order to serve.
Silence.
- If silence is becoming to the sage, how much more to the fool! (Avot deRabbi Natan, Minor Tractate of Talmud.)
- But the fool identifies himself by his speech!
- Notice that you have two ears but only one tongue. This suggests that you ought to speak less and listen more. (Simeon ben Zemach ibn Duran aka Rashbatz, Spain/North Africa 1361-1444.)
- Silence in the face of insult is the best revenge. (Bartenura)
Too much talk. Simeon is not referring to such things as slander, for such speech is obviously forbidden. But he teaches us to be sparing even in words of praise. (Vitry)
| Chaim Stern | Jacob Neusner | Olitzky and Kravitz |
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Greater is Torah than Priesthood and Royalty, for Royalty is gained by 30 qualities. Priesthood by 24, and Torah by 48. |
Torah is greater than priesthood and kingship, for kingship is earned on the basis of 30 qualifications, the priesthood on the basis of 24, and [a life of] Torah on the basis of 48. | (5) [The requirements for] the Torah are greater than those for the priesthood or for royalty. Royalty is acquired by 30 qualities and the priesthood by 24. The Torah [on the other hand] is acquired by 48: |
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And these are: study; attentiveness; orderly speech; an understanding heart; a keen mind; (Note: Chaim Stern adds another phrase in Hebrew) |
They are as follows: through study, attentive listening, careful repetition [out loud], perceptivity; | study; careful listening; vocal repetition; insight; mental acuity; |
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awe; reverence; humility; joy; (Note: Stern does NOT include בטהרה in his Hebrew) |
awe, reverence, humility, joy, purity |
awe; reverence; humility; joy; (Note: their Hebrew does have בטהרה, but it wasn't translated) |
| apprenticeship; loyalty to colleagues; debate with students; perserverance; study of Scripture and Mishnah; | apprenticeship to sages, association with colleagues, debates with students, serenity, [knowledge of] Scripture and Mishnah; | service to the sages; association with fellow students; arguing with the disciples; self-control; [the knowledge of] the Bible and the Mishnah; |
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keeping these to a minimum: [other] work, sleep, talk, pleasure-seeking, play, and ordinary pursuits; (Note: Hebrew is in a different order) |
a minimum of business dealings, a minimum of labor, a minimum of gratification, a minimum of sleep, a minimum of idle chatter, a minimum of partying; (Note: An extra English translation was added without the Hebrew to accompany it.) |
moderation in business, in sleep, in speech, in pleasure, in laughter, in worldly affairs; |
| and patience, generosity, trust in the sages, and acceptance of suffering; | patience, a kind heart, trust in sages, and acceptance of one's own suffering; | by being patient; by having a good heart; by having trust in the sages; and by the acceptance of suffering. |
| knowing your place; rejoicing in your lot; choosing your words with care; not seeking personal credit; being loved; | [one who acquires Torah] knows his place, enjoys his lot, limits his words, downplays his prestige, and is beloved; | (6) [Knowledge of Torah is acquired by] the one who knows one's place, who rejoices in one's portion, who sets a limit to one's words, who claims no credit for oneself, who is beloved, |
| loving God; loving people; loving righteous deeds; loving uprightness; loving reproof; | he loves the Omnipresent, humanity, justice, even-handedness, and admonishment; | who loves God, who loves people, who loves justice, who loves reproof, |
| keeping far from honors; not boasting of your learning; not delighting in making legal decisions; | he shuns honor, avoids a swelled head in spite of his knowledge, does not thrive on [the power of] giving legal decisions; | who loves equity, who distances oneself from glory, who does not arrogantly show off learning, who does not enjoy judging, |
| sharing the burden with others; being an exemplar of virtue; setting people on the path to truth; setting people on the path of peace; concentrating on study; | he shares the burden [of living] with his colleagues, he gives others the benefit of the doubt, he insists on truth and peace, he is content with his own level of learning; | who bears the yoke with one's colleague, who judges the colleague favorable, [even while] directing that person to truth and peace, the one whose study has calmed the mind, |
| seeking and responding; gaining knowledge and contributing knowledge; | he asks questions and gives answers [to the point], he listens and comments [to the point]; | who asks and answers, who listens and adds, |
| learning in order to teach; learning in order to do; | he studies so that he may teach, and he studies so that he may carry out [what he learns]; | who studies in order to teach and who studies in order to practice, |
| challenging your teacher; accurately transmitting what you have learned; | he stimulates his teachers to excellence, and accurately reports what he learned; | who makes one's teacher wiser, who reports exactly what has been learned, |
| and identifying the source of your words. | when he teaches something, he cites the person's name who said it. | and who quotes a teaching in the name of the one who said it. |
| Thus you learn, that one who quotes a teaching in the name of the one who said it brings redemption to the world, as it is said (Esther 2:22), And Esther said to the king in the name of Mordechai... | Hence, you can infer that whoever teaches something and cites the person's name who said it, brings redemption to the world, as it is written, Esther said to the King in the name of Mordecai. | Behold you have learned that who reports something in the name of the one who said it brings redemption into the worlds as it says, "And Esther said in the name of Mordecai." [Esther 2:22] |
Jacob Neusner, Torah from Our Sages: Pirkei Avot
Esther said... Since Esther observed this dictum, she was able to redeem the Jews of Shushan.
Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics by Leonard Kravitz & Kerry Olitzky
Variant texts of this baraita contain the list of required items in different order. This is a comparison between status that is hereditary (i.e., priesthood and royalty) and status that is earned. The status of a scholar (based on learning alone) promotes the notion that the crown of the Torah is greater than the crown of either the priest or the king, At the time this text was written, there was neither a functioning priesthood nor a functioning kingship in the Jewish community. Nevertheless, Torah study became a means of democratization. Only a certain lineage could aspire to be king of Israel and only the individual of a particular group lineage could be a priest, but anyone could become a scholar.
Samson Raphael Hirsch's Commentary on 6:6 (1808-1888, philosopher and Rabbi)
“…The thirty and twenty-four מעלות that are mentioned here in connection with מלכות and כהונה, respectively, are not moral or spiritual virtues but prerogatives that are part of the office of kingship and priesthood. They are not מעלות by means of which these titles can be acquired, but qualities that are associated with them and that are acquired together with the office. The forty-eight דברים enumerated here in connection with the Torah, however, are not prerogatives associated with the ‘crown’ that Torah affords, but ‘qualification,’ moral and spiritual talents and virtues, which one who strives after the crown of the Torah must acquire and employ, through diligent work on his own personality, before he can attain to the goal of the Torah. These forty-eight attributes are not gifts acquired together with the Torah, but means through which alone it is possible to acquire the crown of the Torah. If one wishes one may also logically say that all the moral and spiritual attributes named here are indeed acquired simultaneously with the Torah, because, in fact, it is possible to acquire the Torah only if one also possesses these virtues.”
Yosef Marcus' Pirkei Avot: Ethics of the Fathers. Kehot Publication Society, 2012
Priesthood and royalty. In addition to its literal meaning, the priesthood and royalty mentioned here refer also to the “priesthood” and “royalty” that the Torah bestows upon its student: priesthood in the sense of spiritual transcendence, and royalty in the sense of sovereignty over the physical. Thus, the baraita instructs the student to study Torah for its own sake, not for the “priesthood” and “royalty” it confers. For Torah itself surpasses the “priesthood” and “royalty” that are its byproducts (Biurim L’Pirkei Avot, Lubavitcher Rebbe, published in 1996 in Hebrew).
One who knows his place.
Isaac Unterman's Pirkei Aboth: Sayings of the Fathers. 1964
The intention is not to prove that the Torah can be acquired more easily, but to indicate the necessary qualities and characteristics a man must possess in order to acquire true knowledge of the Torah. It is not sufficient to be a good scholar and to study thoroughly and diligently; one must always possess a deep understanding—not of the intellect, but of the heart; the words of the Torah must penetrate to the deepest recesses of the soul.
Rav Yehudah Leib of Gur, the Sefas Emes (Polish scholar and Rabbi, 1847-1905)
One need not fulfill all forty-eight qualifications in order to acquire Torah. Rather, he can acquire as much as his qualifications allow. Just as there is no fixed measure for the mitzvah of learning Torah, there is no fixed measure for one’s preparations to acquire Torah.
Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno (Italian rabbi, commentator, philosopher and physician. 1475-1550)
The forty-eight qualifications required for the crown of Torah are all moral and spiritual virtues that elevate and remove man from the materialism of society and the temporal values of this world. These forty-eight steps will help assure him of an honor and dignity that is eternal.
Esther said... Since Esther observed this dictum, she was able to redeem the Jews of Shushan.
Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics by Leonard Kravitz & Kerry Olitzky
Variant texts of this baraita contain the list of required items in different order. This is a comparison between status that is hereditary (i.e., priesthood and royalty) and status that is earned. The status of a scholar (based on learning alone) promotes the notion that the crown of the Torah is greater than the crown of either the priest or the king, At the time this text was written, there was neither a functioning priesthood nor a functioning kingship in the Jewish community. Nevertheless, Torah study became a means of democratization. Only a certain lineage could aspire to be king of Israel and only the individual of a particular group lineage could be a priest, but anyone could become a scholar.
Samson Raphael Hirsch's Commentary on 6:6 (1808-1888, philosopher and Rabbi)
“…The thirty and twenty-four מעלות that are mentioned here in connection with מלכות and כהונה, respectively, are not moral or spiritual virtues but prerogatives that are part of the office of kingship and priesthood. They are not מעלות by means of which these titles can be acquired, but qualities that are associated with them and that are acquired together with the office. The forty-eight דברים enumerated here in connection with the Torah, however, are not prerogatives associated with the ‘crown’ that Torah affords, but ‘qualification,’ moral and spiritual talents and virtues, which one who strives after the crown of the Torah must acquire and employ, through diligent work on his own personality, before he can attain to the goal of the Torah. These forty-eight attributes are not gifts acquired together with the Torah, but means through which alone it is possible to acquire the crown of the Torah. If one wishes one may also logically say that all the moral and spiritual attributes named here are indeed acquired simultaneously with the Torah, because, in fact, it is possible to acquire the Torah only if one also possesses these virtues.”
Yosef Marcus' Pirkei Avot: Ethics of the Fathers. Kehot Publication Society, 2012
Priesthood and royalty. In addition to its literal meaning, the priesthood and royalty mentioned here refer also to the “priesthood” and “royalty” that the Torah bestows upon its student: priesthood in the sense of spiritual transcendence, and royalty in the sense of sovereignty over the physical. Thus, the baraita instructs the student to study Torah for its own sake, not for the “priesthood” and “royalty” it confers. For Torah itself surpasses the “priesthood” and “royalty” that are its byproducts (Biurim L’Pirkei Avot, Lubavitcher Rebbe, published in 1996 in Hebrew).
One who knows his place.
- At this point the baraita begins to list the qualities differently. Whereas the first twenty-four qualities are preface with “with” (with study, with attentive listening, etc), from this point on each quality is conveyed by describing the individual, “one who knows his place,” etc.
- R. Moshe Almoshnino explains that one acquires Torah with the first twenty-four qualities and retains the Torah through the latter twenty-four. (Midrash Shmuel).
- The latter twenty-four qualities are the practical manifestations of the first, E.g., one who acquires humility will know his place; one who acquires good heart will be happy with his lot, etc.(Ya'avetz, Rav Yoseph - 15th c. author)
Isaac Unterman's Pirkei Aboth: Sayings of the Fathers. 1964
The intention is not to prove that the Torah can be acquired more easily, but to indicate the necessary qualities and characteristics a man must possess in order to acquire true knowledge of the Torah. It is not sufficient to be a good scholar and to study thoroughly and diligently; one must always possess a deep understanding—not of the intellect, but of the heart; the words of the Torah must penetrate to the deepest recesses of the soul.
Rav Yehudah Leib of Gur, the Sefas Emes (Polish scholar and Rabbi, 1847-1905)
One need not fulfill all forty-eight qualifications in order to acquire Torah. Rather, he can acquire as much as his qualifications allow. Just as there is no fixed measure for the mitzvah of learning Torah, there is no fixed measure for one’s preparations to acquire Torah.
Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno (Italian rabbi, commentator, philosopher and physician. 1475-1550)
The forty-eight qualifications required for the crown of Torah are all moral and spiritual virtues that elevate and remove man from the materialism of society and the temporal values of this world. These forty-eight steps will help assure him of an honor and dignity that is eternal.
Labor in Torah
(י) רבי מאיר אומר, הוי ממעט בעסק, ועסוק בתורה .והוי שפל רוח בפני כל אדם.ואם בטלת מן התורה, יש לך בטלים הרבה כנגדך. ואם עמלת בתורה, יש [לו] שכר הרבה לתן לך.
Rabbi Meir says: Minimize business and engage in Torah. Be humble of spirit before everyone. If you neglect the Torah, many reasons for neglecting it will be presented to you. And if you labor in Torah, [God] has abundant reward to grant you.
Tosafot Yom Tov on Mishnah Avot 4:10:1,3
"Minimize business and engage in Torah": [This is] simple, what can it teach us? And one can explain that it is coming to say that the minimization of business should be for the sake of engagement in Torah [study], and not for the sake of the effort or laziness - Derekh Chaim.
And if you labor in Torah": and you exerted yourself and put effort into it, "there is abundant reward, etc." As the reward is according to the proliferation of labor and effort, and not according to the proliferation of study. And therefore, it did not state, "if you learn," but [rather], "if you labor" - as everything is dependent on the labor, both for the one who expends much and for the one who expends little. [A] support for this is the mishnah (at the end of Chapter 5) that teaches, "According to the pain is the reward" - Midrash Shmuel
Bartenura on Pirkei Avot 4:10:1, 2, 4
"Minimize business": Minimize occupation with your merchandise and your craft, and let your main occupation be in Torah [study].
"Be humble of spirit before everyone": to learn even from someone lesser than you in wisdom.
"And if you labor in Torah": He, Himself will pay your reward, and not through an agent. And in this, the measure of good is greater than the measure of punishment.
Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics by Leonard Kravitz & Kerry Olitzky
Be humble in everyone's presence. Maimonides suggests that one should be humble with anyone with whom one comes in contact. Only in this way will one be able to flee from self-aggrandizement.
If you have neglected the Torah. Rashi suggests that the person who turns away from the study of Torah will be punished by distractions that will prevent one from gaining the rewards of Torah study.
Chaim Stern's Pirke Avot, Commentary on 4:10
good wages. And in the world-to-come as well, namely, the 310 worlds that God has set aside for every righteous person, as it is said (Proverbs 8:21), To give substance ('Yesh') to those who love Me. The numerical value of יש, yesh, is 310. Our mishnah uses the same word in reference to the Torah's 'good wages'-- an allusion to the 310 worlds. (Nahalat Avot, Rabbi Isaac Abravanel's Commentary on Pirkei Avot. 1427-1508, Portugal)
If you neglect Torah. Or, "If you neglect Torah, many occasions of neglect will arise for you." That is, the less you do, the harder it becomes to recover lost ground.
"Minimize business and engage in Torah": [This is] simple, what can it teach us? And one can explain that it is coming to say that the minimization of business should be for the sake of engagement in Torah [study], and not for the sake of the effort or laziness - Derekh Chaim.
And if you labor in Torah": and you exerted yourself and put effort into it, "there is abundant reward, etc." As the reward is according to the proliferation of labor and effort, and not according to the proliferation of study. And therefore, it did not state, "if you learn," but [rather], "if you labor" - as everything is dependent on the labor, both for the one who expends much and for the one who expends little. [A] support for this is the mishnah (at the end of Chapter 5) that teaches, "According to the pain is the reward" - Midrash Shmuel
Bartenura on Pirkei Avot 4:10:1, 2, 4
"Minimize business": Minimize occupation with your merchandise and your craft, and let your main occupation be in Torah [study].
"Be humble of spirit before everyone": to learn even from someone lesser than you in wisdom.
"And if you labor in Torah": He, Himself will pay your reward, and not through an agent. And in this, the measure of good is greater than the measure of punishment.
Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics by Leonard Kravitz & Kerry Olitzky
Be humble in everyone's presence. Maimonides suggests that one should be humble with anyone with whom one comes in contact. Only in this way will one be able to flee from self-aggrandizement.
If you have neglected the Torah. Rashi suggests that the person who turns away from the study of Torah will be punished by distractions that will prevent one from gaining the rewards of Torah study.
Chaim Stern's Pirke Avot, Commentary on 4:10
good wages. And in the world-to-come as well, namely, the 310 worlds that God has set aside for every righteous person, as it is said (Proverbs 8:21), To give substance ('Yesh') to those who love Me. The numerical value of יש, yesh, is 310. Our mishnah uses the same word in reference to the Torah's 'good wages'-- an allusion to the 310 worlds. (Nahalat Avot, Rabbi Isaac Abravanel's Commentary on Pirkei Avot. 1427-1508, Portugal)
If you neglect Torah. Or, "If you neglect Torah, many occasions of neglect will arise for you." That is, the less you do, the harder it becomes to recover lost ground.
Regarding Torah and Wealth
(ט) רבי יונתן אומר, כל המקים את התורה מעני, סופו לקימה מעשר .וכל המבטל את התורה מעשר, סופו לבטלה מעני.
(9) Rabbi Yonatan says: Anyone who implements the Torah in poverty, his end will be to implement it in wealth. And anyone that disregards the Torah in wealth, will in the end disregard it in poverty.
Bartenura on Pirkei Avot 4:9:1-2
"One who implements the Torah in poverty": who is pressed for food and abstains from his work to be involved in Torah [studies].
"One that disregards the Torah in wealth": Due to abundance of his [assets], he needs to put his attention sometimes to this, sometimes to that, and [so] has no free time to be involved in Torah [studies].
Ikar Tosafot Yom Tov on Pirkei Avot 4:9:2
"his end, etc.": Derekh Chaim wrote that our mishnah is [dealing with] someone of average circumstance (mazal). And also, [the reason such a person does not always become wealthy is] so that his wealth will not cause him to neglect [his Torah study]. And so [too] in the midrash, "Because of what do the children of the poor, etc. So that they will not get involved in other things and forget the words of Torah, as it is written, 'As oppression makes the wise, silly.'"
Chaim Stern's Pirke Avot, Commentary on 4:9
beginnings and endings.
"One who implements the Torah in poverty": who is pressed for food and abstains from his work to be involved in Torah [studies].
"One that disregards the Torah in wealth": Due to abundance of his [assets], he needs to put his attention sometimes to this, sometimes to that, and [so] has no free time to be involved in Torah [studies].
Ikar Tosafot Yom Tov on Pirkei Avot 4:9:2
"his end, etc.": Derekh Chaim wrote that our mishnah is [dealing with] someone of average circumstance (mazal). And also, [the reason such a person does not always become wealthy is] so that his wealth will not cause him to neglect [his Torah study]. And so [too] in the midrash, "Because of what do the children of the poor, etc. So that they will not get involved in other things and forget the words of Torah, as it is written, 'As oppression makes the wise, silly.'"
Chaim Stern's Pirke Avot, Commentary on 4:9
beginnings and endings.
- If you start 'poor' in knowledge of Torah, and labor in it, you will end up with 'riches;' and if you are 'rich' in knowledge of Torah, and you neglect it, you will end up 'poor.'
- This passage speaks of the way things should be, not as they are. (Neusner)
- The words of the Torah endure only with one who is prepared to suffer death on their behalf. (Talmud Berachot 63)
- On this day Israel came to Mount Sinai. (Exodus 19:1). Why on this day? When you learn Torah, do not let its commands seem old to you. Regard them as though the Torah were given this day. Hence it says, 'on this day,' and not, 'on that day.' (Midrash Tanchuma B, Yitro, 38b)
- The Holy One gave Israel three gifts, all through suffering: Torah, the land of Israel, the world-to-come.
Description of a Person who Involves Themself in Torah for its Own Sake
(א) שנו החכמים בלשון המשנה. ברוך שבחר בהם ובמשנתם. רבי מאיר אומר כל העוסק בתורה לשמה, זוכה לדברים הרבה. ולא עוד אלא שכל העולם כלו כדאי הוא לו. נקרא רע, אהוב, אוהב את המקום, אוהב את הבריות, משמח את המקום, משמח את הבריות, ומלבשתו ענוה ויראה, ומכשרתו להיות צדיק חסיד ישר ונאמן, ומרחקתו מן החטא, ומקרבתו לידי זכות, ונהנין ממנו עצה ותושיה בינה וגבורה.שנאמר (משלי ח) לי עצה ותושיה אני בינה לי גבורה, ונותנת לו מלכות וממשלה וחקור דין, ומגלין לו רזי תורה, ונעשה כמעין המתגבר וכנהר שאינו פוסק, והוי צנוע וארך רוח, ומוחל על עלבונו, ומגדלתו ומרוממתו על כל המעשים.
(1) The Rabbis taught in the language (style) of the Mishnah: Blessed be the One who chose them and their teaching. Rabbi Meir says: Anyone who involves himself in Torah for its own sake merits many things, and moreover the entire world is worthwhile for his sake; He is called "friend," "beloved," "lover of the Ominpresent," "lover of [all] creatures," "delighter of the Ominpresent," "delighter of [all] creatures." He is clothed in humility and reverence, and it prepares him to be righteous, devout, upright and trustworthy, and it distances him from sin, and draws him near to merit. We enjoy from him counsel and comprehension, understanding and strength, as it is said (Proverbs 8:14): "Mine is counsel and comprehension, I am understanding, mine is strength." It gives him kingship and dominion, and [the ability to] investigate in judgement, and the secrets of the Torah are revealed to him, and he becomes like an ever-strengthening spring, and like a river that does not stop. He is modest and long-tempered, and forgives insult to him; And it enlarges him and raises him above all [God] made.
Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary on Jewish Ethics by Leonard Kravitz & Kerry Olitzky
Chapter Six is really a part of neither the Mishnah in general nor of the Tractate Pirke Avot in particular. It is called a baraita: a collection of sayings not included in the Mishnah. The word baraita means "external," "outside," or "extraneous matter." It is sometimes called tosefta (literally, an "addition" to the Mishnah). The introductory remark indicates that, while this is not part of the Mishnah, it is taught in mishnaic style and is offered in praise of God, who selected the sages as teachers of the Mishnah.
Blessed be the one. While it is generally assumed to refer to God, some suggest that "the one" refers either to the individual who studies or the person who chose this particular chapter to study.
Akeidat Yitzchak 72:23
The crux of the matter is that both our observances and our studies should be lishmah, for the sake of the subject matter, for its avowed purpose. Rabbi Meir says that many attributes are conferred on the person whose preoccupation with Torah is lishmah (Avot 6,1).
Shney Luchot HaBrit, Shmini, Torah Ohr 53
Rabbi Meir says in Avot 6,1 that "Whosoever studies Torah for its own sake will merit many things." We wonder what these things can possibly be in view of the long list of benefits listed in that same Mishnah as accruing to people whose preoccupation with Torah is totally altruistic.
Shney Luchot HaBrit, Author's Introduction 45
When Rabbi Meir says that "he who occupies himself with Torah with a pure purpose acquires many things," he does not spell out what these things are (The continuation in that paragraph does not describe any of these "many things"). The reason is that it depends on what that particular person studied. The "many" varies with the kind of opportunity a person has to fulfill what he has studied with a view to fulfilling. Individual Jews may be viewed like soldiers in an army, many of whom have different tasks. If all fulfill their tasks to the best of their ability, they can all be considered as having fulfilled all tasks, since victory was due to their combined effort.
Chaim Stern's Pirke Avot, Commentary on 6:1
The note of the hyperbole struck here is repeated throughout chapter 6. It testifies to the depth of the sages' love for Torah and Torah-study, and to their anxiety that the world's lure not entice people from its study and practice.
Guardians - Proof Text
Rabbi Judah Nesiah sent Rabbi Chiyah, Rabbi Assi, and Rabbi Ammi on a tour of the land of Israel. They were to go to the cities and appoint teachers of Torah and Mishnah. They came to a city where there was no teacher, and they called for the guardians of the city. The local militia was brought to them. "You call them the guardians of the city?" exclaimed these Sages. "They are the city's destroyers!" "In that case," the people asked, "who do you call the city's guardians?" "The teachers of the Written and Oral Torah, as it is said (Psalm 127:1), Unless the Eternal watches over the city, they keep vigil in vain who watch over it. (Jerusalem Talmud Chagigah 1:7)
Chapter Six is really a part of neither the Mishnah in general nor of the Tractate Pirke Avot in particular. It is called a baraita: a collection of sayings not included in the Mishnah. The word baraita means "external," "outside," or "extraneous matter." It is sometimes called tosefta (literally, an "addition" to the Mishnah). The introductory remark indicates that, while this is not part of the Mishnah, it is taught in mishnaic style and is offered in praise of God, who selected the sages as teachers of the Mishnah.
Blessed be the one. While it is generally assumed to refer to God, some suggest that "the one" refers either to the individual who studies or the person who chose this particular chapter to study.
Akeidat Yitzchak 72:23
The crux of the matter is that both our observances and our studies should be lishmah, for the sake of the subject matter, for its avowed purpose. Rabbi Meir says that many attributes are conferred on the person whose preoccupation with Torah is lishmah (Avot 6,1).
Shney Luchot HaBrit, Shmini, Torah Ohr 53
Rabbi Meir says in Avot 6,1 that "Whosoever studies Torah for its own sake will merit many things." We wonder what these things can possibly be in view of the long list of benefits listed in that same Mishnah as accruing to people whose preoccupation with Torah is totally altruistic.
Shney Luchot HaBrit, Author's Introduction 45
When Rabbi Meir says that "he who occupies himself with Torah with a pure purpose acquires many things," he does not spell out what these things are (The continuation in that paragraph does not describe any of these "many things"). The reason is that it depends on what that particular person studied. The "many" varies with the kind of opportunity a person has to fulfill what he has studied with a view to fulfilling. Individual Jews may be viewed like soldiers in an army, many of whom have different tasks. If all fulfill their tasks to the best of their ability, they can all be considered as having fulfilled all tasks, since victory was due to their combined effort.
Chaim Stern's Pirke Avot, Commentary on 6:1
The note of the hyperbole struck here is repeated throughout chapter 6. It testifies to the depth of the sages' love for Torah and Torah-study, and to their anxiety that the world's lure not entice people from its study and practice.
Guardians - Proof Text
Rabbi Judah Nesiah sent Rabbi Chiyah, Rabbi Assi, and Rabbi Ammi on a tour of the land of Israel. They were to go to the cities and appoint teachers of Torah and Mishnah. They came to a city where there was no teacher, and they called for the guardians of the city. The local militia was brought to them. "You call them the guardians of the city?" exclaimed these Sages. "They are the city's destroyers!" "In that case," the people asked, "who do you call the city's guardians?" "The teachers of the Written and Oral Torah, as it is said (Psalm 127:1), Unless the Eternal watches over the city, they keep vigil in vain who watch over it. (Jerusalem Talmud Chagigah 1:7)