(1) For the leader; on the gittith. Of the Korahites. A psalm. (2) How lovely is Your dwelling-place, O LORD of hosts. (3) I long, I yearn for the courts of the LORD; my body and soul shout for joy to the living God. (4) Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself in which to set her young, near Your altar, O LORD of hosts, my king and my God. (5) Happy are those who dwell in Your house; they forever praise You.Selah. (6) Happy is the man who finds refuge in You, whose mind is on the [pilgrim] highways. (7) They pass through the Valley of Baca, regarding it as a place of springs, as if the early rain had covered it with blessing. (8) They go from rampart to rampart, appearing before God in Zion. (9) O LORD, God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob.Selah. (10) O God, behold our shield, look upon the face of Your anointed. (11) Better one day in Your courts than a thousand [anywhere else]; I would rather stand at the threshold of God’s house than dwell in the tents of the wicked. (12) For the LORD God is sun and shield; the LORD bestows grace and glory; He does not withhold His bounty from those who live without blame. (13) O LORD of hosts, happy is the man who trusts in You.

(2) Between each pair of extremes, there is a middle disposition equidistant from each. There are some dispositions that are innate, and some that individuals are more predisposed to than other dispositions, and still others that are not innate at all, but are learned from others or self-taught, either because he decided to acquire [this trait] or he heard from others that it is a good one to have and he practiced it until it became part of his personality.

(2) And [what] is the cure? Someone who is an angry person, he is told to conduct himself [in such a way] that if he is struck and cursed he doesn't react at all, and to follow this path for a long time, until he has uprooted the anger from his heart. And if he is arrogant, he should accustom himself to great disgrace, sitting below everyone, wearing worn-out rags which humiliate their wearer, and so on with things like this, until he has uprooted the arrogance from himself and returned to the middle path which is the good path. And when he has returned to the middle path, he should follow it all his days. And along the same line, he should do for all other dispositions: if he is far to one extreme, he should put himself far to the other extreme and accustom himself to it for a long time, until he returns to the good path which is the moderate trait for each and every disposition.

[And you find that with our father] Avraham, that he kept the Torah even it had not yet come to the world, as it is stated: "because that Avraham hearkened to my voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws [Torahs]." It elevated him and blessed him in his youth, and gave him posterity and hope in his old age. Regarding his youth, what does it say (Genesis 13:2): "And Avram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold." Regarding his old age, what does it say (Genesis 24:1): "And Avraham was old , well stricken in age; and the Lord had blessed Avraham in all things." Rabbi Hezkiya, Rabbi Cohen in the name of Rav: It is forbidden to reside in a city that has no doctor, and where there is no bathhouse, and where the courthouse does not flog and imprison [criminals]. Rabbi Yosi ben Rabbi Bon: It is also forbidden to reside in a city where there is no vegetable garden. Rabbi Hezkiya, Rabbi Cohen in the name of Rav: In the future, a person will give a judgement and an accounting over everything that his eye saw and what he did not eat. Rabbi Elazar feared these laws and invested his money in order to eat from every kind [of vegetable] once a year.