Chapter 9

All Israel have a portion in the world to come, and it is said, "And thy people shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified".

1. Ben Zoma (1) said, "Who is wise? He who learns from all men, as it is said, 'from all my teachers have I gotten understanding' (2). Who is mighty? He who controls his passions, as it is said, 'He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth over his spirit than he that taketh a city' (3). Who is rich? He who rejoices in his portion, as it is said, 'When thou eatest the labor of thine hands, happy art thou, and it shall be well with thee' (4); happy art thou in this world, and it shall be well with thee in the world to come. Who is honored? He who honors others, as it is said, 'For them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be held in contempt'" (5).

(1) Simon ben Zoma and Simon ben Azzai, _Tannaim_ of the second century, were generally known as ben Zoma and ben Azzai, as they never received the title of Rabbi, according to one view. According to another opinion, they were called by their fathers' names, because they both died young. Together with Akiba and Elisha ben Abuyah (_Acher_), they entered, legend says, into the paradise of esoteric knowledge. "Four (sages)," we are told, "entered paradise, ben Azzai, ben Zoma, Acher, and Akiba. Ben Azzai looked and died; ben Zoma went mad; Acher destroyed the plants; Akiba alone came out unhurt" (_Chagigah_, 14b). The interpretation of this passage is that ben Azzai died prematurely, worn out by his activities in mystical and theosophic speculation; ben Zoma became demented thereby; Elisha, contemptuously referred to as Acher (the other), became an apostate; but Akiba was unaffected. Ben Zoma was famous for his wisdom, it being said of him, "Whoever sees ben Zoma in his dream is assured of scholarship" (_Berachot_, 57b). With him, it was said, the last of the interpreters of the Law (_darshanim_) died (_Sotah_, 49b). His interpretation of the biblical passage "that thou mayest remember when thou camest forth out of Egypt" is found in the _Haggadah_ of Passover eve. See Bacher, _Agada der Tanaiten_, pp. 425-532; Schechter, _Studies_, I, pp. 129-130; H. Sperling, in _Aspects of the Hebrew Genius_, p. 150.

(2) Ps. CXIX, 9.

(3) Prov. XVI, 32.

(4) Ps. CXXVIII, 2. The discontented rich man, even, is poor.

(5) I Sam. II, 30.

2. Ben Azzai (6) said, "Hasten to do even a slight precept (7), and flee from transgression; for one virtue leads to another, and transgression draws transgression in its train; for the recompense of a virtue is a virtue, and the recompense of a transgression is a transgression" (8). 3. He used to say, "Despise not any man, and carp not at any thing (9); for there is not a man that has not his hour, and there is not a thing that has not its place."

(6) Simon ben Azzai (see n. 1) was a very assiduous student and a man of great piety. He was betrothed to the daughter of Akiba, but separated from his prospective wife in order to devote all of his time to study. It was said of him, "At the death of ben Azzai, the last industrious man passed away" (_Sotah_ IX, 15), and "He who sees ben Azzai in a dream might hope for saintliness." He declared that the greatest principle of Judaism is the belief in the common brotherhood of all mankind, which he derived from the passage, Genesis VI, 1, "This is the generation of Adam (man)." See Bacher, _ibid._, 409-424.

(7) Cf. chapter II, 1.

(8) Well-doing is the fruit of well-doing, and evil-doing the fruit of evil-doing.

(9) Or "do not consider anything as being impossible."

4. R. Levitas of Jabneh said, "Be exceedingly lowly of spirit (10), since the hope of man is but the worm."

(10) R. Levitas lived probably about 120 C.E. Maimonides declares that the medium way between the extremes of the _too little_ and the _too much_ is the path of virtue, but he makes an exception in the case of humility, and, in accordance with this passage, considers the extreme of being very humble the virtue. See Gorfinkle, _The Eight Chapters_, p. 60, n. 2.

5. R. Jochanan, the son of Berokah (11), said, "Whosoever profanes the Name of Heaven (12) in secret will suffer the penalty for it in public; and this, whether the Heavenly Name be profaned in ignorance or in wilfulness."

(11) A contemporary of Akiba.

(12) "Name of Heaven" is a common substitute for the "name of God."

6. R. Ishmael (13), his son, said, "He who learns in order to teach (14), to him the means will be granted both to learn and to teach; but he who learns in order to practise, to him the means will be granted to learn, and to teach, to observe, and to practise."

(13) He lived about 150 C.E.

(14) To one who learns _Torah_ and does not teach it are applied the words in Num. XV, 31: "he hath despised the word of the Lord" (_Sanhedrin_, 99a).

7. R. Zadok said, "Separate not thyself from the congregation; (in the judge's office) act not the counsel's part (15); make not of the _Torah_ a crown wherewith to aggrandize thyself, nor a spade wherewith to dig" (16). So also used Hillel to say, "He who makes a worldly use of the crown (of the _Torah_) shall waste away" (17). Hence thou mayest infer that whosoever derives a profit for himself from the words of the _Torah_ is helping on his own destruction.

(15) Cf. chapter I, 8.

(16) _I.e._, for material and selfish ends.

(17) Cf. chapter I, 13.

8. R. Jose (18) said, "Whoso honors the _Torah_ will himself be honored by mankind, but whoso dishonors the _Torah_ will himself be dishonored by mankind."

(18) R. Jose ben Chalafta was a contemporary of R. Meir.

9. R. Ishmael (19), his son, said, "He who shuns the judicial office rids himself of hatred, robbery, and vain swearing (20); but he who presumptuously lays down decisions is foolish, wicked, and of an arrogant spirit." 10. He used to say, "Judge not alone, for none may judge alone save One; neither say (to thy judicial colleagues), 'Accept my view,' for the choice is theirs (to concur); and it is not for thee (to compel concurrence)."

(19) He lived about 160-220 C.E.

(20) The judge brings upon himself the hatred of the one who is disappointed by his judgment. An erroneous judgment is equivalent to robbery. When the judge exacts an unnecessary oath, perjury may result.

11. R. Jonathan (21) said, "Whoso fulfils the _Torah_ in the midst of poverty shall in the end fulfil it in the midst of wealth; and whoso neglects the _Torah_ in the midst of wealth shall in the end neglect it in the midst of poverty."

(21) He lived about the middle of the second century C.E. He was a pupil of R. Ishmael (verse 9).

12. R. Meir (22) said, "Lessen thy toil for worldly goods, and be busy in the _Torah_; be humble of spirit before all men; if thou neglectest the _Torah_, many causes for neglecting it will be present themselves to thee, but if thou laborest in the _Torah_, He has abundant recompense to give thee."

(22) See chapter III, n. 32.

13. R. Elieser (23), the son of Jacob, said, "He who does one precept has gotten himself one advocate; and he who commits one transgression has gotten himself one accuser. Repentance and good deeds are as a shield against punishment."

(23) He lived about 140 C.E.

14. R. Jochanan, the sandal-maker (24), said, "Every assembly which is in the Name of Heaven will in the end be established, but that which is not in the Name of Heaven will not in the end be established."

(24) Most of the Rabbis believed with Rabban Gamaliel that the study of the _Torah_ without employment brings transgression (chapter II, 2). Consequently, each invariably followed some vocation. Hillel, the senior, gained his livelihood as a wood-chopper; Shammai was a builder; R. Joshua, a blacksmith; R. Chanina, a shoemaker; R. Huna, a water-carrier; R. Abba, a tailor; R. Pappa, a brewer, etc. Other Rabbis whose names indicate their trades, as R. Jochanan ha-Sandalar (lived about 150 C.E.), were Isaac Nappacha (the smith) and R. Abin Naggara (the carpenter). Many were merchants and others agriculturists. Generally, the Rabbi studied during two-thirds of the day, and worked at his trade during the remainder. Those engaged in agriculture would study in the winter and till the soil in the summer. Consult Franz Delitzch, _Jewish Artisan Life in the Time of Christ_; and S. Meyer, _Arbeit und Handwerk im Talmud_, Berlin, 1878.

15. R. Eleazer, the son of Shammua (25), said, "Let the honor of thy disciple be as dear to thee as thine own, and the honor of thine associate be like the fear of thy master, and the fear of thy master like the fear of Heaven."

(25) He lived about 150 C.E.

16. R. Judah (26) said, "Be cautious in study, for an error in study may amount to presumptuous sin" (27).

(26) R. Judah ben Ilai lived about 140 C.E.

(27) Cf. Chapter III, 10.

17. R. Simeon (28) said, "There are three crowns: the crown of _Torah_, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of royalty; but the crown of a good name excels them all."

(28) On R. Simeon ben Yochai, see chapter III, n. 12.

18. R. Nehorai (29) said, "Betake thyself to a home of the _Torah_ (30), and say not that the _Torah_ will come after thee; for there thy associates will establish thee in the possession of it; and lean not upon thine own understanding" (31).

(29) He lived about 130 C.E.

(30) If there is no teacher where you live.

(31) Prov. III, 5.

19. R. Jannia said, "It is not in our power (to explain) either the prosperity of the wicked or the afflictions of the righteous."

20. R. Mattithiah, the son of Heresh (32), said, "Be beforehand in the salutation of peace to all men; and be rather a tail to lions than a head to foxes" (33).

(32) He lived about 120 C.E. in Rome.

(33) It is better to be a pupil of great teachers than to be a teacher of worthless pupils (Maimonides). It is better to follow those who are greater than to lead those who are inferior.

21. R. Jacob (34) said, "This world is like a vestibule before the world to come (35); prepare thyself in the vestibule, that thou mayest enter into the hall." 22. He used to say, "Better is one hour of repentance and good deeds in this world than the whole life of the world to come; and better is one hour of blissfulness of spirit in the world to come than the whole life of this world."

(34) He lived about 160-220 C.E.

(35) This world is a bridge that leads to the future world (Maimonides).

23. R. Simeon, the son of Eleazer (36), said, "Do not appease thy fellow in the hour of his anger, and comfort him not in the hour when his dead lies before him, and question him not in the hour of his vow, and rush not to see him in the hour of his disgrace."

(36) A pupil of R. Meir. He lived about 160-220 C.E.

24. Samuel (37), the younger, used to say, "Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: lest the Lord see it and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him" (38).

(37) Samuel (about 120 C.E.) is said to have composed, at the request of R. Gamaliel II, the prayer against heretics, added to the "Eighteen Benedictions" (_Shemoneh Esreh_). See the _Jewish Encyclopedia_, vol. XI, p. 281.

(38) Prov. XXIV, 17, 18.

25. Elisha, the son of Abuyah (39), said, "If one learns as a child, what is it like? Like ink written in clean paper. If one learns as an old man, what is it like? Like ink written on used paper" (40).

(39) See n. 1, above. Elisha ben Abuyah, otherwise known as Acher, lived at the end of the first and the beginning of the second century. He is charged by the Rabbis with having aided the Romans in their attempts to suppress the Jewish religion, with having endeavored to estrange the young from Judaism and from the study of its literature, with having intentionally and openly broken the ceremonial laws, and with having desecrated the Sabbath. R. Meir, his pupil, maintained a close intimacy with him, in spite of his apostacy, having high regard for Elisha's intellectual worth. When reproached for this, R. Meir said, "I eat the kernel, and throw away the husks." Elisha is often referred to as the "Faust of the _Talmud_." On his identification with the Apostle Paul, see I. M. Wise, _The Origin of Christianity_, p. 311, and Danziger, _ibid._, pp. 304-306. Some have even identified him with Jesus. In _Abot de-Rabbi Natan_, a parable that is very similar to that of Jesus, in Luke VI 47-49, is attributed to Elisha. "A man who does good deeds and diligently studies the Law, to whom is he likened? He is like a man building a house with a stone foundation and with tiles (on the roof); and when a flood arises, and breaks against the walls, that house cannot be moved from its place. But the man who lives an evil life, in spite of having deeply studied the Law, to whom is he like? He is like a man building a house with tiles for a foundation and with heavy stones (on the roof); and when a little rain comes, straightway the house falls in" (G. Friedlander's translation, in _The Jewish Sources of the SErmon on the Mount_, pp. 259-260). On the career of Acher, see Bacher, _ibid._, pp. 432-436; Graetz, _History_, II, _passim_; Myers, _ibid._, pp. 200-202; and Strack, _Einleitung in den Talmud_, p. 91.

(40) What one learns in youth, one retains, while the opposite is true of learning in old age. The Rabbis, elsewhere, liken learning in youth to engraving upon a stone, and learning in old age to writing on the sand.

26. R. Jose, the son of Judah (41), of Chefar Babli said, "He who learns from the young, to what is he like? To one who eats unripe grapes, and drinks wine from his vat (42). And he who learns from the old, to what is he like? To one who eats ripe grapes, and drinks old wine."

(41) A contemporary of Judah ha-Nasi.

(42) _I.e._, wine that is not forty days old, and not yet clarified.

27. Rabbi Meir said (43), "Look not at the flask, but at what it contains: there may be a new flask full of old wine, and an old flask that has not even new wine in it" (44).

(43) Some texts read "Rabbi," _i.e._, Judah ha-Nasi (see