GEN1308 R. El’azar  haKappar said: Envy, inordinate desire, and [the search for] glory remove a man from the world.   Pirkei Avot IV:28   R. El’azar haKappar uses one short word: קנאה But what depths of irrational emotion and depraved thinking can lie behind it.  The commentary MaGenesis Avoth quotes from Mivhar P’ninim “a fine parable about envy and craving: Satan once met two humans, one an envious person, the other a man of strong desires.  Said he, ‘Let one of you ask for something, and it will be granted him; but the other will be given twice as much.’ The envious one would not take the initiative and ask for anything, for he begrudged his companion the double portion that other would receive. But the greedy man yearned for the double gift, and so he pressed the envious one to speak his request first.   At last this bitter man asked that one eye of his be gouged out—so that the greedy one would lose two!”   Out of this parable has come the Yiddish proverb, “Better for me [to lose] one eye, as long as the other [loses] two.”   True, such a gruesome thing may never occur literally; but are not many ready to act in analogous ways for the sake of spite born of envy? But this mishnah leads to another thought.   Our Sage clearly condemns these three qualities or attributes: envy, inordinate craving, and the quest for glory (or its possession).   And yet these are, apparently, aspects of human nature, that can rise to the surface in anyone and everyone. Then they must be considered part of the human being, and hence part of the Almighty’s own creation “in His image.” If the human being is a miniature replica of Divinity, how can we utterly condemn any part of his nature as absolute evil? … these three “vices” are not evil in themselves.   As they generally “operate” in people they are destructive forces. But they can also be used, channeled, to serve good purposes. … to be envious of another’s joy and serenity that he derives from sacred study, acts of faith in communion with the Divine, and simple good deeds, can only move you to emulate him. Such a powerful motivating emotion is good indeed.   In Scripture we read, “Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, and Rachel envied her sister.” [this verse] To the Sages it was inconceivable that this Matriarch of our people literally gave way to base emotion; and they rather interpreted: “she envied [Leah] her good deeds; said she, If my sister were not a virtuous person, she would not be bearing children.” Genesis Rabbah, lxxi 6; Aggadath B’reshith (li) lii; Midrash haGadol This was envy fit for a Matriarch of historical Israel.   SINAI2 190-1

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

GEN1373 R. Levitas of Yavneh said: Be very, very humble in spirit, for the anticipation of man is the worm. … For tikvah (the hope of) man is rimmah (the worm). Pirkei Avot IV:4   One of the most poignant and telling statements in all Torah literature, this dictum must be pondered and applied with care.   First of all, R. Levitas would seem to want each individual to consider this thought about himself. Who am I? What is my strength, and what is my righteousness, that I should be so pound and so haughty? Every human existence is precarious, fraught with vulnerability. And the body in which the spirit dwells the body that a person will present so vainly, in the expectancy of such great attention and regard,   -- is destined to molder in the earth, as food for maggots and worms.   What inherent, implicit right can a human being have to arrogance or vanity? But these powerful words belong in our thinking also as we relate to others. So much in our human relations can be offensive and irritating. We can often, easily be led to anger at another person. Before you give vent to rage, stop and think: Should you really get angry? At someone destined to rot in the grave? Is rage ever justified ultimately, or worth while?   Bear in mind these words of R. Levitas, and it will be easier to remain humble, tolerant, and charitable in living with others.   Again, the word rimmah may suggest its meaning as a verb: to deceive; and we can drive the thought: Man’s hope, the end to which he can look forward, is “deceit,” the disillusioning realization that much if not all of his life has been a deception. A little boy dreams and hopes for a bicycle. It is the be-all and end-all of his yearnings. When he receives it, he is delirious with joy, and he rides it continuously, dah after day. But then, one day he sees something else, and in a moment the bicycle is forgotten, to be thereafter neglected. Now he wants a fountain pen. Today that is his life’s ruling passion.   If only he had such a pen, be believes, he would be the happiest lad in the world. And soon after he received that, he loses interest in it. His attention has been caught by a watch; and after that, by something else. Are our adult lives very different? Ambitions burn strong, and we seek our goals with demonic intensity. And when a goal is achieved, disillusion is sure to follow. Somehow, what we have gained and achieved does not mean so much, now that we have it. It does not bring us the happiness of Paradise; it doe not solve any deeper problems. The dreams of childhood, the yearning of youth, the ambitions of yesteryear—the hopes of all our yesterdays—do not lead to inner fulfillment. Inevitably, the anticipation is greater than the realization. Then, if all our hopes eventually bring disillusion and disappointment, why be so proud, so vaunting with ambition and importance?  The Hebrew word tikvah has another meaning: it can betoken a thread or string. With this rendering, R. Levitas teaches us that life is like one long stretch of string; and the end of the line is the worm. One thing should be obvious: If R. Levitas added these words as the impelling reason why a person should be humble, he means a sincere, thorough-going humility that others will recognize and acknowledge. He does not mean a pretense or a fatuous self-delusion of humility. The story is told of a man who decided that everyone should know of his sterling character. And so he put a large sign in front of his home reading, “Here lives the most humble man in town.” We can be outrageously generous in judging ourselves. We many be utterly convinced that we are quite modest and humble, while our friends and neighbors have surprising different opinions.   R. Levitas doubles his adverb: m’od, m’od. Then be doubly humble: both in your knowledge of yourself, and in others’ awareness of you. Be humble so that others too perceive your qualities.   In the ethics of Judaism, there is one clear, unequivocal view about humility as opposed to arrogance and pride. Throughout Scripture and the teachings of the Sages, humility is praises as one of the basic virtues, while arrogance is detested and condemned. Virtues in general, writes the Rambam, are “Human qualities and acquired characteristics which are midway between two bad extremes, one being excessive and other other deficient.” [Rambam, Sh’monah ‘p’rakim (the eight Chapters, introduction to his Commentary on Avoth), iv., beginning).   And so, like Aristotle (Nicomachean ethics, ii 6) he advocates the “golden mean.” However, when it comes to humility and pride, he rules in his great Code of Law that the extreme of humility is to be adopted Rambam, Yad haHazakah, hilcholth de’oth ii 3) (Most people, though, seem to have an over-abundance of conceit and excessive self-esteem).   Yet a human being cannot live in total self-abasement. A person cannot efface himself until he has no place in the sun. A certain amount of self regard is essential for psychological health. And in this vein the Talmud requires a scholar to have one eighth of an eighth of pride Talmud, Sotah 5a – on sixty-fourth, or about one and half percent – a slight amount indeed. Still, some of our great rabbis were distrustful of even this much pride. The noted Gaon of Vilna interprets “One eighth of an eighth” in this way: The eighth sidrah or weekly portion of Scripture read in the synagogue on Saturday  is vayyishlach: and its eight sentence begins, “I have grown small through all the kindnesses…” [this verse].  This is the only expression of arrogance permitted a scholar. SINAI2 35-7

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD102 Do you really want to help a fellow human being in trouble or need? By all means help him. Deeds of loving – kindness, g'milath hassidim, are one of the pillars on which man's world rests. But make sure your timing is right. Beware of this person's emotional state and your own true intentions, and let a sense of tact direct you. We can learn this from Moses our Master. The first time he came to Pharaoh to ask for the freedom for the Israelites, Pharaoh responded with cruelty: the Hebrews had to work the harder. Moses complained to the Almighty, "ume'oz, for since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Thy name, he has done evil to these people, and Thou hast not rescued Thy people at all." (this verse]. The core of his plaint lay in the word me'oz, "from the time that": Moses objected that his visit to Pharaoh was mistimed; he was sent to Pharaoh when the monarch was disposed only to cruelty. And perhaps in the response of the Almighty there was an answer to this very point: "attah, now show you see what I will do to Pharaoh…" (Exodus 6:1). He may have meant: Whatever you will see Me do to Pharaoh, it will always be attah, "now," when the right moment comes.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD103 See [[EXOD102]] Exodus 5:23 since SINAI2 159

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD266 Where do we learn that his student's honor should be as dear to a person as his own? (Pirkei Avot, Perek IV, mishnah 15) Let all men learn it from Moses our Master: for he said to Joshua, "Choose for us men [and go forth to battle with Amalek]" [this verse]; it does not state "Choose for me," but rather "Choose for us," indicating that he ranked Joshua as himself; he equated his own honor with that of Joshua, although he was the master and Joshua was his disciple. Now, where do we learn that the honor of one's fellow should be as dear to him as his master's?--From the verse, "and Aaron said to Moses, O my lord" (Numbers 12:11). Now, was not his brother [Moses] younger than he? Nevertheless he ranked him as his master. And where do we learn that the honor of one's master should be as dear to him as the honor of Heaven, the honor of the Divine Presence? -- for it is stated, "and Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses since his youth, answered and said: My Lord Moses, confine them." (Numbers 11:28). He ranked him equal with the Divine Presence [for he used the same form of address: My lord] Avoth d'R. Nathan A27.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD383 His son R. Ishmael said: He who avoids involvement with the law rids himself of enmity, robbery, and invalid oath-taking; while he who takes pride in laying down the law is foolish, wicked, and arrogant of spirit. (Pirkei Avot, Perek IV, Mishnah 9) … a Jew should shun litigation and refrain at all costs from involving the "long arm of the law." Even if you have a valid claim against someone, rights that can be enforced, or something "coming to you," do not feel impelled to bring the matter before the beth din, the rabbinic court (much less before a non-Jewish court of law). You need not insist on the letter of the law. There is a higher level of relationship then justice, a higher "law" by which to live: righteousness. The religious Jew should strive to be a hassid, who goes beyond the requirements and stringencies of justice. The hassid does not insist on exacting every last penny due him. He is willing to forgo some of his share, if he will thus avoid controversy. The hassid, as we will read later in Avoth, is the type who can readily say when necessary, "What is yours is yours, and what is mine is yours." (Avoth v 13). As the Sages indicate elsewhere (T.B. Baba Metzi'a 30b), havoc and ruin can befall an entire city or nation if its people ruthlessly insist on rigorous justice in every least matter, and refuse to abide by mercy. To keep a community living and working smoothly, we need the lubricating oil of goodwill; everyone must be ready to act with charity and "give a little." Otherwise friction mounts until the machinery of human relations breaks down and the community destroys itself. If you take to the courts in a fine blaze of righteous anger, at the very least you will arouse resentment and hatred. Even if you win your case, you usually lose something more important: the goodwill of people about you. Furthermore, acquisitiveness is contagious. If you become very demanding and exacting, seeking to protect your own rights and possessions to the last iota, the people with whom you deal will begin to do likewise. Others can play at the game as well as you. Do not force them to. Moreover, there is a possibility that you are wrong in your demands. The facts may not be as you think. Perhaps, through a legal technicality, you will be awarded the money you claim, but in reality you will take what does not belong to you. Sometimes, believing yourself to be right, you will take an oath and make statements that are actually false: in the zealous pursuit of your rights you may "take the name of the Lord your God in vain" [this verse]. Abstain, remove yourself from litigations and lawsuits, says R. Ishmael, and you will remove yourself from hatred, robbery and swearing falsely: from hatred, because you will incur no enmity by hailing people into court; from robbery, for you will take no one's property through faulty or inhumane legal decisions; from false and improper oaths--since outside the courtroom you will not be moved to take an oath by a passionate but erroneous conviction of certainty.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD728 He used to say: Do not go judging alone [by yourself], for none may judge alone except One [God]; and do not say [to the judges on the bench with you], "accept my opinion," for they are permitted, but not you. (Pirkei Avot, Perek IV, mishnah 10) ... Even among a panel of judges, it is possible that one will try to dominate the others, through an imposing personality, a dazzling display of scholarship, or the intensity of his convictions. Hence he [R. Ishmael b. R. Yose] cautions, "Do not say, Accept my opinion." For should you so assert yourself, you negate any good that can come from having several minds sit in judgment together. When you have a point, and opinion, or an argument, let it go forward only by its own currency and soundness of reason. Do not "push" it. To impose an opinion on someone who does not arrive at it by himself – this is the privilege of the majority, not of an individual in a group, no matter how gifted or brilliant he is. Alternatively, we can interpret our text to mean: Do not judge one of the parties in a lawsuit alone, when only he is before you. You must hear both sides of the argument from the principals themselves, before you can make any attempt to judge correctly. The only One who can make a decision after hearing only one side, is the Almighty Himself, as it is written: "When he [a poor man] cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate" [this verse]. The Creator can respond as soon as He hears a cry of complaint, since He is omniscient; nothing is hidden from Him. But you are a human being, bounded in time and space, able to gather knowledge only through five senses. For the facts in the case before you, you have no other source but the testimony of the people involved. The least you must do is to hear both sides before judging.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD807 He used to say: Do not despise any man, and do not reject anything; for there is no man who has not his hour, and there is no thing that has not its place (Pirkei Avot Perek IV, mishnah 3). Therefore, says Ben Azzai, "do not despise any man," whatever you may know of his past. For "there is not a man that has not his hour." There is no person in the world without his moment of repentance, his occasion of yearning to do good. No one is completely set for life, determined by his past. The way of the future is open for all of us. Ben Azzai's words are precise and clear-cut: we can exclude no one from those considerations of courtesy and esteem due a fellow human being: not even the most flagrant violator of the Torah's most sacred commandments. There is another passage in the Talmud that bears out Ben Azzai's dictum: Scripture teaches, "If you see your enemy's donkey lying under its burden, you shall forbear to pass him by him; you shall surely unload it with him" [this verse]. But, asks the Talmud, what sort of "enemy" does the Torah mean? After all, we are not to have personal enemies, for Scripture itself ordains, "You shall not hate your brother in your heart." (Leviticus 19:17). And the Talmud concludes that the Writ must mean here only someone who, to your own first-hand knowledge, has violated the Torah (T.B. Pesachim 113b). This is the odious, hated "enemy" whom the Torah commands us to help; we are to be kind to him. To insult him or embarrass him will accomplish nothing; he will only be driven further from Judaism and decency. If he is in trouble and urgently needs help, show him the values by which the man of faith lives. Show him that where religion lives, humane help may be expected, readily gotten. Help him, and you may bring him back. For there is no person who does not have his hour; and your kindness may bring on that hour for him now.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD808 It is a mitzvah of the Torah, a biblical decree, to help unload an animal that has fallen under its burden; it is likewise a mitzvah to help someone load his animal when that has to be done.  (The respective sources are [this verse] and Deuteronomy 22:4; in M'chilta to Exodus ad loc. and T.B. Baba Metzi'a 31a the first is interpreted to mean unloading, and the second loading; and as Midrash Sifre, Deuteronomy §225 makes clear, both Biblical statements apply equally to friend and foe, although the first speaks of "your enemy" and the second of "your brother.") Now, the Talmud states: If a friend [needs help] to unload [his animal], and an enemy [needs help] to load [his], the mitzvah is [to work first] with the enemy, so as to subdue your natural inclinations (T.B. Baba Metzi'a 32b). If, however, both are equally friends or enemies, you should help first the one who must unload his animal, to ease its suffering (while this is not explicitly stated in the Talmud, it is apparent, and R. Isaac Alfasi (ad loc.) and Rambam so rule (Yad HaHazakah, hilchoth rotze-ah xiii 13). This in itself is revealing, but the matter goes deeper. Who is the "enemy" mentioned here? Not a personal foe, but an individual who deserves your hate because you have yourself seen him violate the Torah (T.B. Pesahim 113b). And, if your enmity is not really personal, and there is no animosity through direct bad relations, but you rather reject him for disobedience to the Torah, what need is there to "subdue natural inclinations"? You would probably bear him no more than an "official," token dislike to start with. In Tosafoth, the fine commentary on Talmud by French and German scholars of the 12-14th centuries, there is an answer worth pondering: When the enmity begins, it is an impersonal feeling, to conform with religious requirements. You are distant to your "enemy" only because he deserves it. But in human relations, there is a basic emotional reciprocity: "As in water face responds to face, so the heart of man to man" (Proverbs 27:19). To your "official" coldness he will respond with a very cordial dislike. This you will react, and before long the "little plant" will have blossomed out into a full, blazing animosity. Such a deep emotion requires help more urgently than an animal in pain. Learn to subdue it and control it (Tosafoth to Pesahim 113b, s.v. she-ra'ah). As R. Levitas exhorts us, be sh'fal ruah. Be humble and develop a calmness of spirit, an inner quietude, and you will not be ruled by pettiness, meanness and hatred. ... R. Levitas points to the key of calmness and self-control: for ruah means both wind and spirit. As a calm, gentle wind ensures tranquility in nature, so does a very humble spirit maintain serenity in human nature. And how do you learn to be humble?--By remembering that the end of man--including you and the target of your possible hatred and passionate outburst – is worms, when death lays all to rest.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

EXOD978 R. Simeon b. El'azar said: Do not [seek to] pacify your fellow in his hour of anger… (Pirkei Avot, Perek IV, mishnah 23). Whence do you learn this?--From Moses: At the time that the Israelites made the [golden] calf, the Holy, Blessed One grew enraged [so to speak], and He bade Moses, "Go, descend, for your people has acted corruptly" [this verse]. Said Moses, "This is an hour of anger; I have no need to speak now." What did he do? At once "Moses turned and went down from the mountain (Exodus 32:15); he strode to the Israelites and passed judgment on them.… Then Moses came before the Holy One and said, "Master of the world, what is there for Thee to apply to them? the quality of stern justice? I have already meted out justice to them for Thee. Then forgive them." He replied, "Because you have waited, I have forgiven in accordance with your words."

SHOW FULL EXCERPT