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pp. 468-469

Pirkei Avot

Chapter One

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Hebrew

יב הִלֵּל וְשַׁמַּאי קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם.
הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר: הֱוֵי מִתַּלְמִידָיו
שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן, אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף
שָׁלוֹם, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת,
וּמְקָרְבָן לַתּוֹרָה.1

Sephardi

12 Hillel veShammai kiblu mehem.
Hillel omer: hevei mitalmidav
shel Aharon, ohev shalom verodef
shalom, ohev et hab'riyot,
umekarvan laTorah.1

English

12 Hillel and Shammai received and learned Torah from Shemayah and Avtalyon. Hillel says: You should be students of and learn from Aaron; be someone who loves peace, who chases after peace by helping others to make peace, and who loves all fellow creatures and brings them close to the Torah.1

Hebrew

יג הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר: נְגַד שְׁמָא
אָבֵד שְׁמֵהּ, וּדְלָא מוֹסִיף
יָסֵף, וּדְלָא יָלֵיף קְטָלָא חַיָּב,
וּדְאִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּתַגָּא חָלֵף.

Sephardi

13 Hu hayah omer: neged shema
aved shemei, udela mosif
yosef, udela yalef ketala chayav,
ude'ishtamesh betaga chalef.

English

13 Hillel would often say: Someone who tries to become famous will end up losing any good reputation he already has. Someone who does not work to continually increase his Torah knowledge, will cause it to decrease. Someone who is able to teach Torah and does not teach deserves death, because Torah is a source of life and he has withheld it from others. Someone who uses the crown of Torah for personal gain will be destroyed.

Hebrew

יד הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר: אִם אֵין אֲנִי
לִי, מִי לִי, וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי לְעַצְמִי, מָה
אֲנִי, וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁו, אִימָתָי.

Sephardi

14 Hu hayah omer: im ein ani
li, mi li, uchshe'ani le'atzmi, mah
ani, ve'im lo achshav, eimatai.

English

14 Hillel would often say: If I do not try to help myself, who will do so for me? But if I am selfish and only help myself, what am I worth? And if I do not do what I should now, when will I do it? I may not have the opportunity later.

Hebrew

טו שַׁמַּאי אוֹמֵר: עֲשֵׂה
תּוֹרָתְךָ קֶבַע, אֱמוֹר מְעַט
וַעֲשֵׂה הַרְבֵּה, וֶהֱוֵי מְקַבֵּל אֶת
כָּל הָאָדָם2 בְּסֵבֶר פָּנִים יָפוֹת.

Sephardi

15 Shammai omer: aseh
Toratecha keva, emor me'at
va'aseh harbeh, vehevei mekabel et
kol ha'adam2 besever panim yafot.

English

15 Shammai says: Make your Torah learning a permanent thing that cannot be pushed off by anything. Say little and do a lot. Also greet every person2 with a cheerful face.

Hebrew

טז רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הָיָה אוֹמֵר:
עֲשֵׂה לְךָ רַב, וְהִסְתַּלֵּק
מִן הַסָּפֵק, וְאַל תַּרְבֶּה
לְעַשֵּׂר אֳמָדוֹת.

Sephardi

16 Rabban Gamliel hayah omer:
aseh lecha rav, vehistalek
min hasafek, ve-al tarbeh
le'aser omadot.

English

16 Rabban Gamliel would often say: Appoint for yourself a teacher, in order to remove yourself from any uncertainty regarding the Torah and its commandments. Do not tithe by guessing how much you must give, even if it is more than the correct amount. Rather, make an exact calculation.

Hebrew

יז שִׁמְעוֹן בְּנוֹ אוֹמֵר: כָּל יָמַי
גָּדַלְתִּי בֵּין הַחֲכָמִים, וְלֹא
מָצָאתִי לַגּוּף טוֹב מִשְּׁתִיקָה,
וְלֹא הַמִּדְרָשׁ עִקָּר אֶלָּא
הַמַּעֲשֶׂה, וְכָל הַמַּרְבֶּה דְבָרִים
מֵבִיא חֵטְא.3

Sephardi

17 Shimon beno omer: kol yamai
gadalti bein hachachamim, v'lo
matzati laguf tov mishtikah,
v'lo hamidrash ikar ela
hama'aseh, vechol hamarbeh devarim
mevi chet.3

English

17 Shimon, Rabban Gamliel's son, says: I grew up among the Sages my entire life, and I have not found anything better for a person than silence. Studying is not the most important thing; rather, action is the most important. Whoever talks too much brings sin upon himself.3

Hebrew

יח רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר,
עַל שְׁלשָׁה דְּבָרִים הָעוֹלָם קַיָּם:
עַל הַדִּין, וְעַל הָאֱמֶת, וְעַל
הַשָּׁלוֹם,4 שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: אֱמֶת וּמִשְׁפַּט
שָׁלוֹם שִׁפְטוּ בְּשַׁעֲרֵיכֶם.

Sephardi

18 Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel omer,
al sheloshah devarim ha-olam kayam:
al hadin, ve'al ha'emet, ve'al
hashalom,4 shene'emar: emet umishpat
shalom shiftu besha'areichem.

English

18 Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: The world continues to exist and function civilly because of three things: because of justice, because of truth, and because of peace.4 As it says in Zechariah: Judge with truth and try to negotiate a compromise—which leads to a peaceful judgment—within your gates.

Hebrew

רַבִּי חֲנַנְיָא בֶּן עֲקַשְׁיָא אוֹמֵר: רָצָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ
בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְזַכּוֹת אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, לְפִיכָךְ הִרְבָּה
לָהֶם תּוֹרָה וּמִצְוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: יְיָ חָפֵץ לְמַעַן
צִדְקוֹ, יַגְדִּיל תּוֹרָה וְיַאְדִּיר.

Sephardi

Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya omer: ratzah hakadosh
baruch hu lezakot et Yisrael, lefichach hirbah
lahem Torah umitzvot, shene'emar: Adonai chafetz lema'an
tzidko, yagdil Torah v'ya'dir.

English

Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya says: The Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to make the Children of Israel have many merits. He therefore gave them an abundance of Torah and commandments, so that they would have many opportunities to connect to God. As it says in Isaiah: The Lord wanted, for the sake of increasing the Jewish Nation's righteousness, that the Torah be made great and glorious.

CHAPTER TWO

Hebrew

כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשׁ לָהֶם חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא,
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְעַמֵּךְ כֻּלָּם צַדִּיקִים, לְעוֹלָם יִירְשׁוּ
אָרֶץ, נֵצֶר מַטָּעַי מַעֲשֵׂה יָדַי לְהִתְפָּאֵר.

Sephardi

Kol Yisrael yesh lahem chelek la-olam haba,
shene'emar: v'amecha kulam tzaddikim, le'olam yirshu
aretz, netzer mata'ai ma'aseh yadai lehitpa'eir.

English

All the Children of Israel have a portion in the World to Come. As it says in Isaiah regarding the Redemption of the Jewish Nation: Your people are all righteous, and they will all inherit the Land of Israel forever—they will never be exiled from it again. Everyone will recognize that they are the branch of My planting and the work of My hands, in which I, God, take pride.

Hebrew

א רַבִּי אוֹמֵר: אֵיזוֹ הִיא דֶּרֶךְ יְשָׁרָה
שֶׁיָּבוֹר לוֹ הָאָדָם, כָּל שֶׁהִיא
תִּפְאֶרֶת לְעוֹשֶׂיהָ וְתִפְאֶרֶת לוֹ

Sephardi

A Rabbi omer: eizo hi derech yesharah
sheyavor lo ha'adam, kol shehi
tiferet le'osehah v'tif'eret lo

English

1 Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi says: Which is the proper path in life that a person should choose

Commentary

1 The word "creatures" teaches us that we must love all people, no matter how ordinary they may seem to us, and bring them close to Torah. Even if a person's only positive quality is that he is a creation of God, we have an obligation to reach out to him.

2 It is human nature to greet those from whom we stand to gain. The mishnah therefore emphasizes that we must treat "everyone" warmly and kindly, even if we do not anticipate any benefit from the relationship.

3 Silence indicates humility. Talking excessively indicates arrogance. It is arrogance that leads a person to sin.

4 Justice, truth, and peace correspond to thought, speech, and action. "Justice" corresponds to action—treating everyone fairly. "Truth" is mostly relevant to speech. "Peace" is in the mind, even if no one else hears about it.