The New Jew: A Field Guide

Hebrew

י אָמַר לָהֶם: צְאוּ וּרְאוּ אֵיזוֹ
הִיא דֶּרֶךְ טוֹבָה שֶׁיִּדְבַּק בָּהּ
הָאָדָם. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר:
עַיִן טוֹבָה. רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר:
חָבֵר טוֹב. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר:
שָׁכֵן טוֹב. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר:
הָרוֹאֶה אֶת הַנּוֹלָד. רַבִּי
אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר: לֵב טוֹב. אָמַר
לָהֶם: רוֹאֶה אֲנִי אֶת דִּבְרֵי
אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲרָךְ מִדִּבְרֵיכֶם,
שֶׁבִּכְלַל דְּבָרָיו דִּבְרֵיכֶם.
אָמַר לָהֶם: צְאוּ וּרְאוּ אֵיזוֹ
הִיא דֶּרֶךְ רָעָה שֶׁיִּתְרַחֵק
מִמֶּנָּה הָאָדָם. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר
אוֹמֵר: עַיִן רָעָה. רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ
אוֹמֵר: חָבֵר רָע. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי
אוֹמֵר: שָׁכֵן רָע. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן
אוֹמֵר: הַלֹּוֶה וְאֵינוֹ מְשַׁלֵּם,
אֶחָד הַלֹּוֶה מִן הָאָדָם כְּלֹוֶה
מִן הַמָּקוֹם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: לֹוֶה
רָשָׁע וְלֹא יְשַׁלֵּם, וְצַדִּיק
חוֹנֵן וְנוֹתֵן. רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר
אוֹמֵר: לֵב רָע. אָמַר לָהֶם:
רוֹאֶה אֲנִי אֶת דִּבְרֵי אֶלְעָזָר
בֶּן עֲרָךְ מִדִּבְרֵיכֶם, שֶׁבִּכְלַל
דְּבָרָיו דִּבְרֵיכֶם. הֵם אָמְרוּ
שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר

Sephardi

10 Amar lahem: tze'u ur'u eizo
hi derech tovah sheyidbak bah
ha'adam. Rabbi Eliezer omer:
ayin tovah. Rabbi Yehoshua omer:
chaver tov. Rabbi Yosei omer:
shachen tov. Rabbi Shimon omer:
haro'eh et hanolad.1 Rabbi
Elazar omer: lev tov. Amar
lahem: ro'eh ani et divrei
Elazar ben Arach midivreichem,
shebichlal devarav divreichem.
Amar lahem: tze'u ur'u eizo
hi derech ra'ah sheyitrahek
mimenah ha'adam. Rabbi Eliezer
omer: ayin ra'ah. Rabbi Yehoshua
omer: chaver ra. Rabbi Yosei
omer: shachen ra. Rabbi Shimon
omer: haloaveh v'eino meshalem,
echad haloaveh min ha'adam keloaveh
min hamakom, shene'emar: loaveh
rasha v'lo yeshalem, vetzaddik
chonen venoten. Rabbi Elazar
omer: lev ra. Amar lahem:
ro'eh ani et divrei Elazar
ben Arach midivreichem, shebichlal
devarav divreichem. Hem amru
sheloshah devarim. Rabbi Eliezer

English

10 Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai said to his students: Go out and see which is the good way to which a person should adhere—what is the best thing that a person should strive to have in his life? The students came back with various answers. Rabbi Eliezer says: Looking at everything with a good eye—being generous and happy for others. Rabbi Yehoshua says: Being a good friend to help and advise people. Rabbi Yosei says: Being a good neighbor to positively influence your surroundings. Rabbi Shimon says: Seeing and anticipating the results of events and actions before they occur.1 Rabbi Elazar says: Having a good heart—having kind and positive feelings toward others. Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai then said to them: I prefer what Elazar ben Arach said to what the rest of you said, because what he said—having kind and positive feelings toward others—includes all the other good qualities that you mentioned, because it leads to them. He also said to them: Go out and see which path is the bad path from which a person should keep far away. Rabbi Eliezer says: Looking at everything with a bad eye—being stingy and jealous of others. Rabbi Yehoshua says: Being a bad friend. Rabbi Yosei says: Being a bad neighbor. Rabbi Shimon says: Being a person who does not realize that he will be unable to repay a loan, and so he borrows and does not pay back. Someone who borrows from a person and does not pay it back is like someone borrowing from God. As it says in Psalms: A wicked person borrows and does not pay back, but God, Who is righteous, acts graciously and gives the lender back his money. Now the borrower owes it to God. Rabbi Elazar says: Having a bad heart—negative feelings toward others. Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai then said to them: I prefer what Elazar ben Arach said to what the rest of you said, because what he said—having negative feelings toward others—includes all the other bad

Hebrew

אוֹמֵר: יְהִי כְבוֹד חֲבֵרְךָ
חָבִיב עָלֶיךָ כְּשֶׁלָּךְ, וְאַל תְּהִי
נוֹחַ לִכְעוֹס. וְשׁוּב יוֹם אֶחָד
לִפְנֵי מִיתָתָךְ. וֶהֱוֵי מִתְחַמֵּם
כְּנֶגֶד אוּרָן שֶׁל חֲכָמִים, וֶהֱוֵי
זָהִיר בְּגַחַלְתָּן שֶׁלֹּא תִכָּוֶה,
שֶׁנְּשִׁיכָתָן נְשִׁיכַת שׁוּעָל,
וַעֲקִיצָתָן עֲקִיצַת עַקְרָב,
וּלְחִישָׁתָן לְחִישַׁת שָׂרָף, וְכָל
דִּבְרֵיהֶם כְּגַחֲלֵי אֵשׁ.

Sephardi

omer: yehi kevod chaver'cha
chaviv alecha keshelach, ve-al tehi
noach lich'os. Veshuv yom echad
lifnei mitat'cha. Vehevei mitchamem
k'neged uran shel chachamim, vehevei
zahir begachaltan shelo tikaveh,
sheneshichatan neshichat shu'al,
va'akitzatan akitzat akrav,
uvlechishatan lechishat saraf, vechol
divreihem kegachalei esh.

English

qualities that you mentioned, because it leads to them. Each of these five Sages said three things. Rabbi Eliezer says: Your friend's honor should be as dear to you as your own honor, so do not become angry easily when he does something wrong, just as you would be patient with yourself. Repent one day before you die. Since you do not know which day will be your last, repent every day. Warm yourself next to the fire of Torah scholars—keep in close contact with them—but be careful not to become too casual and friendly with them, because you might act disrespectfully and be “burned by their coals”—be punished; because their bite is like the bite of a fox, their sting is like the sting of a scorpion, their hiss is like the hiss of a snake, and all their words are like burning coals.

Hebrew

יא רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר: עַיִן
הָרָע, וְיֵצֶר הָרָע, וְשִׂנְאַת
הַבְּרִיּוֹת, מוֹצִיאִין אֶת
הָאָדָם מִן הָעוֹלָם.

Sephardi

11 Rabbi Yehoshua omer: ayin
hara, veyeitzer hara, vesinat
hab'riyot, motzi'in et
ha'adam min ha-olam.

English

11 Rabbi Yehoshua says: Having a bad—stingy and jealous—eye, fulfilling the temptations of the evil inclination, and hating people for no reason, can destroy a person's life and drive him from the world.

Hebrew

יב רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר: יְהִי מָמוֹן
חֲבֵרְךָ חָבִיב עָלֶיךָ כְּשֶׁלָּךְ.
וְהִתְקֵן עַצְמְךָ לִלְמֹד תּוֹרָה,
שֶׁאֵינָהּ יְרֻשָּׁה לָךְ. וְכָל
מַעֲשֶׂיךָ יִהְיוּ לְשֵׁם שָׁמָיִם.

Sephardi

12 Rabbi Yosei omer: yehi mamon
chaver'cha chaviv alecha keshelach.2
Vehitaken atzm'cha lilmod Torah,
she'einah yerushah lach. Vechol
ma'asecha yihyu l'shem shamayim.

English

12 Rabbi Yosei says: Your friend's money should be as dear to you as your own money.2 Prepare yourself to work very hard for Torah learning, because it does not come to you easily and automatically, like an inheritance. All your actions, including your mundane activities such as eating and sleeping, should be done for the sake of being able to serve God.