Chapter Three

Visible layers

Hebrew

יְסָדָהּ. וּמִנַּיִן אֲפִלּוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה,
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: בְּקֶרֶב אֱלֹהִים
יִשְׁפֹּט. וּמִנַּיִן אֲפִלּוּ שְׁנַיִם,
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: אָז נִדְבְּרוּ יִרְאֵי יְיָ
אִישׁ אֶל רֵעֵהוּ, וַיַּקְשֵׁב יְיָ
וַיִּשְׁמָע. וּמִנַּיִן אֲפִלּוּ אֶחָד,
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: בְּכָל הַמָּקוֹם
אֲשֶׁר אַזְכִּיר אֶת שְׁמִי, אָבֹא
אֵלֶיךָ וּבֵרַכְתִּיךָ.

Sephardi

yesadah. Uminayin afilu sh'loshah,
shene'emar: b'kerev Elohim
yishpot. Uminayin afilu sh'nayim,
shene'emar: az nidberu yirei Adonai
ish el re'ehu, vayakshev Adonai
vayishma. Uminayin afilu echad,
shene'emar: bechol hamakom
asher azkir et shemi, avo
eilecha uveirachticha.

English

five people who learn Torah together. From where do we know that the Divine Presence rests even among three people who learn Torah together? From a verse in Psalms, where it says: God sits among the three judges of a court and makes His own judgment. From where do we know that the Divine Presence rests even upon two people who learn Torah together? From a verse in Malachi, where it says: Then the people who fear the Lord spoke to each other, and the Lord paid attention and heard. From where do we know that the Divine Presence rests upon even one person who learns Torah? From the Torah, where it says: In any place where I have given you permission to mention My name—if you mention it, I will come to you and bless you.

Hebrew

ז רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אִישׁ בַּרְתּוֹתָא
אוֹמֵר: תֵּן לוֹ מִשֶּׁלּוֹ, שֶׁאַתָּה
וְשֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלּוֹ.1 וְכֵן בְּדָוִד הוּא
אוֹמֵר: כִּי מִמְּךָ הַכֹּל וּמִיָּדְךָ
נָתַנּוּ לָךְ. רַבִּי יַעֲקֹב אוֹמֵר:
הַמְהַלֵּךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ וְשׁוֹנֶה,
וּמַפְסִיק מִמִּשְׁנָתוֹ וְאוֹמֵר:
מַה נָּאֶה אִילָן זֶה, מַה נָּאֶה
נִיר זֶה,2 מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב
כְּאִלּוּ מִתְחַיֵּב בְּנַפְשׁוֹ.3

Sephardi

7 Rabbi Elazar ish Bartota
omer: ten lo mishelo, she'atah
veshelcha shelo.1 Vechen beDavid hu
omer: ki mimcha hakol umiyadecha
natanu lach. Rabbi Ya'akov omer:
hamehalech baderech veshoneh,
umafsik mimishnato ve'omer:
mah na'eh ilan zeh, mah na'eh
nir zeh,2 ma'aleh alav hakatuv
ke'ilu mitchayev benafsho.3

English

7 Rabbi Elazar of Bartota says: When you serve God, give Him from what comes from Him—for example, serve Him by spending money on commandments or giving generously to charity, because you, and everything that you own, really belong to Him.1 That is what King David says: Everything comes from You, God, and everything that we give You is originally from Your hand. Rabbi Yaakov says: Someone who walks in the street and studies Torah by heart and interrupts his study—even to admire God's beautiful world and say, "How beautiful is this tree! How beautiful is this plowed field!"2—is considered by the Torah as if he has committed a sin for which he would deserve to lose his life.3

Hebrew

ח רַבִּי דּוֹסְתָּאִי בְּרַבִּי יַנַּאי מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי
מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר: כָּל הַשּׁוֹכֵחַ דָּבָר אֶחָד
מִמִּשְׁנָתוֹ, מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ
מִתְחַיֵּב בְּנַפְשׁוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: רַק הִשָּׁמֶר
לְךָ וּשְׁמֹר נַפְשְׁךָ מְאֹד פֶּן תִּשְׁכַּח
אֶת הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר רָאוּ עֵינֶיךָ. יָכוֹל
אֲפִלּוּ תָּקְפָה עָלָיו מִשְׁנָתוֹ, תַּלְמוּד
לוֹמַר: וּפֶן יָסוּרוּ מִלְּבָבְךָ כֹּל יְמֵי
חַיֶּיךָ, הָא אֵינוֹ מִתְחַיֵּב בְּנַפְשׁוֹ עַד
שֶׁיֵּשֵׁב וִיסִירֵם מִלִּבּוֹ.

Sephardi

8 Rabbi Dostai beRabbi Yannai mishum Rabbi
Meir omer: kol hashocheach davar echad
mimishnato, ma'aleh alav hakatuv ke'ilu
mitchayev benafsho, shene'emar: rak hishamer
lecha ushmor nafshecha me'od pen tishkach
et hadevarim asher ra'u einecha. Yachol
afilu takfah alav mishnato, talmud
lomar: ufen yasuru milevavecha kol yemei
chayecha, ha eino mitchayev benafsho ad
sheyeshev veyisirem milibo.

English

8 Rabbi Dostai bar Yannai said in the name of Rabbi Meir: Whoever forgets even one thing of his Torah learning because he did not review it is considered by the Torah as if he has committed a sin for which he would lose his life, as it says in the Torah: But be careful and guard your life very much in case you forget what your eyes saw at Mount Sinai—the giving of the Torah. You could think that this applies even if he forgot what he learned because it was too difficult for him to remember it, therefore the Torah says, "In case the words of Torah are removed from your heart throughout all the days of your life" to teach us—that he is not considered to have committed a sin for which he would lose his life unless he knowingly removes what he learned from his mind by sitting around and not reviewing.

Hebrew

ט רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בֶּן דּוֹסָא אוֹמֵר: כָּל
שֶׁיִּרְאַת חֶטְאוֹ4 קוֹדֶמֶת לְחָכְמָתוֹ,
חָכְמָתוֹ מִתְקַיֶּמֶת. וְכָל שֶׁחָכְמָתוֹ
קוֹדֶמֶת לְיִרְאַת חֶטְאוֹ, אֵין
חָכְמָתוֹ מִתְקַיֶּמֶת.

Sephardi

9 Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa omer: kol
sheyir'at chet'o4 kodemet lechochmato,
chochmato mitkayemet. Vechol shechochmato
kodemet leyir'at chet'o, ein
chochmato mitkayemet.

English

9 Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa says: Anyone whose fear of sin4 takes priority over his wisdom, his wisdom will last. But anyone whose wisdom takes priority over his fear of sin, his wisdom will not last.

Hebrew

י הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר: כָּל שֶׁמַּעֲשָׂיו
מְרֻבִּין מֵחָכְמָתוֹ,5 חָכְמָתוֹ מִתְקַיֶּמֶת.
וְכָל שֶׁחָכְמָתוֹ מְרֻבָּה מִמַּעֲשָׂיו,
אֵין חָכְמָתוֹ מִתְקַיֶּמֶת. הוּא הָיָה
אוֹמֵר: כָּל שֶׁרוּחַ הַבְּרִיּוֹת נוֹחָה
הֵימֶנּוּ, רוּחַ הַמָּקוֹם נוֹחָה הֵימֶנּוּ.
וְכָל שֶׁאֵין רוּחַ הַבְּרִיּוֹת נוֹחָה

Sephardi

10 hu hayah omer: kol shema'asav
merubin mechochmato,5 chochmato mitkayemet.
Vechol shechochmato merubah mima'asav,
ein chochmato mitkayemet. Hu hayah
omer: kol sheruach hab'riyot nochah
hemenu, ruach hamakom nochah hemenu.
Vechol she'ein ruach hab'riyot nochah

English

10 Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa would often say: Anyone whose good deeds exceed his wisdom,5 his wisdom will last. But anyone whose wisdom exceeds his good deeds, his wisdom will not last. Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa would often say: Anyone who people find to be pleasant, God also finds to be pleasant, because, by being pleasant, he

Commentary

1 Give charity with humility, because even your ability to choose whether or not to give ("you") is a gift from God.

2 Alternatively, "One who interrupts because of his learning." Part of serving God is eliminating the ego. One who interrupts his learning because of his learning—in order to look back and admire his academic accomplishments—is considered to have transgressed a capital sin, because by undermining the true purpose of Torah study, he is disconnecting himself from God, the source of life.

3 Torah is the source of life for a Jew. When one forgets his learning, it's like losing a life.

4 Fear of sin also refers to prayer, which instills the humility and fear of God that is necessary to make one's studies endure.

5 Wisdom refers to serving God based on understanding. Deeds refer to obediently serving God whether understood or not. Deeds are the "roots," since they come from a much deeper level of the soul, namely, its source. Understanding only comes from the lower levels of the soul.