Chapter Three

Perek Shelishi

פֶּרֶק שְׁלִישִׁי

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Hebrew

טז הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר: הַכֹּל נָתוּן
בְּעֵרָבוֹן, וּמְצוּדָה פְרוּסָה עַל
כָּל הַחַיִּים, הֶחָנוּת פְּתוּחָה,
וְהַחֶנְוָנִי מֵקִיף, וְהַפִּנְקָס
פָּתוּחַ, וְהַיָּד כּוֹתֶבֶת, וְכָל
הָרוֹצֶה לִלְווֹת יָבֹא וְיִלְוֶה,
וְהַגַּבָּאִין מַחֲזִירִין תָּדִיר
בְּכָל יוֹם, וְנִפְרָעִין מִן הָאָדָם
מִדַּעְתּוֹ וְשֶׁלֹּא מִדַּעְתּוֹ,1 וְיֵשׁ
לָהֶם עַל מַה שֶּׁיִּסְמֹכוּ,
וְהַדִּין דִּין אֱמֶת, וְהַכֹּל
מְתֻקָּן לַסְּעוּדָה.

Sephardi

16 Hu hayah omer: hakol natun
be'eravon, umetzudah perusah al
kol hachayim, hechanut petuchah,
vehechenvani mekif, vehapinkas
patu'ach, vehayad kotevet, vechol
harotzeh lilvot yavo veyilveh,
vehagaba'in machazirin tadird
bechol yom, venifra'in min ha'adam
mida'to veshelo mida'to,1 v'yesh
lahem al mah sheyismechu,
vehadin din emet, vehakol
metukan lase'udah.

English

16 Rabbi Akiva would often say: Everything that a person owns in the world is given to him by God on condition that it will be used for its correct purpose. A net is spread over all living things—they are unable to escape God's judgment. The world is like a shop that is open for anyone to take what he wants. The Shopkeeper—God—offers credit and is willing to wait for people to repay Him with repentance. The record book is open to record everyone's actions, and the hand writes everything that happens. Whoever wants to borrow from God and "owe" Him repentance is free to borrow, but every "debt" must eventually be repaid through repentance. The collectors go around often each day; God collects payment from each person for his "debts" in many ways, whether the person realizes it or not.1 The collectors have something to rely on—the record book that records everyone's actions. The judgment is a judgment of truth. God judges people fairly. Everything is prepared for the feast of the World to Come, when all people will receive what they deserve.

Hebrew

יז רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה
אוֹמֵר: אִם אֵין תּוֹרָה אֵין
דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ, אִם אֵין דֶּרֶךְ
אֶרֶץ אֵין תּוֹרָה, אִם אֵין
חָכְמָה אֵין יִרְאָה, אִם אֵין
יִרְאָה אֵין חָכְמָה, אִם אֵין
דַּעַת אֵין בִּינָה, אִם אֵין בִּינָה
אֵין דַּעַת, אִם אֵין קֶמַח אֵין

Sephardi

17 Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah
omer: im ein Torah ein
derech eretz, im ein derech
eretz ein Torah, im ein
chochmah ein yir'ah, im ein
yir'ah ein chochmah, im ein
da'at ein binah, im ein binah
ein da'at, im ein kemach ein

English

17 Rabbi Elazar Ben Azaryah says: If a person does not learn Torah, he cannot have proper social conduct, because social conduct is learned from the Torah. If a person has no social conduct, the Torah he learns cannot be properly absorbed. If a person has no wisdom, he cannot properly fear God. If a person does not fear God, his wisdom will not last. If a person has no knowledge, he cannot

Hebrew

תּוֹרָה,2 אִם אֵין תּוֹרָה אֵין קֶמַח.
הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר: כָּל שֶׁחָכְמָתוֹ
מְרֻבָּה מִמַּעֲשָׂיו, לְמָה הוּא
דּוֹמֶה: לְאִילָן שֶׁעֲנָפָיו מְרֻבִּין
וְשָׁרָשָׁיו מוּעָטִין, וְהָרוּחַ בָּאָה
וְעוֹקַרְתּוֹ וְהוֹפַכְתּוֹ עַל פָּנָיו,
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְהָיָה כְּעַרְעָר בָּעֲרָבָה,
וְלֹא יִרְאֶה כִּי יָבֹא טוֹב, וְשָׁכַן
חֲרֵרִים בַּמִּדְבָּר, אֶרֶץ מְלֵחָה וְלֹא
תֵשֵׁב. אֲבָל, כָּל שֶׁמַּעֲשָׂיו מְרֻבִּין
מֵחָכְמָתוֹ, לְמָה הוּא דּוֹמֶה:
לְאִילָן שֶׁעֲנָפָיו מוּעָטִין וְשָׁרָשָׁיו
מְרֻבִּין, שֶׁאֲפִלּוּ כָּל הָרוּחוֹת
שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם בָּאוֹת וְנוֹשְׁבוֹת בּוֹ, אֵין
מְזִיזִין אוֹתוֹ מִמְּקוֹמוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר:
וְהָיָה כְּעֵץ שָׁתוּל עַל מַיִם, וְעַל
יוּבַל יְשַׁלַּח שָׁרָשָׁיו, וְלֹא יִרְאֶה
כִּי יָבֹא חֹם, וְהָיָה עָלֵהוּ רַעֲנָן,
וּבִשְׁנַת בַּצֹּרֶת לֹא יִדְאָג, וְלֹא
יָמִישׁ מֵעֲשׂוֹת פֶּרִי.

Sephardi

Torah,2 im ein Torah ein kemach.
Hu hayah omer: kol shechachmato
merubah mima'asav, lamah hu
domeh: le'ilan she'anafav merubin
veshorashav mu'atin, veharu'ach ba'ah
ve'okarto vehofachto al panav,
shene'emar: vehayah ke'ar'ar ba'aravah,
v'lo yir'eh ki yavo tov, veshachan
charerim bamidbar, eretz meleichah v'lo
teishev. Aval, kol shema'asav merubin
meichachmato, lamah hu domeh:
le'ilan she'anafav mu'atin veshorashav
merubin, she'afilu kol haruchot
sheba'olam ba'ot venoshvot bo, ein
mezizin oto mimkomo, shene'emar:
vehayah ke'etz shatul al mayim, ve'al
yuval yeshalach shorashav, v'lo yir'eh
ki yavo chom, vehayah aleihu ra'anan,
uvishnat batzoret lo yid'ag, v'lo
yamish mei'asot peri.

English

have deep understanding. If a person has no deep understanding, he cannot gain a lot of knowledge. If a person has no food to eat, he cannot study Torah.2 If a person does not study Torah, there is no point in having food. Rabbi Elazar Ben Azaryah would often say: Anyone whose wisdom exceeds his good deeds, to what is he compared? To a tree that has many branches but only a few roots; a wind comes and uproots it, and turns it upside down. As it says in Jeremiah: He will be like a lone tree on dry, windy land, and will not survive to see when the good rain will come; it will dwell dried out in the desert, on a salty land where nobody lives. But anyone whose good deeds exceed his wisdom, to what is he compared? To a tree that has only a few branches but many roots—even if all the winds in the world come and blow against it, they do not move it from its place. As it says in Jeremiah: He will be like a tree planted next to water, which will spread its roots toward the stream; it will not notice when the heat comes, and its leaves will always be fresh. In a year of drought it will not worry, and it will not stop producing fruits.

Hebrew

יח רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר (בֶּן) חִסְמָא אוֹמֵר:
קִנִּין וּפִתְחֵי נִדָּה, הֵן הֵן גּוּפֵי
הֲלָכוֹת.3 תְּקוּפוֹת וְגִמַּטְרִיָּאוֹת,
פַּרְפְּרָאוֹת לַחָכְמָה.

Sephardi

18 Rabbi Eliezer (ben) Chisma omer:
kinin ufit'chei niddah, hen hen gufei
halachot.3 Tekufot vegimatriyot,
parperot lachachmah.

English

18 Rabbi Eliezer (ben) Chisma says: The mathematical calculations to determine what to do when bird offerings become mixed up and unidentifiable, and mathematical calculations to determine when the laws of niddah begin, are actually part of the Torah.3 They are laws of the Torah, but the mathematical calculations of astronomy and numerical values only add flavor to a person's wisdom and should only be studied after one is filled with Torah knowledge.

Hebrew

רַבִּי חֲנַנְיָא בֶּן עֲקַשְׁיָא אוֹמֵר: רָצָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ
בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְזַכּוֹת אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, לְפִיכָךְ הִרְבָּה

Sephardi

Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya omer: ratzah hakadosh
baruch hu lezakot et Yisrael, lefichach hirbah

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