Chapter Five

Perek 5

פֶּרֶק ה

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Hebrew

תּוֹרִידֵם לִבְאֵר שַׁחַת, אַנְשֵׁי
דָמִים וּמִרְמָה לֹא יֶחֱצוּ
יְמֵיהֶם, וַאֲנִי אֶבְטַח בָּךְ.1

Sephardi

toridem liv'er shachat, anshei
damim umirmah lo yechetzu
yemeihem, va'ani evtach bach.1

English

to a pit of destruction. Men who are bloodthirsty and liars do not live for even half the days of their life. But I will trust in You.1

Hebrew

כ יְהוּדָה בֶן תֵּימָא אוֹמֵר: הֱוֵי
עַז כַּנָּמֵר,2 וְקַל כַּנֶּשֶׁר, רָץ
כַּצְּבִי, וְגִבּוֹר כָּאֲרִי, לַעֲשׂוֹת
רְצוֹן אָבִיךָ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמָיִם. הוּא
הָיָה אוֹמֵר: עַז פָּנִים לְגֵיהִנֹּם,
וּבוֹשֶׁת פָּנִים לְגַן עֵדֶן. יְהִי
רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ
וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁיִּבָּנֶה בֵּית
הַמִּקְדָּשׁ בִּמְהֵרָה בְּיָמֵינוּ, וְתֵן
חֶלְקֵנוּ בְּתוֹרָתֶךָ.3

Sephardi

20 Yehudah ven Teima omer: hevei
az kanamer,2 v'kal kanesher, ratz
katzvi, v'gibor ka'ari, la'asot
retzon avicha shebashamayim. Hu
hayah omer: az panim l'geihinom,
uvoshet panim l'gan eden. Yehi
ratzon milfanekha, Adonai Eloheinu
veilohei avoteinu, sheyibaneh beit
hamikdash bimherah beyameinu, veten
chelkeinu b'toratecha.3

English

20 Yehudah ben Teima says: Be as bold as a leopard,2 and don't be intimidated by people who make fun of doing the right thing; be as light as an eagle, and don't let laziness win over you; run like a deer, showing your great enthusiasm; and be as strong as a lion to overcome any obstacles—to fulfill the will of your Father in Heaven. Yehudah ben Teima would often say: A brazen, arrogant person will go to Gehinom, whereas a bashful, humble person will go to the Garden of Eden. May it be Your will, Lord, our God and the God of our fathers, that the Holy Temple should be built quickly in our days and that You should give us our portion in Your Torah.3

Hebrew

כא בֶּן בַּג בַּג אוֹמֵר: הֲפֹךְ בָּהּ
וְהַפֵּךְ בָּהּ, דְּכֹלָּא בָהּ, וּבָהּ
תֶּחֱזֵי, וְסִיב וּבְלֵה בָהּ, וּמִנַּהּ
לֹא תָזוּעַ, שֶׁאֵין לְךָ מִדָּה
טוֹבָה הֵימֶנָּה. בֶּן הֵא הֵא
אוֹמֵר: לְפוּם צַעֲרָא אַגְרָא.4

Sephardi

21 Ben bag bag omer: hafach bah
v'hafech bah, d'chola bah, uvah
techezei, v'siv uvleh bah, uminah
lo tazu'a, she'ein lecha midah
tovah heimenah. Ben hei hei
omer: l'fum tza'ara agra.4

English

21 Ben Bag-Bag says: Delve into the Torah and delve into it again—always try to uncover more and understand deeper, because everything is in it. With Torah you will see the truth. Learn Torah forever, even as you grow old and worn out. Never move away from it, because it connects you to God, and you can have nothing better than that. Ben Hei-Hei says: The reward for a commandment is increased in proportion to the amount of strain and hard work you experience when fulfilling it.4

Hebrew

כב הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר: בֶּן חָמֵשׁ
שָׁנִים לַמִּקְרָא, בֶּן עֶשֶׂר
שָׁנִים לַמִּשְׁנָה,5 בֶּן שָׁלֹשׁ
עֶשְׂרֵה לַמִּצְוֹת, בֶּן חָמֵשׁ
עֶשְׂרֵה לִגְמָרָא, בֶּן שְׁמוֹנֶה
עֶשְׂרֵה לַחֻפָּה, בֶּן עֶשְׂרִים
לִרְדּוֹף, בֶּן שְׁלשִׁים לַכֹּחַ, בֶּן
אַרְבָּעִים לַבִּינָה, בֶּן חֲמִשִּׁים
לָעֵצָה, בֶּן שִׁשִּׁים לַזִּקְנָה, בֶּן
שִׁבְעִים לַשֵּׂיבָה, בֶּן שְׁמוֹנִים
לִגְבוּרָה, בֶּן תִּשְׁעִים לָשּׁוּחַ,
בֶּן מֵאָה כְּאִלּוּ מֵת וְעָבַר
וּבָטֵל מִן הָעוֹלָם.

Sephardi

22 Hu hayah omer: ben chamesh
shanim lamikra, ben eser
shanim lamishnah,5 ben shalosh
esreh lamitzvot, ben chamesh
esreh ligmara, ben sh'moneh
esreh lachuppah, ben esrim
lirdof, ben sh'loshim lako'ach, ben
arba'im labinah, ben chamishim
la'etzah, ben shishim laziknah, ben
shiv'im laseivah, ben sh'monim
ligvurah, ben tish'im lashu'ach,
ben me'ah ke'ilu met v'avar
uvatel min ha-olam.

English

22 Yehudah ben Teima would often say: A five-year-old is of the age to learn Chumash. A ten-year-old is of the age to learn Mishnah.5 A thirteen-year-old is obligated to fulfill commandments. A fifteen-year-old is of the age to learn Gemara. An eighteen-year-old is of the age for marriage. A twenty-year-old is of the age to pursue a livelihood. A thirty-year-old is of the age of full strength. A forty-year-old is of the age for understanding. A fifty-year-old is of the age to offer advice. A sixty-year-old is of the age of maturity and wisdom. A seventy-year-old is of a ripe old age. An eighty-year-old is of the age that shows that he has a strong and healthy body to survive to this age. A ninety-year-old is of the age of becoming bent-over. A hundred-year-old has lost the use of most of his natural abilities and is therefore considered dead; he is also removed and ceases to care about the physical pursuits of this world, and recognizes God's presence in the world.

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.

פֶּרֶק ו

Chapter Six

Commentary

1 The end of the verse is quoted in the mishnah even though it's not directly connected to its teachings. The verse alludes to the fact that even if there are "students of Bilaam" in the world who try to harm us, we must declare that we trust in God.

2 The mishnah connects each positive trait to an animal. This teaches that everything a person sees or hears should be used as a lesson in the service of God. You can even learn positive character traits from an animal!

3 The connection between the two parts of this prayer is that when the Redemption arrives and the Temple is rebuilt, our only "portion" and occupation will be learning Torah.

4 God does not only value the deed itself, but also the effort and time that is put into it. Even if one feels that he didn't achieve anything noteworthy, he is rewarded for his efforts.

5 The mishnah is not only indicating the age one should begin each of these pursuits. At these ages one's entire essence and focus should be on that pursuit. When a child reaches the age of ten, what is his essence? That he should be learning mishnah! All his energy and time should be focused on this.