All Israel have a portion in the world to come, and it is said, "And
thy people shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land for
ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be
glorified".
1. With ten sayings the world was created. What does this teach us?
Could it not have been created with one saying? It is to make known
the punishment that will befall the wicked who destroy the world that
was created with ten sayings, as well as the goodly reward that will
be bestowed upon the just who preserve the world that was created with
ten sayings (1). 2. There were ten generations from Adam to Noah, to
make known how long-suffering God is, seeing that all those
generations continued provoking him, until he brought upon them the
waters of the flood (2). 3. There were ten generations from Noah to
Abraham, to make known how long-suffering God is, seeing that all
those generations continued provoking him, until Abraham, our father,
came, and received the reward they should all have earned (3). 4.
With ten trials our father Abraham was tried (4), and he stood firm in
them all, to make known how great was the love of our father Abraham
(5). 5. Ten miracles were wrought for our fathers in Egypt (6), and
ten at the Sea (7). 6. Ten plagues did the Holy One, blessed be He,
bring upon the Egyptians in Egypt, and ten at the Sea (8). 7. With
ten temptations did our fathers tempt the Holy One, blessed be He, in
the wilderness, as it is said, "And they tempted me these ten times,
and have not hearkened to my voice" (9). 8. Ten miracles were wrought
for our fathers in the Temple; no woman miscarried from the scent of
the holy flesh; the holy flesh never became putrid; no fly (10) was
seen in the slaughter-house; no unclean accident ever befell the
high-priest on the Day of Atonement; the rain never quenched the fire
of the wood-pile on the altar (11); neither did the wind overcome the
column of smoke that arose therefrom (12); nor was there ever found
any disqualifying defect in the omer (of new barley, offered on the
second day of Passover) or in the two loaves (the first fruits of the
wheat-harvest, offered on Pentecost) (13), or in the shewbread (14);
though the people stood closely pressed together, they found ample
space to prostrate themselves; never did serpent or scorpion injure
any one in Jerusalem; nor did any man ever say to his fellow, "the
place is too strait for me (15) to lodge over night in Jerusalem." 9.
Ten things were created on the eve of Sabbath in the twilight (16):
the mouth of the earth (17); the mouth of the well (18); the mouth of
the ass (19); the rainbow (20); the manna (21); the rod (22); the
shamir (23); the shape of written characters; the writing, and the
tables of stone: some say, the destroying spirits also, and the
sepulchre of Moses (24), and the ram of Abraham our father (25); and
others say, tongs, also, made with tongs (26).
(1) The expression "and God said" occurs ten times in Genesis
I (verses 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26 28, and 29). Many
commentators count the opening phrase of this chapter, "In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth," as one of
the sayings, maintaining that the idea of saying is implied in
it. Cf. Ps. XXXIII, 16. According to the Rabbis, the wicked
destroy and the righteous preserve the world, and, since it
required ten sayings to create the world, the guilt of the
sinner and the righteousness of the just are emphasized more
than if it had been created merely by one word.
(2) The ten generations are Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan,
Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methusaleh, Lamech, and Noah. The
period from Adam to Noah is known as the "generation of the
flood" (_dor ha-mabbul_).
(3) These are Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu,
Serug, Nahor, Terah, and Abraham. Noah's good deeds were
sufficient only to save himself and family, while Abraham's
were sufficient to sustain the whole world.
(4) These trials may be reckoned as follows: (1) his
migration, Gen. XII, 12; (2) the famine in Canaan, XII, 10;
(3) the seizing of Sarah by Pharaoh, XII, 15; (4) the battle
with the four kings, XIV; (5) his marriage with Hagar because
of Sarah's sterility, XVI, 2; (6) the circumcision, XVII, 10;
(7) the seizing of Sarah by Abimelech, king of Gerar, XX, 2;
(8) the banishment of Hagar, XXI, 10; (9) the banishment of
Ishmael, XXI, 10; and (10) God's command to sacrifice Isaac,
XXII, 2. See _Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer_, chapter 24, and
Friedlander, G., _Rabbinic philosophy and Ethics_ (London,
1912), p. 75, n. 4.
(5) For God. Some interpreters explain this, however, as "the
love of God for Abraham."
(6) That they escaped the ten plagues with which the Egyptians
were afflicted.
(7) Legend says that at the passage of the Red Sea the ten
miracles wrought were as follows: (1) the waters divided; (2)
the waters were like a tent, or a vault; (3) the sea-bed was
dry and hard; (4) but when the Egyptians trod upon it, it
became muddy and slimy; (5) the sea was divided into twelve
parts, one for each tribe; (6) the waters became as hard as
stone; (7) the congealed waters appeared like blocks of
building-stone; (8) the water was transparent so that the
tribes could see one another; (9) fresh drinking water flowed
from the congealed water; (10) after Israel had partaken of
the drinking water, it became congealed, and did not wet the
ground under foot. See Ginzberg, _Legends of the Jews_, III,
p. 21 _et seq._
(8) This verse is not found in the Talmudic versions of
_Abot_. The plagues at the sea are alluded to in the "Song of
Moses," Ex. XV. See the commentary of Bartenora.
(9) Num. XIV, 22. The ten are enumerated by Maimonides,
Bartenora, Hoffmann, and others.
(10) The fly is a symbol of impurity.
(11) The altar stood in the midst of the roofless Temple-hall.
(12) The straight column of smoke denoted the acceptance of
prayer and sacrifice.
(13) See Lev. XXIII, 15-17.
(14) Every Sabbath, twelve loaves of bread were placed on a
table in the Sanctuary "before the Lord" (Lev. XXIV, 5-9) to
serve as a constant reminder to the twelve tribes that their
place was before the altar of God.
(15) Isa. XLIX, 20.
(16) Since all things were said to have been created during
the first six days of creation, and since "there is nothing
new under the sun" (Eccles. I, 9), everything miraculous or
supernatural that existed or occurred after creation was
explained by the Rabbis as having been made or preordained in
the twilight at the moment of transition between the end of
the work of creation and the beginning of the Sabbath. See
Gorfinkle, _ibid._, pp. 90-91 and n. 1.
(17) To swallow Korah and his followers. See Num. XVI, 30.
(18) Which supplied the Israelites with water during their
wandering in the wilderness. See Num. XXI, 16, and _Shabbat_,
35a.
(19) Balaam's ass. See Num. XXII, 28.
(20) Ge. IX, 19.
(21) Ex. XV, 16.
(22) Of Moses. See _ibid._, IV, 17.
(23) A miraculous worm that split stones by its look. It was
used, according to legend, to engrave the names of the tribes
on the jewels of the ephod of the high-priest, and was also
employed by Solomon in the construction of the Temple, in
which no tools of iron were used. See _Gittin_, 68a, and
_Sotah_, 48b. Consult P. Cassel, _Shamir, ein archaol.
Beitrag zur Natur und Sagenkunde_, Erfurt, 1856, and art.
_Shamir_, in _Jewish Encyclopedia_.
(24) Deut. XXXIV, 6.
(25) Gen. XXII, 13.
(26) An allusion to a saying found in _Tosefta Erubin_, "Tongs
are made with tongs; but how was the first pair made? It
could only have been a creation of God." One instrument
presupposes another; one thing is the cause of another, but
the original cause is God. Cf. _Pesachim_, 54a.
10. There are seven marks of an uncultured, and seven of a wise man.
The wise man does not speak before him who is greater than he in
wisdom; and does not interrupt the speech of his companion; he is not
hasty to answer; he questions according to the subject-matter; and
answers to the point; he speaks upon the first thing first, and upon
the last, last; regarding that which he has not understood he says, "I
do not understand it;" and he acknowledges the truth. The reverse of
all this is to be found in an uncultured man. 11. Seven kinds of
punishment come into the world for seven important transgressions. If
some give their tithes (27) and others do not, a dearth ensues from
drought and some suffer hunger while others are full. If they all
determine to give no tithes, a dearth ensures from tumult (28) and
drought. If they further resolve not to give the dough-cake (29), an
exterminating dearth ensures. Pestilence comes into the world to
fulfil those death penalties threatened in the _Torah_, the execution
of which, however, is within the function of a human tribunal (30),
and for the violation of the law regarding the fruits of the seventh
year (31). The sword (32) comes into the world for the delay of
justice, and for the perversion of justice, and on account of the
offence of those who interpret the _Torah_, not according to its true
sense (33). Noxious beasts come into the world for vain swearing
(34), and for the profanation of the Divine Name (35). Captivity
comes into the world on account of idolatry, immortality, bloodshed,
and the neglect of the year of rest for the soil (31). 12. At four
periods pestilence grows apace: in the fourth year, in the seventh, at
the conclusion of the seventh year, and at the conclusion of the Feast
of Tabernacles in each year: in the fourth year, for default of giving
the tithe to the poor in the third year (36); in the seventh year, for
default of giving the title to the poor in the sixth year (37); at the
conclusion of the seventh year, for the violation of the law regarding
the fruits of the seventh year (31), and at the conclusion of the
Feast of Tabernacles in each year, for robbing the poor of the grants
legally assigned to them (38).
(27) See chapter I, n. 37.
(28) Of war, when agriculture is neglected, and crops are
destroyed, etc.
(29) Num. XV, 20: "Ye shall offer up a cake of the first of
your dough for a heave offering." This commandment is
observed in spirit to-day by the Jewish housewife, who takes a
part of bread which is kneaded, and burns it, after reciting
the blessing, "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God, King of the
universe, Who has sanctified us by Thy commandments, and
commanded us to separate the _challah_." The ninth treatise
of the _Order Zeraim_ of the _Mishnah_ is called _Challah._
See Friedlander, _Jewish Religion_, p. 357.
(30) The execution of which is in the hands of God.
(31) That is, the Sabbatical year or the year of release
(_ha-shemittah_). See Ex. XXIII, 10 _et seq._, and Lev. XXV,
1-7. It is commanded that the land be allowed to lie fallow
during that year, that there be no sowing, nor reaping, nor
pruning of the vineyards, and that the servants, strangers,
and animals, as well as the owner, shall share in the
spontaneous growth of the fields and the vineyards. See also
Deut. XV, 1-11, and _Tractate Shebiit_ of the _Mishnah_.
(32) _I.e._, war.
(33) By prohibiting the permissible and permitting the
prohibited.
(34) Cf. chapter IV, 9.
(35) Cf. chapter IV, 5.
(36) See Deut. XIV, 28, 29; XXVI, 12, and also above, chapter
I, n. 37.
(37) Of the septennial cycle. The tithe was to be brought at
the end of _every_ three years.
(38) _I.e._, the gleanings and the forgotten sheaves of the
harvest, the single bunches of grapes of the vineyard, and the
unreaped corners of the fields which were assigned to the
stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.
13. There are four characters among men: he who says, "What is mine is
mine and what is thine is thine," his is a neutral character; some
say, "This is a character like that of Sodom" (39); he who says, "What
is mine is thine and what is thine is mine," is a boor (40); he who
says, "What is mine is thine and what is thine is thine," is a saint;
he who says, "What is thine is mine and what is mine is mine," is a
wicked man. 14. There are four kinds of tempers: he whom it is easy
to provoke and easy to pacify, his loss disappears in his gain; he
whom it is hard to provoke and hard to pacify, his gain disappears in
his loss; he whom it is hard to provoke and easy to pacify is a saint;
he whom it is easy to provoke and hard to pacify is a wicked man. 15.
There are four qualities in disciples: he who quickly understands and
quickly forgets, his gain disappears in his loss; he who understands
with difficulty and forgets with difficulty, his loss disappears in
his gain; he who understands quickly and forgets with difficulty, his
is a good portion; he who understands with difficulty and forgets
quickly, his is an evil portion. 16. As to almsgiving there are four
dispositions: he who desires to give, but that others should not give,
his eye is evil toward what appertains to others (41); he who desires
that others should give, but will not give himself, his eye is evil
against what is his own; he who gives and wishes others to give is a
saint; he who will not give and does not wish others to give is a
wicked man. 17. There are four characters among those who attend the
house of study: he who goes and does not practise (42) secures the
reward for going; he who practises (43) but does not go secures the
reward for practising; he who goes and practises is a saint; he who
neither goes nor practises is a wicked man. 18. There are four
qualities among those that sit before the wise: they are like a
sponge, a funnel, a strainer, or a sieve: a sponge, which sucks up
everything (44); a funnel, which lets in at one end and out at the
other; a strainer, which lets the wine pass out and retains the dregs;
a sieve, which lets out the bran and retains the fine flour.
(39) One who neither gives nor takes. One who does no labor
of love. Cf. Ezek. XVI, 49.
(40) He does not know the sacredness of the rights of
property.
(41) He does not want his neighbors to be blessed because of
their liberality.
(42) The duties of which he has learned.
(43) The commands of the _Torah_.
(44) The true and the untrue.
19. Whenever love depends upon some material cause, with the passing
away of that cause, the love, too, passes away (45); but if it be not
depending upon such a cause, it will not pass away for ever. Which
love was that which depended upon a material cause? Such was the love
of Ammon and Tamar (46). And that which depended upon no such cause?
Such was the love of David and Jonathan (47).
(45) Lasting love is disinterested love.
(46) See II Sam. XII.
(47) See I Sam. XVIII, 1.
20. Every controversy that is in the Name of Heaven (48) shall in the
end lead to a permanent result, but every controversy that is not in
the Name of Heaven shall not lead to a permanent result. Which
controversy was that which was in the Name of Heaven? Such was the
controversy of Hillel and Shammai (49). And that which was not in the
Name of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Korah and all his company
(50).
(48) _I.e._, a controversy to arrive at the truth.
(49) See chapter I, n. 29.
(50) See Num. XV, 1 _et seq._
21. Whosoever causes the multitude to be righteous, over him sin
prevails not; but he who causes the multitude to sin shall not have
the means to repent (51). Moses was righteous and made the multitude
righteous; the righteousness of the multitude was laid upon him, as it
is said, "He executed the justice of the Lord and his judgments with
Israel" (52). Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, sinned and caused the
multitude to sin; the sin of the multitude was laid upon him, as it is
said, "For the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned and which he made
Israel to sin" (53).
(51) He who leads the people astray is punished by being
prevented from repenting. This does not mean, however, that
man, in general, does not act in accordance with his own free
will. Maimonides, in discussing this problem, says, in the
eighth chapter of the _Shemonah Perakim_, "Just as some of
man's undertakings, which are ordinarily subject to his own
free will, are frustrated by way of punishment, as, for
instance, a man's hand being prevented from working so that he
can do nothing with it, as was the case of Jeroboam, the son
of Nebat, or a man's eyes from seeing, as happened to the
Sodomites, who had assembled about Lot, likewise how does God
withhold man's ability to use his own free will in regard to
repentance, so that it never occurs to him to repent, and he
thus finally perishes in his own wickedness." See ed.
Gorfinkle, p. 94 _et seq._
(52) Deut. XXXIII, 21.
(53) I Kings XV, 30. Cf. _Sanhedrin_ X, 2: "Three kings have
no portion in the world to come . . . Jeroboam, Ahab, and
Manasseh."
22. Whosoever has these three attributes is of the disciples of
Abraham, our father, but whosoever has three other attributes is of
the disciples of Balaam, the wicked (54). A good eye (55), a humble
mind, and a lowly spirit (are the tokens) of the disciples of Abraham,
our father; an evil eye, a haughty mind, and a proud spirit (are the
signs) of the disciples of Balaam, the wicked. What is the difference
between the disciples of Abraham, our father, and those of Balaam, the
wicked? The disciples of Abraham, our father, enjoy this world and
inherit the world to come, as it is said, "That I may cause those that
love me to inherit substance, and may fill all their treasuries" (56);
but the disciples of Balaam, the wicked, inherit _Gehinnom_ (57), and
descend into the pit of destruction, as it is said, "But thou, O God,
wilt bring them down into the pit of destruction; bloodthirsty and
deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in
thee" (58).
(54) See Num. XXII-XXIV.
(55) See chapter II, note 30.
(56) Prov. VIII, 21: "Substance," _i.e._, in the future world;
"treasures," _i.e._, in this world.
(57) See chapter I, n. 18.
(58) Ps. LIV, 24.
23. Judah, the son of Tema, said, "Be bold as a leopard, swift as an
eagle, fleet as a hart, and strong as a lion, to do the will of thy
Father who is in Heaven" (59). 24. He used to say (60), "At five
years (the age is reached for the study of the) Scripture, at ten for
(the study of) the _Mishnah_ (61), at thirteen for (the fulfilment of)
the commandments (62), at fifteen for (the study of) the _Talmud_
(63), at eighteen for marriage, at twenty for seeking (a livelihood)
(64), at thirty for (entering into one's full) strength, at forty for
understanding, at fifty for counsel, at sixty (a man attains) old age,
at seventy the hoary head, at eighty (the gift of special) strength
(65), at ninety, (he bends beneath) the weight of years, at a hundred
he is as if he were already dead and had passed away from the world."
(59) Cf. "Our Father which is in Heaven" of the "Lord's
Prayer" (Matt. VI, 9). The conception of God as a "Father"
goes back to earliest times. See Gen. XLIX, 19, 20; Ex. IV,
22; Deut. XXXII, 6; II Sam. V, 44; Ps. LXXXIX, 27, 28; Isa.
LXIII, 16, LXIV, 8, and Mal. II, 10. Deut. XXXII, 6, reads,
"Is He not thy Father?" and Isa. LXIII, 18, "Doubtless Thou
art our Father." In the _Mishnah_ we find, "Who purifies you?
Your Father which is in Heaven" (_Yoma_ VII, 8); "On whom
have we to lean? On our Father which is in Heaven" (_Sotah_,
IX, 15), and similar passages. The Rabbis constantly referred
to God as "Father" (see Schechter, _Aspects_, pp. 46, 49,
50-51). They took issue, of course, with the New Testament
conception of God, in not admitting and in denouncing the idea
of a mediator. To them all mankind were the sons of God.
That the Rabbis borrowed this God-idea and the expression "Our
Father which is in Heaven" from Christianity is untenable,
for, as Herford (_Pharisaism_, 120 _et seq._) points out, such
borrowing would have been abhorrent to them. This expression
was undoubtedly current long before and during the time of
Jesus, and it represented a conception of the divine
acceptable to both the Rabbis and Jesus. The Rabbis had no
quarrel with Christianity on this score, but did not admit the
"sonship" of God in the Christian sense. The expressions "Our
Father" and "Our Father which is in Heaven" are found
frequently in the Jewish Prayer-book. On this subject,
consult Taylor, _Sayings_, pp. 124, 176, and G. Friedlander,
_The Jewish Sources of the Sermon on the Mount_, chapter X.
For a comparison of other parts of _Abot_ with the New
Testament see Feibig, _Pirque 'aboth_, especially the
_Nachwort_, pp. 42-43, and G. Friedlander, _ibid._, _passim_.
It seems that originally _Abot_ ended here, as in the
_Machzor Vitry_. The verses which follow were added from
other sources. See Bacher, _Agada der Tanaiten_, I, 378;
Taylor, _ibid._, p. 95, n. 46, p. 96, n. 47; Hoffmann, _Die
erste Mischna_, p. 30; _idem_, _Abot_, p. 358, notes 106 and
108; and Strack, _Spruche_, p. 46, notes _t_ and _u_.
(60) Taylor makes this verse an _addendum_ to chapter V, and
calls it "The Ages of Man." Cf. Shakespeare's "Seven Ages of
Man." See in the _Jewish Encyclopedia_, art. _Ages of Man in
Jewish Literature_, _The Seven_, and Schechter, _Studies_, I,
pp. 299-300.
(61) The _Mishnah_ is the oral or unwritten law based on the
written law contained in the Pentateuch (see chapter I, n. 1).
The _Mishnah_, _par excellence_, is the codification made by
Judah ha-Nasi (see chapter II, n. 1). It is divided into six
orders or sections known as _sedarim_. They are (1) _Zeraim_,
"seeds," which contains the laws regarding the cultivation of
the land and its products, introduced by a treatise concerning
prayer and benedictions (_Berachot_); (2) _Mode_, "festivals,"
treating of the laws of the Sabbath and the festivals; (3)
_Nashim_, "women," regulations concerning marriage and
divorce; (4) _Nezikin_, "injuries" or "damages," civil and
criminal law; (5) _Kodashim_, "holy things," the laws of
sacrifice and of the service of the Temple; and (6) _Tohorot_,
"purifications," dealing with the clean and the unclean. Each
order is subdivided into treatises (_massektot_), there being
in all 63 such subdivisions. The _Mishnah_ is known as the
_shas_ ([shin''samech]), which word is formed from the first
letters of the words _shishah sedarim_ (six orders). The
_Talmud_ is also similarly termed. For a discussion of the
name, origin, contents, compilation, etc., of the _Mishnah_,
see Mielziner, _Introduction to the Talmud_, p. 4 _et seq._;
art. _Mishnah_, in the _Jewish Encyclopedia_ and the
authorities cited there; Strack, _Einleitung_, p. 2, 15 _et
seq._, 22 _et seq._, and Geiger, _Judaism and its History_, p.
239 _et seq._
(62) At thirteen, the Jewish boy becomes _bar mitzwah_,
_i.e._, "a son of commandment." The rites and ceremonies
connected with the _bar mitzwah_ of to-day cannot "be clearly
traced earlier than the fourteenth century" (Abrahams, _Jewish
Life in the Middle Ages_, p. 32). See Schurer, _History_, II,
ii, p. 53 and n. 38; Schechter, _Studies_, I, p. 306 _et
seq._, and art. _Bar Mitzwah_, in _Jewish Encyclopedia_.
(63) Lit., "teaching," "learning," "study." Here, it
signifies study for the purpose of elucidating the _Mishnah_.
Some texts read, "for the study of the _Gemara_." The
_Gemara_ (from the Aramaic, meaning "learning," "completion")
is a collection of explanations and discussions on the
_Mishnah_. The word _Talmud_ was afterwards applied to the
_Mishnah_ plus the _Gemara_. There is a translation of the
_Talmud_ in English by Rodkinson, but it is free and
incomplete in parts. See Meilziner, _Introduction to the
Talmud_; Bacher, art. _Talmud_, in _Jewish Encyclopedia_;
_idem_, art. _Gemara_, in the _Hebrew Union College Annual_
(Cincinnati, 1904); E. Deutsch, _What is the Talmud?_;
Darmsteter, _The Talmud_; Strack, _Einleitung in den Talmud_,
pp. 4-5, 6 _et seq._, 99 _et seq._, 113 _et seq._, 132 _et
seq._; Schechter, _On the Study of the Talmud_ in _Studies_,
II, p. 102 _et seq._; Herford, _Pharisaism_, pp. 53-54.
(64) Lit., "at twenty, to pursue." This has been variously
interpreted as follows: (1) for seeking a livelihood
(Bartenora, Hoffmann, Strack, Singer); (2) for the pursuit of
military service (cf. Num. I, 3, and Deut. XXIV, 5; _Machzor
Vitri_, p. 551. Shakespeare's "Then a soldier"); (3) the age
"to pursue him for his deeds," for the celestial _bet din_
(tribunal) does not punish at an age less than twenty
(Bartenora's second explanation; cf. Rashi on Num. XVI, 27);
(4) for the pursuit of ideals (Taylor); (5) to pursue the
commandments (_Siddur Korban Minchah_).
(65) Cf. Ps. XC, 10.
25. Ben Bag Bag said, "Turn it (66), and turn it over again, for
everything is in it, and contemplate it, and wax grey and old over it,
and stir not from it, for thou canst have no better rule than this."
(66) The _Torah_.
26. Ben He He said, "According to the labor is the reward" (67).
(67) The last two verses are ascribed by _Abot de-Rabbi Natan_
to Hillel (chapter XII, ed. Schechter, p. 55). Ben Bag Bag
and Ben He He were probably proselytes and disciples of
Hillel. See Bacher, _ibid._, pp. 10-12, Taylor and Hoffmann,
_ad loc._, and _Jewish Encyclopedia_, art. _Ben Bag Bag_.
Rabbi Chanania, the son of Akashia, said, "The Holy One, blessed be
He, was pleased to make Israel worthy; wherefore He gave them a
copious _Torah_ and many commandments, as it is said, 'It pleased the
Lord, for his righteousness' sake, to magnify the _Torah_ and make it
honorable'".