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Mishnah, Seder Nezikin, Ethics of the Fathers (Pirkei Avot)

Chapter 1
1. Moses received the Torah fro Sinai and gave it over to Joshua. Joshua gave it over to the
Elders, the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets gave it over to the Men of the Great Assembly.
They [the Men of the Great Assembly] ould alays say these three things! "e #autious in $udgment.
Establish many pupils. And ma%e a safety fen#e around the Torah.
!. &himon the 'ighteous as among the last surviving members of the "reat asse#$%. (e ould
say! The orld stands on three things! Torah, the servi#e of G)d, and deeds of %indness.
&. Anti'nos of Socho re#eived the tradition from &himon the 'ighteous. (e ould say! *o not be as
slaves, ho serve their master for the sa%e of reard. 'ather, be as slaves ho serve their master not
for the sa%e of reard. And the fear of (eaven should be upon you.
(. )ossei the son of )oezer of Tzreidah, and )ossei the son of )ochanan of *er+sa$e, re#eived
the tradition from them. +ossei the son of +oe,er of T,reidah ould say! -et your home be a meeting
pla#e for the ise. dust yourself in the soil of their feet, and drin% thirstily of their ords.
,. +ossei the son of +o#hanan of Jerusalem ould say! -et your home be ide open, and let the poor
be members of your household. And do not engage in e/#essive #onversation ith a oman. This is
said even regarding one0s on ife))ho mu#h more so regarding the ife of another. (en#e, the
sages said! 1ne ho e/#essively #onverses ith a oman #auses evil to himself, negle#ts the study of
Torah, and, in the end, inherits purgatory.
-. *osh+a the son of Perachia and Nitai the Ar#e$ite received fro the. Joshua the son of
Pera#hia ould say! Assume for yourself a master, a#2uire for yourself a friend, and $udge every man
to the side of merit.
.. 3itai the Arbelite ould say! *istan#e yourself from a bad neighbor, do not #leave to a i#%ed
person, and do not abandon belief in retribution.
/. *+dah the son of Ta##ai and Shion the son of Shotach received fro the. Judah the son of
Tabbai ould say! 4hen sitting in $udgement, do not a#t as a #ounselor)at)la. 4hen the litigants
stand before you, #onsider them both guilty. and hen they leave your #ourtroom, having a##epted
the $udgement, regard them as e2ually righteous.
0. &himon the son of &hota#h ould say! 5n#reasingly #ross)e/amine the itnesses. "e #areful ith
your ords, lest they learn from them ho to lie.
11. Shaa%ah and Avta$%on received fro the. &hmaayah ould say! -ove or%, loath mastery
over others, and avoid intima#y ith the government.
11. Avtalyon ould say! &#holars, be #areful ith your ords. 6or you may be e/iled to a pla#e
inhabited by evil elements [ho ill distort your ords to suit their negative purposes]. The dis#iples
ho #ome after you ill then drin% of these evil aters and be destroyed, and the 3ame of (eaven
ill be dese#rated.
1!. 2i$$e$ and Shaai received fro the. (illel ould say! "e of the dis#iples of Aaron))a lover
of pea#e, a pursuer of pea#e, one ho loves the #reatures and dras them #lose to Torah.
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1&. (e ould also say! 1ne ho advan#es his name, destroys his name. 1ne ho does not in#rease,
diminishes. 1ne ho does not learn is deserving of death. And one ho ma%e personal use of the
#ron of Torah shall perish.
1(. (e ould also say! 5f 5 am not for myself, ho is for me7 And if 5 am only for myself, hat am 57
And if not no, hen7
1,. &hammai ould say! Ma%e your Torah study a permanent fi/ture of your life. &ay little and do
mu#h. And re#eive every man ith a pleasant #ountenan#e.
1-. 3a##an "a$ie$ 4o+$d sa%5 Assume for yourself a master. stay aay from doubt. and do not
a##ustom yourself to tithe by estimation.
1.. 2is son, Shion, 4o+$d sa%! All my life 5 have been raised among the ise, and 5 have found
nothing better for the body than silen#e. The essential thing is not study, but deed. And one ho
spea%s e/#essively brings on sin.
1/. 'abbi &himon the son of Gamliel ould say! "y three things is the orld sustained! la, truth and
pea#e. As is stated 89a#hariah :!;<=, >Truth, and a $udgement of pea#e, you should administer at your
[#ity] gates.00
Chapter Two
1. 3a##i 6*+dah 2aNassi78 4o+$d sa%! 4hi#h is the right path for man to #hoose for himself7
4hatever is harmonious for the one ho does it, and harmonious for man%ind.
"e as #areful ith a minor mit,vah as ith a ma$or one, for you do not %no the reards of the
mit,vot. ?onsider the #ost of a mit,vah against its reards, and the reards of a transgression against
its #ost.
?ontemplate three things, and you ill not #ome to the hands of transgression! @no hat is above
from you! a seeing eye, a listening ear, and all your deeds being ins#ribed in a boo%.
!. 'abban Gamliel the son of 'abbi Judah (a3assi ould say! "eautiful is the study of Torah ith
the ay of the orld, for the toil of them both #auses sin to be forgotten. Altimately, all Torah study
that is not a##ompanied ith or% is destined to #ease and to #ause sin.
Those ho or% for the #ommunity should do so for the sa%e of (eaven. for then merit of their
an#estors shall aid them, and their righteousness shall endure forever. And you, [says G)d,] 5 shall
#redit you ith great reard as if you have a#hieved it.
&. "e #areful ith the government, for they befriend a person only for their on needs. They appear
to be friends hen it is benefi#ial to them, but they do not stand by a person at the time of his distress.
(. (e ould also say! Ma%e that (is ill should be your ill, so that (e should ma%e your ill to be
as (is ill. 3ullify your ill before (is ill, so that (e should nullify the ill of others before your
ill.
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Maimonides(Rambam) from the introduction to "Mishneh
Torah"
The members of Ezra's court are called the Men of the Great Assembly, and they
were Haggai, Zecharyah, Mal'achi, Daniyel Hananyah Mishael and Azaryah,
ehemyah son of Hachalyah, Mordochai and Zeruba!el" and many other sages
were with them, numbering altogether one hundred twenty elders# The last of
them was $him%on the &ighteous, who was included among the hundred twenty,
and recei!ed the 'ral (aw from all of them" he was high )riest after Ezra#
$tory of *ochanan ben Za++ai , -abylonian Talmud. Gitin /0
A##a Sikra, the head of the 9ea$ots in *er+sa$e 4as the son of the sister of 3a##an )ochanan #en
9akkai. 3a##an )ochanan sent to hi sa%in', :Coe to visit e private$%.: ;hen he cae he said
to hi, :2o4 $on' are %o+ 'oin' to carr% on in this 4a% and ki$$ a$$ the peop$e 4ith starvation<:
2e rep$ied5 :;hat can = do< =f = sa% a 4ord to the, the% 4i$$ ki$$ e.:
3a##an )ochanan said, :>evise soe p$an for e to escape the cit%. Perhaps = sha$$ #e a#$e to save
a $itt$e.:
A##a Sikra said to hi5 :Pretend to #e i$$, and $et ever%one coe to in?+ire a#o+t %o+. @rin'
soethin' fo+$ se$$in' and p+t it #% %o+ so that the% 4i$$ sa% %o+ are dead. Aet then %o+r
discip$es carr% %o+r #ed, #+t no others, so that the% sha$$ not notice that %o+ are sti$$ $i'ht, since it
is kno4n that a $ivin' #ein' is $i'hter than a corpse.:
2e did so, and 3a##i E$iezer carried the #ier fro one side and 3a##i *osh+a fro the other.
;hen the% reached the 'ate, soe en (fro the 9ea$ot part%) 4anted to p+t a $ance thro+'h the
#ier. Bne of the discip$es said to the, :Sha$$ the 3oans sa%, CThe% have pierced their MasterC<:
The% 4anted to 'ive it a p+sh. 2e said to the, :Sha$$ the% sa% that the% p+shed their Master<:
The% opened a to4n 'ate for the and 3a##an )ochanan 'ot o+t.
;hen he reached the 3oan cap he said to Despasian5 :Peace to %o+, B kin'E peace to %o+, B
kin'.: Despasian said5 :)o+r $ife is forfeit on t4o co+nts, one #eca+se = a not a kin' and %o+ ca$$
e kin', and a'ain, if = a a kin', 4h% did %o+ not coe to e #efore no4<:
3a##an )ochanan #en 9akkai5 :As for %o+r sa%in' that %o+ are not a kin', in tr+th %o+ are a
kin', since if %o+ 4ere not a kin', *er+sa$e 4o+$d not #e de$ivered into %o+r hand, as it is
4ritten, CAnd Ae#anon (a reference to the 2o$% Tep$e) sha$$ fa$$ #% a i'ht% one.C
... As for %o+r ?+estion, 4h% if %o+ are a kin', = did not coe to %o+ ti$$ no4, the ans4er is that the
@ir%oni aon' +s did not $et eF:
At this point, a essen'er arrived fro 3oe to Despasian, sa%in'5 :Arise, for the Eperor is
dead, and the nota#$es of 3oe have decided to ake %o+ head.:F
Despasian said5 := a no4 'oin', and 4i$$ send soeone to take % p$ace. )o+ can, ho4ever, ake
a re?+est of e and = 4i$$ 'rant it.:
3a##an )ochanan said5 :"ive e )avneh and its sa'es, and the fai$% chain of 3a##an "aa$ie$,
and ph%sicians to hea$ 3a##i 9adok.:
Babylonian Talmud: 3osh 2ashanah &1aG# The &anhedrin E/iledB 6rom Jerusalem to
+avneh and from +avneh to Asha and from Asha to +avneh and from +avneh to Asha and from Asha to
&hefaram and from &hefaram to "et &hearim and from "et &hearim to T,ippori and from T,ippori to
Tiberias