pirke aboth (complete with analysis)

7/29/2019 PIRKE ABOTH (Complete With Analysis)

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PIRKE ABOTHSAYINGS OF THE FATHERS

DEL:PseudepigraphaoftheOldTestament,2004(R.H.Charles,Ed.)(2:686714).Bellingham,WA:

LogosResearchSystems,Inc.

INTRODUCTION

1. SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE BOOK

THE treatise called Pirke Aboth, or Sayings of the Fathers, is a collection of maxims, mostly ethical

and religious, uttered by Jewish teachers within a period extending from the third century B.C. to the third

century A.D. Pirke Aboth is not its original title, neither is Sayings of the Fathers a correct rendering of

that title; but the former is very ancient, and the latter is so far sanctioned by custom that it would beinconvenient to correct it to Chapters of Fathers, though that is what it ought to be. The book was not the

production of one author. It was one of the sixty-three treatises of the Mishnah, the great corpus juris inwhich the Tradition of the Elders was reduced to order. The compiler or editor of the Mishnah was Rabbi

Judah the Holy, commonly called Rabbi, who died A.D. 219; and to that extent he may be regarded as the

author of the Pirke Aboth. But this treatise; like the Mishnah itself, is mainly composed of material older

than the time of Rabbi; and both give clear evidence of later additions. From this it will be seen that

Pirke Aboth can hardly be treated as a book in the ordinary sense of the word, and that no definite date can

be given for its composition or even for its completion. While still a portion of the Tradition of the Elders,

it differs in character and form from the main body of the Tradition, and is thus capable of separatetreatment and study. As a collection of moral and religious sayings it was included in the liturgy of the

synagogue at least as early as the eleventh century; and many commentaries upon it were written in andafter the Middle Ages. Since the invention of printing, it has been published in innumerable editions,

mostly Hebrew, but recently in other languages.The contents of the book are not arranged in any obvious order, and it is evidently made up of several

collections differing in aim and method. Chronological sequence is observed in ch. 1, and to some extent

in ch. 2. It is wholly disregarded in the remaining chapters. The maxims in ch. 14 are the utterance ofnamed teachers, while those in ch. 5 are mostly anonymous. Ch. 6 is no part of the original book, and only

attempts to catch the manner of it. But in all six chapters there is no attempt at a completely representative

list of names. Sixty-five teachers are named, out of the hundreds who belonged to the period of theMishnah; and while it was not to be expected that all these should be included, it is hard to account for

some of the omissions. It is remarkable that Gamaliel II, one of the most important of all, is not

mentioned, though all the line of Hillel, with that one exception, is represented, down to the beginning ofthe third century. So, too, in regard to the substance of the maxims, while these touch upon some of themain heads of Rabbinical theology and ethics, they by no means cover the whole field; and in what they

do give there is no appearance of systematic arrangement. The whole collection, indeed, might well have

been taken from the editors note-book. But, while thus formless, it is by no means void; and the readerwho will persevere will find much that is valuable and instructive for the right understanding of the

religion and ethics of the Pharisees; much, also, which, without being either very profound or very

sublime, is yet well and wisely said.

ithin a period extending from the third century . to the third

century A.D.

the Tradition of the Elders The compiler or editor of the Mishnah was Rabbi

Judah the Holy, commonly called Rabbi, who died A. . 21

uttered by Jewish teachers

is mainly composed of material older

than the time of Rabbi;

no definite date can

be given for its composition or even for its completion.

As a collection o moral and religious sayings it was included in the liturgy of the

s na o ue at least as early as the eleventh century; and many commentaries upon it were written in andafter the Middle Ages.

The maxims in ch. 14 are the utterance ofnamed teachers, while those in ch. 5 are mostly anonymous. Ch. 6 is no part of the original book, and only

attempts to catch the manner of it.

in re ard to the substance of the maxims, while these touch u on some of themain heads of Rabbinical theolo and ethics, the b no means cover the whole field; and in what they

do give there is no appearance of systematic arrangement.

the readerwho will ersevere will find much that is valuable and instructive for the right understanding of the

religion and ethics of the Pharisees;

OJO: PIRKE ABOTH ES LA MEJOR FUENTE QUE TENEMOS PARA CONOCER LADOCTRINA Y LA TICA DE LOS FARISEOS.


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For the explanation of the origin and nature of the book, several things need to be said which cannot

well be given under the separate heads of title, date, integrity of composition, and authorship. In place ofthese sections there will here be given

2. HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL ACCOUNT OF PIRKE ABOTH

1. Origin and growth of the Mishnah as a whole. The characteristic feature of the reformation of Ezrain the fifth century B.C. was the stress laid upon the idea of Torah as the complete divine revelation givento Israel. Torah should never be translated Law; it is much more than Law. The written record, the

Pentateuch, contained divine instruction in other forms besides that of precept. The interpretation of the

Pentateuch was the unfolding of the contents of revelation in every direction, not in that of practicalconduct alone. The truth thus rendered explicit through valid interpretation was part of the contents of the

original revelation; hence the written word and the unwritten interpretation were each Torah, and together

made up the whole Torah. What was sought in the divine revelation was either truth to be known or

directions for conduct to be obeyed. In order to carry out the fundamental command, Thou shalt love theLord thy God with all thy heart, &c., it was needful that the Jew should know exactly what the divine will

was on every occasion of choice. Therefore one main line on which the idea of Torah was developed was

that of a Rule of right conduct. This was obtained first of all from the written word, and thence extendedby successive definitions and the application of recognized methods of interpretation. The results of this

process were carefully handed on from one teacher to another, being regarded as ascertained portions ofTorah, no longer to be disputed and of binding authority. The body of judicial interpretations thus

accumulated is the Tradition of the Elders; and the name given to the Rule of right conduct embodied in

the tradition is Halachah. The tradition probably began with Ezra, but no names are preserved of theearliest teachers. In the centuries after his time, the mass of halachah increased in amount and complexity,

since in each generation the more eminent teachers made their own contributions to it. The teachers whose

names are given in the Pirke Aboth are those who were chiefly instrumental in developing the Tradition

on the line of halachah. R. Akiba (see notes) made the first attempt to classify the unwieldy mass of

halachah, but left the work unfinished. His pupil, R. Meir, carried it further; but it was left to R. Judah

(Rabbi) to undertake and accomplish the orderly arrangement of the whole, in the Mishnah. In form, theMishnah is a series of definitions of halachah upon various subjects, extending over the whole range of

practical life, regarded from the point of view of the Pharisee. In addition to the definitions of halachah,

the Mishnah contains many rejected opinions, together with the reasons for rejecting them; also the names

of the teachers on whose authority the tradition rested, as well as occasional historical and biographicalnotes. It is divided into six orders (sedarim) and sixty-three treatises or books (massichtoth). Each treatiseis divided into chapters (perakim), and each chapter into paragraphs (each called a halachah or a

mishnah). One of these treatises, in the fourth order, is that now known as Pirke Aboth. In the editions of

the Mishnah and the Talmud it is always called Aboth.

2. The treatise Aboth. While the rest of the Mishnah consists mainly of halachah, Aboth contains no

halachah at all; and the only reason for its inclusion in the Mishnah would seem to be the fact that its listof Fathers is made up of those teachers who mainly produced the Mishnah. But why it was placed where

it now stands, in the main division dealing with Injuries, has not been satisfactorily explained. That it

was incorporated in the Mishnah, and was not left an isolated book as might well be supposed, is shownby the fact that in the Gemara (the later comment on the Mishnah, in the third to the fifth centuries) there

are at least seventeen references to passages in Aboth, introduced by one or other of the formulae

regularly used in quoting from the Mishnah. Several of these references are on the authority of R.

-RDQDQ, who had been a pupil of Rabbi and must have known the Mishnah as Rabbi left it. But it was

incorporated in the Mishnah, as an extraneous element, not forming part of the halachic tradition. The

motive for the collection of the contents of Aboth was originally the desire to indicate the links in the

The characteristic feature of the reformation of Ezrain the fifth century . . was the stress laid upon the idea of Torah as the complete divine revelation givento Israel.

the written word and the unwritten inter retation were each Torah, and to ether

made up the whole Torah. What was sought in the divine revelation was either truth to be known or

directions for conduct to be obeyed. In order to carry out the fundamental command, Thou shalt love theLord th God with all th heart, &c., it was needful that the Jew should know exactl what the divine will

was on every occasion of choice. Therefore one main line on which the idea of Torah was developed was

that of a Rule of right conduct. This was obtained first of all from the written word, and thence extendedb successive definitions and the a lication of reco nized methods of inter retation. The results of this

process were carefully handed on from one teacher to another, being regarded as ascertained portions ofTorah, no longer to be disputed and of binding authority. The body of judicial interpretations thus

accumulated is the Tradition of the Elders; and the name given to the Rule of right conduct embodied in

the tradition is Halachah.

The teachers whose

Pirkenames are given in the Aboth are those who were chiefly instrumental in developing the Tradition

on the line of halachah. R. Akiba see notes made the first attem t to classif the unwield mass of

halachah, but left the work unfinished. His pupil, R. Meir, carried it further; but it was left to R. Judah

Rabbi to undertake and accom lish the orderl arran ement of the whole, in the Mishnah. In form, theMishnah is a series of definitions of halachah upon various subjects, extending over the whole range of

practical life, regarded from the point of view of the Pharisee. In addition to the definitions of halachah,

the Mishnah contains man re ected o inions, to ether with the reasons for re ectin them; also the names

of the teachers on whose authority the tradition rested, as well as occasional historical and biographicalnotes.

While the rest of the Mishnah consists mainly of halachah, Aboth contains no

halachah at all; and the onl reason for its inclusion in the Mishnah would seem to be the fact that its listof Fathers is made up of those teachers who mainly produced the Mishnah.

R.

RDQDQ, who had been a pupil of Rabbi and must have known the Mishnah as Rabbi left it.

The

motive for the collection of the contents of Aboth was originally the desire to indicate the links in the


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manuscript authority is concerned) with the help of Taylors critical material; it may be sufficient

therefore to describe briefly the chief MSS. used by him. For convenience of printing, ordinary capitalshave been substituted for his Old English letters.

A. The Cambridge MS. mentioned above, containing the whole Mishnah according to the Palestinian

recension, date fourteenth century. It has been published in full by W. H. Lowe, 1883. Taylor uses this as

the basis of his translation. Aboth contains only five chapters.B. Cambridge, St. Johns College, K. 7. A copy (1517) of the commentary on Aboth (six chapters) by R. Isaac

Israeli (1368), which was based upon an older commentary by R. Israel of Toledo (twelfth-thirteenthcenturies).

C. Cambridge University, Add. 667, date 1220. Contains an unpointed text of Aboth (six chapters), also a

commentary upon it.D. Br. Museum, Add. 27200-1, date not later than 1242. Contains an unpointed text of Aboth, together with

commentary. Six chapters are given; but it is expressly stated that Aboth ends with 5:23.

S. London, Jews College, date about 1610. Contains pointed text of Aboth, six chapters, with a grammaticalcommentary.

4. INFLUENCE OF ABOTH ON LATER LITERATURE

Very little can be said under this head, although Pirke Aboth has been more widely read amongst Jews

than almost any other book. Its influence upon life and character has been very great, because it has kept

before the minds of its readers a certain type of piety. But it does so only by expressing the ethical, and to

some extent the religious, ideas common to the whole of the literature coeval with the Talmud. It strikes

out no new line, presents no new thought whose influence might be traced in later writings. The object ofits compilation was to collect the treasures of ancient wisdom, not to invite a search for the new. There

was progressive thought in Talmudic and mediaeval Judaism; but it received no stimulus from Pirke

Aboth. When Maimonides wrote his commentary on Aboth, he got his ethics mainly from Aristotle and

interpreted the Jewish wisdom in terms of the Greek. Aboth served him as a basis for his exposition, not

as the source of his ideas. The same is more or less true of all the many commentaries on Aboth; theobject of them is to unfold the meaning of an ancient manual of piety, according to the moral judgementof the interpreter, and not to go beyond it. The value of Aboth consisted largely in its presentation of the

past, its reflection of the wisdom and piety which had stood the test of long experience, and was

consecrated by the memory of revered sages and saints of the olden time. As a factor in training characterit has played a great part in Jewish history; but as a source of new developments in literature, what

influence it may have had is merged in that of the Talmud and the Midrash as a whole.

Outside the domain of Jewish literature and life Aboth has had practically no effect at all. It wasknown only to scholars, and by them used for the illustration of Jewish thought; it did not, so far as I

know, lead to any fresh literary creation by non-Jewish writers.

5. THEOLOGY OF ABOTH

As will have appeared already, the main character of the book is ethical rather than theological. Atheology is certainly implied in it, but it is the theology which underlies the whole of Rabbinical Judaism,

and is in no way peculiar to Aboth. A full account of this theology would be out of place in an

introduction to a book which is not specially theological, and would moreover occupy far more space thancould be given to it. All that will here be attempted is to remark on those features of Aboth which may be

regarded as theological. The distinction here drawn between ethical and theological would be hardly felt

by those for whom Aboth was intended or by whom it was compiled. To be virtuous was to do the will of


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God; and the way to become virtuous was to learn what He had revealed and to take it to heart. A

Talmudic Rabbi would not deny that there were virtuous Gentiles; but for those to whom the Torah, thecomplete divine revelation, had been given, there could be no moral excellence apart from Torah. The

sanction of ethics was the revealed will of God; and there was no moral worth in obeying the precepts, in

doing the things prescribed, unless there were the conscious intention of serving God in so doing. Hence,

for all that the maxims in Aboth are in form mostly ethical, they are in substance religious, and, to theJew, inseparable from religion. The character formed in accordance with them is the character of the

DVLG, the saint, the type of what the Jew ought to be as one of the children of God. To bear this in mind is

constantly necessary in reading Aboth, else the non-Jewish reader will be likely to be little impressed by aseries of moral counsels which do not appear to be very profound or very interesting. Behind them all (or

nearly all) is, for the Jew, the thought of his personal relation to God, to whose perfect service those

counsels are the guides. In this sense, the whole of Aboth is religious, though not specifically theological.Of theology proper, the chief concept in Aboth is Torah, as it is the chief concept in all Rabbinical

theology. What Torah means has been to some extent explained in 2. A large proportion of the maxims

in Aboth refer to the study of Torah; and by that is to be understood not merely the reading of thePentateuch but the study of the divine thought, revealed implicitly in the written word (directly in the

Pentateuch, indirectly in the rest of Scripture), and rendered explicit in the oral interpretation. Torah

virtually means the whole of divine truth, so far as it was accessible to human minds. The characteristicterms of Talmudic Judaism are those of teaching and learning; the names Talmud, Mishnah, Midrash

express the giving or receiving of knowledge, the thing known being Torah. Hence the keynote ofRabbinism is wisdom, and its saints are its sages; and here is to be found the clue to the remarkable

difference in tone and character between the Talmudic literature and the N. Testament.

When the real significance of Torah is understood, it will not seem surprising that in Aboth there is no

very frequent mention of God. Wherever Torah is referred to God is implied. He is not actually named bythe use of the word God all through the book, except in Scriptural citations. The term most often used is

Makom, lit. place, as we should say the All-present. But it must not be inferred from this that the

Talmudic idea of God was of a remote and abstract being. This was not so; although the evidence fordenying this frequent misrepresentation cannot be given here. God is once referred to, in the concluding

verse of the original book, 5:23, as thy Father which is in heaven, a term which is quite as characteristic

of Talmudic religion as Makom, and which belongs of right to Judaism no less than to Christianity.In regard to Gods dealings with man, His foreknowledge is asserted. but most stress is laid upon His

justice which shows itself in retribution; reward and punishment are apportioned for good deeds and bad

respectively, and, though sometimes described in figures of speech commercial rather than religious,reward and punishment signify the divine approval and disapproval not limited to particular forms of

expression. God must be served not for the sake of the reward, but for His own sake; for the sake of

Heaven is only another way of saying for the sake of God. The love of God to man is also mentioned,

and is not confined to Israel (3:19). God hears prayer; and prayer is not to be restricted to fixed forms, butis to be the spontaneous utterance of the soul to Him. It may be inferred, though it is not expressly said,

that as man was made in the image of God, the characteristics of the saint (see especially 6. 6) are likewise

(so far as they are applicable) attributes of God.

There is no theological doctrine which is taught in Aboth and not found elsewhere; while there ismuch that is found elsewhere and only unmentioned in Aboth because there was no occasion for it. The

object of the compiler was not to produce a handbook of theology, but to illustrate from famous examplesthe character of the saint. For Rabbinical theology as a whole the reader is referred to the JewishEncyclopedia, and is warned that Webers System of Synagogue Theology is a most unsafe guide, as itpresents the results of great learning from a standpoint entirely mistaken and by a method fundamentally

wrong. (See the present writersPharisaism, pp. 2357.)


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PIRKE ABOTH

SAYINGS OF THE FATHERS

11 Moses received Torah from Sinai and delivered it to Joshua, and Joshua to the Elders, and theElders to the Prophets, and the Prophets delivered it to the men of the Great Synagogue. They said three

things: Be deliberate in judgement; and raise up many disciples; and make a fence for the Torah.2Simeon the Just was of the remnants of the Great Synagogue. He used to say: On three things the

world standeth: on the Torah, and on the Service, and on the doing of kindnesses.3

Antigonos of Socho received from Simeon the Just. He used to say: Be not like slaves who serve themaster with a view to receiving a present; but be like slaves who serve the master not with a view to

receiving a present: and let the fear of Heaven be upon you.4

Jose ben Joezer of Zeredah and Jose ben -RDQDQ of Jerusalem received from them. Jose b. Joezer

of Zeredah said: Let thy house be a house of meeting for the Wise, and bedust thyself with the dust of

their feet, and drink with thirst their words.5

Jose b. -RDQDQ of Jerusalem said: Let thy house be opened wide; and let poor folk be thy

household; and talk not much with the wife.5a [He said it concerning his own wife; much more concerning the wife of his associate. Hence the

Wise have said: So long as a man talks much with the wife he causes evil to himself, and desists fromwords of Torah, and his end is that he inherits Gehenna.]

6Joshua b. 3HUDLDK and Nittai the Arbelite received from them. Joshua b. 3HUDLDK said: Make to

thyself a teacher; and get thee an associate; and judge every man with a leaning to his merit.7

Nittai the Arbelite said: Keep far from an evil neighbour, and consort not with the wicked, and be not

heedless of retribution.8

Judah b. Tabbai and Simeon b. 6KHWD received from them. Judah b. Tabbai said: Make not thyself

as those that prepare the judges; and when the suitors are standing before thee let them be in thine eyes as

wicked men.; and when they have been dismissed from before thee let them be in thine eyes as just menwho have received their sentence.

9Simeon b. 6KHWD said: Do much in examining the witnesses; and be careful in thy words; perchance

by means of them they may learn to lie.10

Shemaiah and Abtalion received from them. Shemaiah said: Love work, and hate mastery, and makenot thyself known to the government.

11Abtalion said: Ye Wise, be careful in your words; lest ye become guilty with the guilt that involves

exile, and be exiled to a place of evil waters, and the disciples that come after you drink and die, and the

Name of Heaven be found profaned.12

Hillel and Shammai received from them. Hillel said: Be of the disciples of Aaron, one that loves

peace, that pursues peace, that loves mankind and brings them nigh to Torah.13

He used to say: Whoso makes great his name destroys his name; whoso adds not makes to cease;and he who will not learn is guilty so as to deserve killing. And whoso serves himself with the crownpasses away.

14He used to say: If I am not for myself, who is for me? And when I am for myself, what am I? And if

not now, when?15

Shammai said: Make thy Torah a fixed duty; say little and do much; and receive every man with thelook of a cheerful face.

16Rabban Gamaliel said: Make to thyself a teacher; and remove thyself from what is doubtful; and do

not often tithe by mentalvaluation.


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17Simeon his son said: All my days I have grown up among the Wise, and I have not found anything

better than silence; and not study is the chief thing but action; and whoso makes many words occasionssin.

18Rabban Simeon b. Gamaliel said: On three things the world stands: on judgement, on truth, and on

peace. [As it is said: Truth and judgement of peace judge ye in your gates.]

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Rabbi said: What is that right way which a man should choose for himself? Whatever is an honourto him that does it and an honour to him in the sight ofmen. And be careful over a light precept as over aweighty, for thou knowest not the giving of the rewards of the precepts. And reckon the loss involved in aprecept against its reward, and the reward of a sin against its loss. And keep in view three things, and thouwilt not come into the clutches of sin; know what is above thee, an eye that sees and an ear that hears, and

all thy deeds written in a book.2

Rabban Gamaliel the son of Rabbi Judah the Prince said: Comely is study of Torah with worldlyoccupation, for toil in both makes sin forgotten. And all Torah without work ends in failure and brings

with itsin. And let all who labour with the congregation labour with them for the Name of Heaven, for themerit of their fathers upholds them, and their righteousness standeth for ever. And yeI confer upon you,

saith God, [plenteous] reward, as if ye had wrought.3

Be careful with the government, for they do not come near to a man except for their own need; andthey appear like friends in the hour of their advantage, and they stand not by a man in the hour of his need.

4He used to say: Make His will as thy will that He may make thy will as His will; efface thy will

before His will that He may efface the will of others before thy will.5

Hillel said: Separate thyself not from the congregation, and be not sure of thyself till the day of thy

death; and judge not thine associate until thou comest to his place. And say not ofa word which cannot beunderstood that it will be understood in the end. And say not when I am at leisure I will study; perchance

thou wilt not be at leisure.6

He used to say: A rude man fears not sin; and no vulgar person is pious; and the shy man does notlearn nor the passionate teach, nor he that hath much business become wise. And in a place where there

are no men strive to be a man.7

Moreover, he saw a skull which floated on the face of the water, and he said to it: Because thoudrownedst they drowned thee; and at the last they who drowned thee shall be drowned.

8He used to say: More flesh more worms; more wealth more care; more maidservants more lewdness;

more menservants more thieving; more women more witchcraft; more Torah more life; more classroom

more wisdom; more counsel more discernment; more righteousness more peace. Whoso has gained a goodname has gained itfor himself; who has gained for himself words of Torah has gained for himself the lifeof the world to come.

9Rabban -RDQDQ b. Zaccai received from Hillel and from Shammai. He used to say: If thou hast

practised much Torah, take not credit to thyself, for thereunto wast thou created.10

Five disciples there were to Rabban -RDQDQ b. Zaccai, and these are they: Rabbi Eliezer b.

Hyrcanus, Rabbi Joshua b. DQDQLDK, Rabbi Jose the priest, Rabbi Simeon b. Nathaniel, and RabbiEleazar b. Arach. He used to sum up their praiseEliezer b. Hyrcanus is a plastered cistern which loseth

not a drop; Joshua b. DQDQLDK, happy is she who bore him; Jose the priest is pious; Simeon b. Nathaniel

feareth sin; Eleazar b. Arach is a full-flowing spring.11

He used to say: If all the Wise of Israel were in one scale of the balance and Eliezer b. Hyrcanus inthe other scale, he would weigh down them all. Abba Saul said, in his name: If all the Wise of Israel were

in one scale of the balance and Eliezer b. Hyrcanus with them, and Eleazar b. Arach in the other scale, hewould weigh them all down.

12He said to them: Go and see what is that good way to which a man should cleave. R. Eliezer said: A

good eye. R. Joshua said: A good associate. R. Jose said: A good neighbour. R. Simeon said: He that

pirke aboth (complete with analysis)

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