R. SIMEON B. ELEAZAR SAID IN THE NAME OF R. MEIR: DO NOT APPEASE YOUR FELLOW IN THE TIME OF HIS ANGER; DO NOT COMFORT HIM IN THE TIME OF HIS MOURNING;¹ DO NOT QUESTION HIM IN THE HOUR OF HIS VOW; DO NOT ENTER HIS HOUSE IN THE DAY OF HIS CALAMITY; AND DO NOT STRIVE TO SEE HIM [IN THE HOUR OF HIS DISGRACE]. He used to say:² If among your colleagues there are some who rebuke you and others who praise you, love him who rebukes you and hate him who praises you; because it is the one who rebukes you that leads you to the life of the world to come, while he who praises you drives you out of the world. He used to say: Wherever a man goes his heart goes there too; wherever he stands his heart stands there too; and wherever he sits his actions confront him.³ II, p. 427, n. 4, suggests the following interpretation based on the use of ‘heart’ for ‘mind’ in Hebrew psychology: When a man walks about his mind is active; when he stands still his mind is passive; when he sits his mind is settled and not agitated.]

footnotes: ¹ Aboth 4:23 (Sonc. ed., IV, 18, pp. 53f) where the text reads: ‘when his dead lies before him’. This is the meaning required here; at that hour silence is the greatest kindness. The phrase ‘do not enter … calamity’ is omitted. ² The reading of GRA instead of V. ‘some say’. ³ lit. ‘words (or, actions) are settled before him’. The thought seems to be that it is wholly within the power of man to guide his heart on the course which he chooses for himself; and once the choice is made he cannot escape the consequences. [Bacher, Ag. d. Tannaiten

He used to say: Whoever is diligent in the study of Torah is afforded many opportunities for being diligent, and whoever is neglectful of the study of Torah is likewise afforded many causes for neglect; e.g. a lion, wolf, leopard, tiger, a snake or a band of troops or robbers will come and encircle him and inflict punishment upon him; as it is stated, Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.⁴

footnotes: ⁴ Ps. 58, 12. God offers man the opportunity for the performance of good or evil, but he has the power to determine his step. Cf. Yoma 38b (Sonc. ed., p. 181): ‘If a man goes to defile himself, they open the door for him; and if he goes to purify himself, they assist him.

Abba Saul b. Nanos said: There are four types of scholars: he who studied but did not teach others; he who taught others but did not teach himself; he who studied and taught others; and he who neither studied nor taught others. ‘He who studied but did not teach others’—how is this? A man learnt a chapter or two or three [of the Mishnah] but did not rehearse them with another and occupy himself with them so as not to forget them—he is one who studied but did not teach others. ‘He who taught others but did not teach himself’—how is this? A man learnt an Order⁵ or two or three [of the Mishnah] several times and taught them to others, but he did not occupy himself with them so that he forgot them—he is one who taught others but did not teach himself. ‘He who studied and taught others’—how is this? A man learnt an Order or two or three [of the Mishnah] and rehearsed them with others, occupied himself with them so that he did not forget them, and both he and they grasped them firmly—he is one who studied and taught others. ‘He who neither studied nor taught others’—how is this? A man learnt an Order or two or three [of the Mishnah] several times but did not teach them to others or occupy himself with them so that he forgot them—he is one who neither studied nor taught others. R. Ḥananya b. Jacob said: He who keeps awake at night by reason of Torah-study, it is a good omen for him; if by reason of general conversation,⁶ it is a bad omen for him. R. Jacob b. Ḥananya said: He who keeps awake at night and does not utter any words of Torah, for him it were better—and indeed he would deserve it—had his mother’s afterbirth been turned upon his face [and suffocated him], and he had not come forth into the atmosphere of the world or ever seen its light.

footnotes: ⁵ One of the six divisions of the Mishnah. ⁶ A variant reading is: ‘business affairs’.

R. Eliezer ha-Ḳappar said: Whoever honours his fellow for the sake of gain⁷ will in the end depart from him in shame; and whoever slights his fellow in connection with a religious cause⁸ will in the end depart from him in honour. Whence do we know that whoever honours his fellow for the sake of gain will in the end depart from him in shame? We find it so with the wicked Balaam who honoured Balak for the sake of gain, as it is stated, And Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak: If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold.⁹ And whence do we know that he departed from him in shame? For it is stated, Now flee thou to thy place … but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour.¹⁰ XXIV, 11. Whence do we know that whoever slights his fellow in connection with a religious cause will in the end depart from him in honour? We find it so with Moses our teacher who slighted Pharaoh in connection with a religious cause, as it is stated, And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down unto me, saying.¹¹ But was Pharaoh standing on the roof¹². and Moses on the ground? It was rather this that Moses said to Pharaoh, ‘Even if all your servants, who stand before you and prostrate themselves before you on your dais, were to stand and implore me, I would not hearken to them’. And whence do we know that he departed from him in honour? For it is stated, And he called for Moses and Aaron by night.¹³ XII, 31. Pharaoh thus honoured Moses by personally calling upon him with the appeal to depart. They said to Pharaoh, ‘Are we thieves that we should leave [Egypt] by night? You must wait until the Holy One, blessed be He, will produce the seven clouds of glory for us, that we may go forth in them joyfully and with head uncovered,¹⁴ (Ex. 14, 8). as it is stated, On the morrow after the Passover the children of Israel went out with a high hand.¹⁵

footnotes: ⁷ He flatters him in the hope of personal gain. ⁸ He rebukes him for his shortcomings, in accordance with the precept in Lev. 19, 17. ⁹ Num. 22, 18. ¹⁰ ibid. ¹¹ Ex. 11, 8. Moses slighted Pharaoh and his court by declaring that he would refuse to listen to their appeals and supplications. ¹² Implied in the verb come down ¹³ ibid. ¹⁴ An expression meaning ‘defiantly, fearlessly’, equivalent to the Biblical idiom with a high hand ¹⁵ Num. 33, 3.

To enquire about the four different forms of atonement¹⁶ R. Matthia b. Ḥeresh paid a visit to R. Ishmael b. Eleazar ha-Ḳappar at Laodicea. He said to him, ‘Have you heard [a tradition] concerning the four different forms of atonement which R. Ishmael expounded?’ He replied, ‘I have heard [a tradition] and there are only three forms, and repentance is imperative with each. One verse states, Return, ye backsliding children (saith the Lord) I will heal your backslidings.¹⁷ is not in the Biblical text. A second verse states, For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you.¹⁸ A third verse states, Then I will visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with strokes.¹⁹ And a fourth verse states, Surely this iniquity shall not be expiated by you till ye die.²⁰ How are these verses [to be reconciled]? If a man transgressed a positive command and repented, before he stirs from his place he is forthwith forgiven; and concerning him it states, Return, ye backsliding children. If a man transgressed a negative command and repented, the repentance suspends [the punishment] and the Day of Atonement effects atonement; and concerning him it states, For on this day shall atonement be made for you. If a man transgressed a prohibition punishable by kareth or by death at the hands of the court and repented, the repentance and the Day of Atonement together suspend [the punishment] and sufferings in the course of the year will purge the sin;²¹ and concerning him it states, Then will I visit their transgression with the rod. But if a man profaned the Name of Heaven²²). [and repented], there is no power in the repentance to suspend [punishment], or in sufferings to purge the sin, or in the Day of Atonement to effect atonement; but repentance [with the Day of Atonement and]²³ with sufferings together suspend [the punishment], and death purges the sin; and concerning him it states, Surely this iniquity shall not be expiated by you till ye die.

footnotes: ¹⁶ On this paragraph, cf. Yoma 86a (Sonc. ed., p. 426). ¹⁷ Jer. 3, 22. Saith the Lord ¹⁸ Lev. 16, 30. ¹⁹ Ps. 89, 33. ²⁰ Is. 22, 14. ²¹ The text is in some disorder; the translation follows Schechter’s text and is required by the context. ²² ‘By sinning himself and causing others to sin’ (Rashi, Yoma loc. cit. ²³ Inserted by GRA and required by the context.

Isi b. Judah said: Why do scholars [sometimes] die before their time? It is not because they are immoral or because they rob, but because they make themselves contemptible.²⁴

footnotes: ²⁴ By neglecting their appearance. Cf. XXVI, 3, p. 130.

R. Isaac b. Phinehas said: Whoever is versed in Midrash ²⁵, the ethical and moral expositions of the Bible.and not in halakoth²⁶ has never experienced the taste of wisdom; and he who is versed in halakah and not in Midrash has never experienced the taste of the fear of sin. He used to say: Whoever is versed in Midrash and not in halakoth is like a strong man without weapons; whoever is versed in halakoth and not in Midrash is like a weak man with a weapon; but whoever is versed in both is like a strong man with a weapon. He used to say: Be careful to greet your fellow-man;²⁷ enter not into a quarrel nor be eager to see it; sit in the company of your fellows,²⁸ AND BE RATHER A TAIL TO LIONS THAN A HEAD TO FOXES.²⁹

footnotes: ²⁵ Here the word seems to be a synonym of ’aggadah ²⁶ Here the analytical reasoning and exegetical argument on the Biblical law. ²⁷ In Aboth 4:20 (Sonc. ed., IV, 15, p. 52) the reading is ‘be beforehand in greeting all men’. ²⁸ Or, your equals. ²⁹ From Aboth loc. cit.