When [the Torah] was revealed at Sinai, he received it with its general principles, its particulars and its inferences and there was no law that was to be innovated [later]. And it is as it is found in Torat Cohanim which is cited by Rashi on Leviticus 25:1 at the beginning of Parshat Behar. And to teach this, [the mishna] states "from Sinai." And 'it is not an empty thing,' since, behold, it is a sign of the religion: it is one for its nation, the congregation of Israel that received it. It is complete to its Creator - the students, they are the children of God; what an experienced student is to innovate in the future, all of it was received by Moshe. As it is stated (Deuteronomy 9:10), "and upon them, as all of the words," and as we expound it in Megillah. And see the Tosafot Yom Tov.

and he passed it on, etc.: As everything that he received, he passed on to Yehoshua. But concerning Moshe, it cannot state that it was passed on to him, since the fiftieth gate [of wisdom] was not passed on to him, as is elucidated in Tractate Rosh Hashanah 21b.

and the prophets passed it on to the men of the Great Assembly: [Meaning] to say that even though not all of the Assembly were prophets, the entire Torah was passed on to them, etc. But afterwards - as the generations declined - not the entire thing was passed on. But [rather] everyone received it according to his ability. And nonetheless, the [portion of] the Torah that was in his hand was a transmission to him, [that had been passed on] one man from another [going back] to Moshe, our teacher - peace be upon him.

"and stand up": They [used] an expression of standing, since from the days of Moshe until the days of Rabban Gamliel, they would study while standing and the teacher would sit on a chair (Megillah 21a) - Midrash Shmuel. And it appears to me that the expression, "and stand up," is [meaning to say] to stand them up in understanding the truth of the Torah [and even though there were many students], since this is [something's] standing and preservation, and falsehood has 'no feet,'

And [the explanation of Rabbi Bartenura] is difficult to me, since if so, [“on the Torah”] is not a warning at all; and [so] it is not similar to the others. And it appears to me that ["the Torah" here] is [referring to] reason and Torah study. And this is [the understanding] of that which is written, “if not for my covenant (which is studied) night and day.” [This is] as the matter is stated (Yehoshua 1), “and you shall reason in it night and day." And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

And in the tractate Megillah 31a, it concludes, “If not for my covenant, etc... I would not have set” - that in the covenant between the pieces, the Holy One, blessed be He, promised that even if the Jews sin, the creation of the world will be preserved in the merit of the sacrifices. And see Tosafot Yom Tom.

The man of Sokho: He was the master of the place that was called Sokho. [This is related to] the expression, "my man, [the] High Priest."

"as servants, etc.": He stated it with a [Hebrew letter], kaf that indicates a comparison, and he also repeated his words, "but rather be, etc." and he was precise in his expression and did not say only, "be, etc." and he also called those that serve in order, etc., 'servants;' so that we not err in any way to say that it is forbidden to serve in order, etc., as this is not [so]. Since one who serves thus is also completely righteous and is called a servant of God. (And for naught did Tsadok and Beitos err, but he should have explained it explicitly, that it be explicit for all that hear [it].) But he came to teach that there is a level and status that is greater and that is the one who serves from love. And he came to warn us to also be from those that serve from love. And see Tosafot Yom Tom who wrote about this at length.

And meaning to say that this is the distinction between a reward and payment. Since payment is what must legally be given.

"not, etc.": And a different version of the text is, "in order not, etc." And I did not understand this version, as it is not applicable to say that he should serve in order and on condition that if He would give him a reward, he would not serve Him. And it is not difficult [that] behold also one who serves not in order, etc., knows that in the end the reward will come, and behold he hopes for the reward; [since] this is not [so.] As the one who [truly] serves from love is always coming short in [his] service in his [own] eyes. And he thinks to himself that he has not served as is fitting to Him, due to his great love for Him, may He be blessed. And just the opposite, he fears for his soul lest he has sinned in his shortcomings in his service and has been guilty. And that [this Mishnah] ends, "and may the fear of Heaven, etc.," [and] called Him with the name, "Heaven," is to say that the fear should not be be a fear of punishment, God forbid, but [rather] a fear (awe) of His greatness, may He be blessed. [This is as] it appears to me - Tosafot Yom Tov.

They received from them: The explanation [of "from them"] is from Shimon and Antigonos - Rama. And there are books that have the textual variant, "from him." And Midrash Shmuel wrote that it is a [more] exact version, if it is substantiated. And see the Tosafot Yom Tov.

"any time, etc.": Whether when she is impure, since the speech brings to desire and the desire brings to action - and you can have no greater evil than this that he causes to himself; or whether she is pure, as it would have been better that during this time, he would be involved in words of Torah. And that is what it states, "and neglects the words of Torah" - Midrash Shmuel. And there is another precise textual variant [that reads], "Anyone who increases."

"Acquire, etc.": And he did not say, "acquire for yourself a student," as it is not fitting to do this thing; for a man to make himself into a mentor and to say, "learn from me," as they do in these lands - Derekh Chaim. And to me it appears that it is not a question at all, as it is written, "and stand up many students." And see the Tosafot Yom Tov.

[Rabbi Bartenura] should have said, ["in order to acquire] his association." But [rather] the beginning of his words are taken form the words of Rambam, and [Rambam] did not state them about an association of study. As he wrote that "a man must acquire for himself a confidant for his actions and all of his affairs to be bettered, as they said (Taanit 23a), 'either a friend or death, etc.' And he needs to make efforts, etc... so that he brings him to his love, etc."

"Distance, etc.": With his neighbor who is close to him, it stated an expression of distancing. And it was not necessary with an evildoer who is not his neighbor, since he is not close. [Rather,] it only warned him not to befriend him. And it said about the neighbor, "bad," and not, "evildoer," since his being neighbors with an evildoer is bad for [the latter's] neighbor, and his proximity is very harmful. [And] this is not the case when he is not his neighbor: his evil does not cause that person any bad - even though he is an evildoer to the Heavens - unless he befriends him - R. Y. Ibn Shoshan. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"and do not, etc.": And it does not say that he should worry about punishment, since such a thing is a bad trait - the one who worries about punishment; but [rather], "do not despair, etc." Which is what Haman did when he relied upon his great wealth, and in the blink of an eye, his success reversed itself upon him. And this is [the meaning] of the expression, 'do not despair' - Derekh Chaim.

And that which [Rabbi Bartenura] wrote at the beginning of his words, "That they arrange, etc." - not that they themselves give reasons in front of the judges, but rather that by their revealing [them] to the litigant - by saying to him, "Do this;" behold, it is as if they are making claims in front of the judges. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

And he did not say, "You should claim the following," but rather he wanted to say [by this] that he brings up advice for [the litigant] to do an act like that [case] of Rabbi Yochanan in Chapter 4 of Ketuvot 52b in the case of [the payment for] healing [a man's widow] that has no limits [and so] is payed from the estate of the husband, [wherein] Rabbi Yochanan advised them, "Set a fixed amount [with a physician] for the healing so that it will be something that has a limit." But it should not enter your mind, that he will make as a claim for the litigant words of iniquity and trickery, as such ones are complete evildoers. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"like evildoers": But not [that] both of them be like righteous ones. As, if so, he will not search out their claims and he will judge each one as meritorious and not get down to the truth of the case. But when both of them are like evildoers in his eyes, he will search out the claims of each one, etc., and because of that, he will get down to the truth of the case - Derekh Chaim. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

As I would have thought, "Since there is [a reason] to suspect [here], this one is not included in, 'and judge, etc... as meritorious.'" [Hence,] it is necessary [to write this in the Mishnah].

It should not be explained that they themselves were converts - since, if so, how was it possible to appoint them as nassi and head of the court? Rather, they [were only descended] from converts but their mother was certainly Jewish, and therefore they were permissible to appoint as Nassi and Head of the court. Derekh Chaim

Since now he is not doing work for its reward but for its own love. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"Sages": The intention is not that other people are not warned about this; but rather if a doubt arises about the words of the Sages, the listeners will come to a general mistake, which is not the case with the words of a commoner, to whose words we are not attentive. Therefore, he warned the Sages more - Rabbi Y. Ibn Shoshan.

And the language [of Rabbi Bartenura] is cut up (inverted), since evil waters is a term for faces of the Torah that are not like the law.

And [the explanation of Rabbi Bartenura] is not exactly the same as the words of the teacher, who is only teaching because of "the students that come after you." And Rashbam wrote in the name of Avot DeRabbi Natan that Tsadok and Beitos were teaching their students the words of Antigonos and the students erred.

"Pursuing peace": As the matter is stated (Psalms 34:15), "seek peace and pursue it."

"loving, etc.": Because they are the creatures of the Holy One, blessed be He. And therefore it is fitting that you should love them. And [it is] also [fitting] that the love should be from this side and not from any other side - for example, because of the benefit that comes to you from them.

Seemingly, [Rabbi Bartneura's explanation] contradicts the statement, "Do not befriend an evildoer." And this is the language of [Rambam]: "He would greet him first and he would become beloved to him and he would increase his talking with him."

"His name": that he had before. And he ends up 'bald' (lacking a name) from this and from that" - Midrash Shmuel. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"and one who does not, etc.": Since he says, 'spread a name' - meaning to say, one who learns in order to enhance his name (fame) - [will] 'lose his name;' lest you say in your heart, 'I will no longer learn - as maybe my learning will be for my name, and it will be lost, etc.,' or if I heard this statement before I would learn, I will not learn. To this he said, 'and one who does not add, will cease' certainly - since one who learns and stops is more difficult than everything, etc. - Kessef Mishneh. And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

And that which [the Mishanh] stated plain, 'crown,' and did not explain, 'of the Torah' is because all of the crowns besides it are nothing - R. Y. Ibn Shoshan.

And [the explanation of Rabbi Bartenura] is not like the opinion of House of the father of Rabban Gamliel, who was from the House of Hillel, as per later. Since behold, they were strict, etc.

Rabban Gamliel: And he was the grandson of Hillel. And therefore was there no expression of receiving written from here on – since disagreement increased in Israel from the time of the students of Shammai and Hillel, etc. [and the Torah] was not defined and received and transmitted as it was with the earlier ones. So did the commentators explain. And this is not indisputable, as in Chapter 2, Mishnah 8, we learned, “Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai received, etc... from Hillel and Shammai, etc."

Since untithed produce is mixed in with them - [Rambam] and Rashi. And the pious Rabbi Y. Ibn Shoshan wondered why he did not completely forbid to tithe except by measuring: "And let it say, 'Do not tithe by estimation.' What is [meant by] 'do not frequently (literally, increase)?' And therefore I say that the intention is that even if you intend to increase the tithes and to give more than the measure [it it forbidden], lest you err in your estimate." And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

Shimon, his son: And he was from the matyrs of the [Roman] government (harugei hamalkhut). And he is not the one mentioned later at the end of our chapter. And maybe when he spoke out this statement, he had not yet risen to the greatness of [the title] Rabban - similar to Ben Zakkai in Mishnah Sanhedrin 5:2.

Since if ["and exposition, etc."] did not come as a proof about the above, it would have been fitting that this would have been preceded by "and whoever increases, etc.," as that would [otherwise] be more fitting to put next to "and I did not find, etc."

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel: He is the grandson of Shimon who is mentioned in the previous mishnah. And this is the father of Rebbi, who is [known as] our holy rabbi, and with him does the second chapter begin.

As the preservation of the world would be able to continue through the three things for the sake of which it was created. As what was not [in existence, came to existence for their sake] - all the more so, what was [in existence, should exist] for their sake. Since acts of lovingkindness can also exist through the precious few through which the world is preserved. And [it is] as it is written (Berakhot 17), "The world was only created for the sake of Chanina, My son." And see Tosafot Yom Tov.

"as it is said": And above [this verse] is written, "When I contemplated to do bad to you, etc... so I repented, contemplated in these days to do good unto Jerusalem and to the house of Yehuda; do not fear. These are the things that you shall do, etc." And see Tosafot Yom Tov.