Be pliable like the reed upon which the wind can blow from every direction it chooses;¹ for the Torah can only endure with him who is humble in spirit. Why is the Torah likened to water?². It is to teach you that as water does not flow [from a lower] to a higher level but [from a higher level] to a lower, so the Torah endures only with him who is humble in spirit.³

footnotes: ¹ Cf. DER IV, p. 545. ² Cf. Isa. 55, 1, Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye for water ³ It flows away from him who is haughty; cf. Ta‘an. 7a (Sonc. ed., p. 27).

Keep aloof from anything hideous and from whatever resembles it,⁴ and draw near to what [59a] is becoming and all that resembles it. Beware of one who counsels you in his own interest.⁵

footnotes: ⁴ Cf. Ḥul. 44b (Sonc. ed., p. 239) and ARN II, 2, p. 18. ⁵ lit. ‘in his own way’; cf. Sanh. 76b (Sonc. ed., p. 517).

Who waives his right to retribution⁶ is forgiven all his sins, as it is stated, Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth the iniquity, and passeth by the transgression,⁷ [which means,] who is forgiven iniquity? He who passed by transgression [against himself].⁸

footnotes: ⁶ lit. ‘passes by his measures’, i.e. forgoes his right to exact punishment. ⁷ Micah 7, 18. ⁸ Cf. R.H. 17a (Sonc. ed., p. 67).

Whoever abases [mithnabbel] himself in connection with words of Torah⁹ will in the end be exalted on its account, as it is stated If thou hast done foolishly [nabalta] in lifting up thyself,¹⁰ [which means,] if you have abased yourself for words of the Torah, in the end you will be exalted.

footnotes: ⁹ i.e. is not ashamed to ask questions which may at first sound foolish; cf. Ber. 63b (Sonc. ed., p. 402). ¹⁰ Prov. 30, 32.

He who seeks [knowledge of] the Torah, added wisdom will be given to him,¹¹ as it is stated, Give to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser.¹² IX, 9.

footnotes: ¹¹ Following the emended text of GRA. ¹² ibid.

So long as a person is a sinner he has fear of his fellow-creatures; but so long as he is not a sinner his fellow-creatures have fear of him.¹³

footnotes: ¹³ They are afraid of his knowing about their guilt.

Whoever makes light of a single point of the Torah is liable to kareth, as it is stated, Because he hath despised the word of the Lord … that soul shall utterly be cut off.¹⁴ And he who makes light of the [precept of] washing the hands will be uprooted from the world.¹⁵

footnotes: ¹⁴ Num. 15, 31. ¹⁵ Added by GRA. Cf. Soṭah 4b (Sonc. ed., p. 16).

Whoever is not shamefaced will readily sin, as it is stated, *The show of their countenance doth witness against them;*¹⁶ but he who experiences shame¹⁷ will not readily sin, as it is stated, [And Moses said unto the people: ‘Fear not; for God is come to prove you] and that His fear may be before you, that ye sin not.¹⁸

footnotes: ¹⁶ Isa. 3, 9. ¹⁷ i.e. who is not callous, but is self-conscious when he is doing wrong. ¹⁸ Ex. 20, 17; cf. Ned. 20a (Sonc. ed., p. 57).

It is unbecoming for a host to eat in the presence of his guest [without inviting him to join him]; it is more unbecoming for one guest to bring in another guest;¹⁹ it is still more unbecoming when one eats in the presence of a scholar. More unbecoming than these three is for a guest to cause trouble to another guest.²⁰ R. Meir said: [Most unbecoming of all is] he who takes [food] set before him and gives it to the host’s child; for it once happened that [through such an action] a host killed his child.²¹

footnotes: ¹⁹ Cf. B.B. 98b (Sonc. ed., p. 410), a saying attributed to Ben Sira. ²⁰ GRA reads ‘his host’. ²¹ Cf. DER IX, 3, p. 559.

He who humbles himself will understand his instruction and whoever transgresses the words of the Sages deserves kareth.²² Whoever [continually] declares [others] unfit is [himself] unfit.²³ R. ‘Aḳiba said: The beginning of my attendance upon the Sages²⁴ was this. I was once on a journey when I came across a meth miẓwah which I carried about four mil until I brought it to a cemetery and buried it there. When I appeared before R. Eliezer and R. Joshua and told them what had happened, they said to me, ‘Every step you took is reckoned against you as if you had shed blood’.²⁵ I said to them, ‘If, in a case where I intended to perform a meritorious act I have made myself liable like a wicked person, how much more [will I deserve punishment] when I have no [meritorious] intention! From that moment I did not let an opportunity pass to minister to the Sages’.²⁶ He used to say: One who does not minister to the Sages deserves death.

footnotes: ²² GRA reads: ‘He who attends upon scholars comprehends his instruction, and whoever does not comprehend his instruction deserves death’. ²³ Cf. DER I, 12, p. 535. ²⁴ Cf. Semaḥoth IV, 16, above p. 342. ²⁵ He should have buried the corpse where he found it. ²⁶ He learned by associating with scholars.

He who enters a bath-house should first remove his cloak, then the shoes, then the trousers and then the shirt.²⁷

footnotes: ²⁷ This rendering is in accordance with GRA and H. V reads: ‘If [the pupil] brought [the Sages] into a bath-house, he should first remove the cloak’, etc., referring to the duty to minister to the learned.

He who is about to enter a bath-house should respect²⁸ the one who is about to leave,²⁹ and the one who is about to leave a privy must respect the one who is about to enter.³⁰

footnotes: ²⁸ By giving way. ²⁹ By not hurrying him unduly ³⁰ He must hurry so as not to keep the other waiting; cf. DER X, 2, p. 561.