Chapters of the Fathers (1: 12-16) Uplifting and Relevant Messages for these Times Rabbi Dr. Yoggev

Chapters of the Fathers 1:12 ִהֵלּל וְ ַשׁ ַמּאי ִקְבּלוּ ֵמֶהם. ִהֵלּל ֵאוֹמר, ֱהוֵי ִמ ַתְּל ִמ ָידיו ֶשׁל ֲאַהרֹן, ֵאוֹהב ָשׁלוֹם וְ ֵרוֹדף ָשׁלוֹם, ֵאוֹהב ֶאת ַהְבִּריּוֹת ְוּמָקְרָבן ַל ָתּוֹרה: Hillel and received [the oral tradition] from them. Hillel used to say: be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving humankind and drawing them close to the Torah.

Q: Why must we both love and pursue peace? A: It’s not enough to talk about or simply be filled with love for peace (although, of course, this is a praiseworthy level in itself). It must translate into action. It’s less about loud declarations and more about actively reaching across the aisle to those who are different than us and strengthening ties. This is my view on interfaith connections as well. I am all for “dialogue” between religious leaders; but I feel the real work is done when our communities connect to make a difference in the world. We are then truly bonding around a common goal and working together, in peace, to improve the world. The world desperately needs this collective pursuit of peace.

Q: Why use “rodef shalom,” meaning “pursue,” or “chase after” peace, and not simply say “act peaceably”? A: Two stories are relayed in Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (addendum 2 to Version 1, chapter 8, Schechter ed., p. 163) about Aaron extending himself beyond the letter of the law to bring peace. This is what is meant by “pursuing” or “chasing after” peace. “Aaron would be walking along and, upon encountering a bad or wicked person, would greet that person with peace. Later, when the same person was on his way to worship [idolatry], he said: Woe unto me! How can I look Aaron in the eye without being ashamed before him, for he greeted me with peace!? And so, the person in the end refrained from idolatrous worship. It is also told of two people who had a quarrel that Aaron went and sat with one of them and said, ‘My son, see what your fellow is doing, for he is in a state of emotional turmoil, rending his garments and, all choked up, saying: How can I look my friend in the eye? I am ashamed before him, for it was I who did wrong.’ He would sit with him until he removed all jealousy from his heart. Afterwards he would go to his fellow and say to him, ‘My son, see what your fellow is doing. For he is in a state of

1 emotional turmoil, rending his garments and, all choked up, saying: How can I look my friend in the eye? I am ashamed before him, for it was I who did wrong to him.’ He would sit there until he removed all jealousy from his heart. When the two met, they embraced and kissed each other. Therefore it is written, ‘all the house of Israel bewailed Aaron thirty days’ (Num. 20:29).” In the first story, Aaron went out of his way to connect with a wicked person. In the second, he was even willing to embellish the truth to achieve peace. He did all he could to promote good relations. He did not just act peaceably; he pursued peace at all costs.

Q: What’s behind the sequence of the final instructions: “loving humankind and drawing them close to the Torah.” A: Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook used to point out that success in outreach lies in our ability to reach out to others from a place of love. I see this all the time in my work. People are looking for connection and love, sometimes more than Torah instruction. Once there is a bond and trust, it’s much easier to bring people close to Torah. This is why it lists “loving humankind” prior to “drawing them close to Torah.” This is relevant for us as parents and educators. It’s best to stay away from shortcuts and invest time into relationships! When push then comes to shove and Torah guidance is required, you will be the safe address for this guidance. I have found this especially true when it comes to people who are far away from Torah, steeped in negative behavior. The following Talmudic story (Brachot 10a) illustrates this. Rabbi Meir once prayed against hoodlums in his neighborhood. His wife, Beruriah, rebuked him and told him to pray positively on their behalf. The story concludes with him following her direction and the group repenting and returning to HaShem. You never know when someone will be ready to connect once more to Torah. Keep up the connection, if you can, and just show them love. Be there for them. When they are ready to return to Torah, you will then be able to help them through the process.

Another direction to take this mishna is to say that the more that non-observant folk see observant people full of love and happiness, the more they will naturally be drawn closer to Torah. It becomes a magnetic force. This is partially what attracted me to a more observant lifestyle at age 18. The love and togetherness I experienced in Yeshiva and at Shabbos tables was something I wanted in my life. Those positive experiences propelled me forward in my religious transformation. This is another way to read the mishna: love others and naturally, as a result of this, they will draw close to Torah.

Questions for further review

2 ● Where do we explicitly see in the Torah (the Five Books of Moses) that Aaron is a man of peace? ● Hillel is the author of our mishna. Name a case from his life where he embodied this teaching on pursuing peace? Can you think of more than one?

Chapters of the Fathers 1:13 ֹ ֹ הוּא ָהיָה ֵאוֹמר, ָנֵגד ְשָׁמא, ֵאָבד ְשֵׁמהּ. ְוּדלא ִמוֹסיף, יֵָסף. ְוּדלא יֵָליף, ְקָטָלא ַחיָּב. ְוּד ִא ְשׁ ַתֵּמּשׁ ְבּ ָתָגא, ָחֵלף: He [Hillel] used to say: one who makes his name great causes his name to be destroyed; one who does not add [to his knowledge] causes [it] to cease; one who does not study [the Torah] deserves death; one who makes [unworthy] use of the crown [of learning] shall pass away.

Q: Is there an order to the four directives in the mishna? A: It appears that the mishna is increasing in severity as it progresses—both in negative behavior and its accompanying punishment. It begins with someone who makes their name great—who seeks out honor. Their name will be destroyed. It then proceeds to someone who doesn’t grow in knowledge. They will lose their knowledge, something more precious than a name. One who doesn’t study Torah, our “Tree of Life,” has detached themselves from life, and is “deserving of death,” an even more serious outcome. One who doesn’t study Torah, still has the ability to come closer to Torah: they aren’t “dead,” just “deserving” of death. However, someone who misuses the Torah, they “shall pass away.” Why such a dire fate? When someone uses the Torah for negative purposes, it is much harder for them to come back to Torah and mitzvot. I imagine this referring to a case where someone scorns the Torah or uses the Torah to assert power and control over others. The whole purpose of the Torah is to share good and elevate people. This is the opposite behavior. Nobody knew this more than Hillel, the author of our mishna, a truly kind and generous person. The Torah “crowns” us with many spiritual blessings. The purpose of this is for us to share with others. Rav Ashlag used to say that the goal of Judaism is to transform our “will to take” into a “will to give.” No easy task! Hillel, nevertheless, encourages us to strive for this level, as he, himself, teaches in the upcoming mishna: “If I am not for myself, who is for me? But if I am for my own self [only], what am I?” We are in a time when a lot of people need help. Those with means—monetary, medical, spiritual and all other forms—must step up and mobilize these “crowns” for good. All of us have something we can do to help others, even from our “socially-distanced“ homes. Let’s

3 try to do so in this time of need. If the outcome of abusing the crown is so dire, the inverse must also be the case for those who use their crowns for good. .

Chapters of the Fathers 1:14 הוּא ָהיָה ֵאוֹמר, ִאם ֵאין ֲאנִי ִלי, ִמי ִלי. ְוּכ ֶשֲׁאנִי ְלַעְצ ִמי, ָמה ֲאנִי. וְִאם לֹא ַעְכ ָשׁיו, ֵא ָימ ָתי: Hillel used to say: If I am not for myself, who is for me? But if I am for my own self [only], what am I? And if not now, when?

Q: Why must one be both for oneself and for the other? Isn’t the ideal in Judaism to be selfless? A: On the most basic of levels: if we don’t take care of ourselves and our health, there will be no “self” at all to help others. This is pretty simple. On a deeper level, many are familiar with the famous verse in Vayikra 19:18: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” From here we learn that love for self—“as yourself”—is a prerequisite for loving one’s neighbor. Why so? It’s natural to project our feelings toward ourselves onto others. The outside world reflects to us what we don’t like in ourselves and we respond to it based on this. It is therefore crucial to increase in love for self. Then the opposite will be the case: we will overlook other’s shortcomings and project our inner love onto all. Another way to take this is to bring to mind the kabbalistic statement “one can not give The more we, ourselves, are filled with light and .אין נותן מה שאין בו ”what one does not have love, the more we have leftover to give others. It is for these reasons and more that Hillel said we must give to self—for the sake of giving to others.

One more answer dismisses the premise of the question altogether, relaying Hillel’s endorsement of self-care for its own sake, not just for the sake of helping others. This is based on the belief that our being, both body and soul, is an expression of the divine. Here is a source (Avot de Rebbe Natan (2nd version) 30) that puts forward this idea in the name ​ of Hillel: “When Hillel would go somewhere, they would ask him: ’Where are you going?’ He would answer, ‘I am on my way to do a mitzvah.’ ‘Which mitzvah, Hillel?’ ‘I am going to the bathroom.’ ‘And is this surely a mitzvah?’ ‘Yes. In order to upkeep my body.’ ​ ‘Where are you going, Hillel?’ ‘I am on my way to do a mitzvah.’ ‘Which mitzvah, Hillel?’ ‘I am on my way to the bathhouse.’ ‘And it this surely a mitzvah?’ ‘Yes. In order to wash my body.’ ‘Know that this is true. Just as is the case with statues erected in the courtyards to kings [=which are replicas of the kings], where those appointed to wipe and scrub them are annually awarded a selira by the king and not this alone but they are also ​

4 adorned with the grandeur of the kingship—all the more so with us who were created in the tzelem and the demut [of Hashem], as it is written, “In the tzelem of ​ ​ ​ God Adam was created” (Breshit 9, 6)!’“ There is an important lesson to be learned from the statue analogy: even our bodies are expressions of the divine. It is not enough to see the divinity in others, we must view ourselves as divine as well! One of my rebbes of blessed memory, Rabbi Tzvi Kleimen, once overheard me speaking disparagingly about myself. He immediately interceded and shared that the laws of lashon hara (evil speech) apply not only to others but also to ourselves! He knew what Hillel did: we all carry the divine within us. We must, therefore, honor ourselves and treat ourselves kindly: “If I am not for myself, who is for me?”

Questions for further review ● Why the urgency in Hillel’s final words: “If not now, when?” Why must we not wait in order to be for ourselves and for others? ● Can you relate all three sayings in this mishna to the times we are in as most of us find ourselves bunkered up in our homes?

Chapters of the Fathers 1:15 ַשׁ ַמּאי ֵאוֹמר, ֲע ֵשׂה ָתוֹר ְתָך ֶקַבע. ֱאמֹר ְמַעט וֲַע ֵשׂה ַהְרֵבּה, וֱֶהוֵי ְמַקֵבּל ֶאת ָכּל ָה ָאָדם ְבֵּסֶבר ָפּנִים יָפוֹת: Shammai used to say: make your [study of the] Torah a fixed practice; speak little, but do much; and receive all people with a pleasant countenance.

Q: What is the meaning of making a “fixed practice”? A: We must make sure that every day contains a segment in which we learn Torah. The (Shabbat 31a) lists the questions we will be asked upon our entrance into “heaven”: “Rava said: After departing from this world, when a person is brought to judgment for the life he lived in this world, they say to him : Did you conduct business … faithfully? Did you designate times for Torah study? Did you engage in procreation? Did you await salvation? Did you engage in the dialectics of wisdom or understand one matter from another?” Pay attention: the second question is about setting fixed times to study. No small thing! Another list of questions that appears in the Talmud ( 7a) places learning first. So, it’s important. The mishna is teaching us that it’s not enough just to find time to learn. It’s preferable that it be a “fixed” learning session: a set class we attend each day, a learning session between mincha-maariv in shul, or even a set Mishna we learn on our own after Shacharit. We must find times to fill up our spiritual batteries throughout the day.. Therefore, Shammai is

5 telling us to make it “fixed,” ensuring we will remain stable and consistent in this commitment. Another way to interpret this word usage is to ensure we are learning in a way that Torah will naturally become “fixed” into our schedule. How so? We must learn Torah that will draw us in and excite us. There are so many areas of Torah to learn. Try them all out and find what speaks to you. I did this and found, while in yeshiva, that Jewish philosophy spoke to me. I ended making a career out of it and studying it in university for over a decade. When you do what you love, it sticks and becomes a “fixture” in your life. Many pure souls have left Judaism thinking there isn’t anything for them here. There is so much for each of us. We just have to make the effort to find it or find rabbis who can help us do so.

Q: How are Shammai’s three statements connected? A: One must learn Torah (making Torah a fixed practice) and be constantly involved in mitzvot, ”speaking little, but doing much” in terms of mitzvot. However, this shouldn’t lead one to forget to be a nice person. We must always remember “to receive all people with a pleasant countenance.” We must, amidst our frumkeit (deep religiosity), make time to smile at people and let them feel important and wanted. I remember walking so enthused, when I first became more observant at age 18, through a pretty religious neighborhood. I was elated to have found a home in Judaism and in Eretz Yisrael, and to be a part of this group. So I decided to just smile and say hello to everyone I saw on the street. True story. Unfortunately, hardly anyone answered me and that made me sad. From then on, I decided to receive others, especially those who greet me first with hello, with a pleasant countenance. From my experience, this really makes a difference. You never know what people are going through and how a simple smile can change their day. It’s admirable to be very religious; but included in this is giving off good energy to those around us. If you and I do it, and then the next person follows suit, it can cause a chain reaction, transforming our world to a happier and better place.

Questions for further review Shammai teaches us to receive everyone “with a pleasant countenance.” How does this square away with the depictions of his personality throughout the Talmud? How can you explain this disparity?

Chapters of the Fathers 1:16

ַרָבּן ַגּ ְמִל ֵיאל ָהיָה ֵאוֹמר, ֲע ֵשׂה ְלָך ַרב, וְִה ְס ַתֵּלּק ִמן ַהָסֵּפק, וְאַל ַתְּרֶבּה ְלַע ֵשּׂר אָֹמדוֹת:

6 Rabban used to say: appoint a rabbi for yourself, avoid doubt, and do not make a habit of tithing by guesswork.

Q: What is the connection between all three parts of the mishna?

A: There is sometimes a tendency to live our religious lives based on guesswork. What’s the accurate blessing for this fruit? How late can I actually daven mincha? What is the exact amount of matzah I need to eat at the Seder? How far do I have to go while cleaning my house for Pesach? Sometimes we don’t have clear answers on the spot to these and many other questions.

It’s okay to not have all of the answers! And sometimes we may be stuck and just need to take our best guess or be stricter than usual to avoid doing the wrong thing. But as a general rule, it’s proper to “appoint yourself a rabbi” so that you can “avoid these doubts” and not base your service on “the habit of guesswork.”

It’s interesting because sometimes when we choose our original choice based on guesswork, we then later forget that the decision wasn’t made on solid halachic footing. Years down the road we then find ourselves doing the same thing, when in truth it’s not even based on halacha! This pertains to both lenient and strict directions we chose based on guesswork.

I see this a lot. People ask me questions, especially around Pesach time, that show they have been adopting unnecessarily strict practices, perhaps based on guesswork. It’s important to clarify the laws. It will bring you peace of mind and may even make your halachic life a bit easier (believe it or not ). … Q: Do I have to “appoint” the same rabbi for everything?

A: I don’t think so. One can have rabbis for different purposes. I have a rabbi who I go to for advanced halachic questions. I have another rabbi with whom I discuss personal matters. It is important, as many note, to have consistency with these specialist rabbis and not just “shop around” for answers that we want to hear.

make for yourself a“ ,עשה לך רב Q: Which other lessons can be learned from the language rabbi”?

A: This can also be creatively read (this is not the simple reading) as “make yourself a ​ ​ rabbi.” No, this doesn’t mean you have to go to rabbinical school for five years or that you should decide on all matters of hoshen mishpat law (if you don’t know what that is, then ​ ​ you really shouldn’t be deciding on it ). But I once heard that although our main halachic ​ …

7 guide, the Shulchan Aruch, consists only of four volumes, a fifth volume can, and should, be accessed: common sense. Finding a rabbi, or rabbis, is critical; but we are also allowed to use common sense and decide things for ourselves if we are properly informed.

The term rabbi here can at times include an online site. This in no way should take the place of a “live” rabbi, especially because this is how us rabbis earn our salary! In all seriousness, with a live rabbi, one can pick up on how they think and approach things. They add layers of depth and nuance one can’t find online. One also learns about customs and behaviors that cannot be learned in front of a screen. Additionally, rabbis provide much more than data: they are spiritual conduits (see videos of the Chabad Rebbe with his chasidim, for instance) and great sources of emotional support.

For all of these reasons and more one should appoint themselves a rabbi. Nevertheless, at times if one can find a quick answer to one’s question online from a reputable site, that’s perfectly fine. This can save time and lead to more frequent searches for halachic answers, which are positive things.

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