Pirkei Avos, Perek 1

Perek Aleph Mishnah Bet, Shimon haTzaddik היה משיירי כנסת הגדולה. Hu hayah omer על שלושה דברים העולם עומד, al haTorah v'al ha-avodah v'al gemilut chasadim. Rabbeinu Yonah, hu hayah omer על שלושה דברים העולם עומד, ratzah lomar שבשביל דברים אלו נברא העולם. So ha-olam omed according to Rabbeinu Yonah is a teleological statement, means for the purpose of, for the goal of these three things that the world exists. Rashi evidently understands the Mishnah that way as well. It's most explicit in his explanation of al gemilut chasadim. כי אמרתי עולם חסד יבנה, says Rashi, ללמדך שבשביל החסד העולם מתקיים. So Rashi is taitching the pasuk olam chesed yibaneh that the world is created for chesed, שבשביל חסד העולם מתקיים. Like Rabbeinu Yonah, that that's what it means, על שלושה דברים העולם עומד, for these goals, for these purposes. What is avodah referred to? Rashi says על העבודה של בית המקדש and Rabbeinu Yonah the same. If you take a look in the Rambam, so the Rambam differs quite dramatically.

יאמר שבחכמה והיא התורה ובמעלת המדות והם גמילות חסדים ובשמירת מצות התורה הם הקרבנות תהיה התמדת תיקון העולם וסידור מציאותו על הדרך השלם. תהיה התמדת תיקון העולם.

The way to sustain and perpetuate that the world should be rectified, that the world should be arranged in the sense of functioning optimally. So these three things are necessary. Right? The Tanna is not commenting on on the goals of existence, but on the as it were the mechanics of optimal functioning of the world. With these three things תהיה התמדת תיקון העולם וסידור המציאות על דרך השלם. So that's the first aspect in which the Rambam so clearly differs. The other is, the Rambam has this incredible p'shat that when the Mishnah says al ha-avodah, which means like Rashi and Rabbeinu Yonah say avodat korbanot, but that really just is representative of shmiras hamitzvos in general. ובשמירת מצות התורה והם הקרבנות, hem hakorbanot. The obvious kasha, if you take a look in the Machon HaMaor translation of the Perush HaMishnayos with the notes, so they quote this kasha from the Abarbanel, the Tashbetz, but the kasha is so it begs, it's so glaring. So why did the Mishnah say korbanot? Why did it say avodah? Say mitzvot. It's a peledik, a very, very peledik p'shat. Very peledik p'shat. If you take a look in the Rambam at the end of Hilchos Meilah, the very end of Sefer Avodah, the very end of Hilchos Meilah, Perek Ches, Halacha Ches. The Rambam's talking about trying to understand Taamei Mitzvos. The Taamei Mitzvos of mishpatim are self-evident and intuitive. What requires this effort is the Taamei is to uncover the Taamei Mitzvos of chukim. And the Rambam says that even absent, even when we're not successful, so a person chas v'shalom shouldn't be mezalzel, he shouldn't disparage chukim because of of one's own limitations and one's own inadequacies in understanding them. Okay, the whole halacha is so important, but beginning towards the end of the halacha:

כמה וכמה היה דוד המלך מצטער מן המינים והגוים שהיו משיבין על החוקים וכל זמן שהיו רודפינו בתשובת השקר שעורכין לפי קוצר דעת האדם היה מוסיף דבקות בתורה.

The more they harassed him with their false polemics, so the more attached he became to Torah, the more he strengthened and intensified his dveykus ba-Torah. So agav, this is sort of not why we're coming to this Rambam, but there's a very, very important yesod here. When when a person is exposed and especially if that exposure is something which is ongoing to all kinds of false hashkafos, false philosophies, immoral ideas which are dressed up as moral ideas, achzariyus which is which is purveyed as sensitivity, it's not enough for a person to say I'm gonna ignore it. Even if it's only beino l'vein atzmo, even if that's the only forum in which it's possible and or appropriate, a person has to push back. Because le-ma'aseh, human nature is such that when we're exposed to something, it's it's very hard if maybe not even possible to just sort of remain neutral and say I won't let it affect me, I'll ignore it, it won't affect me. If a person isn't pushing back, again maybe the only forum in which it's possible or the only forum in which it's appropriate, very often maybe beino l'vein atzmo, sometimes there may be a more of a forum. But if a person isn't pushing back, so then it has an effect. The effect may be subtle. It may be that what's outrageous in his mind just becomes something that's wrong and not outrageous anymore. It may then grow to be even more pronounced than that. It may be that something which is thoroughly intolerable in his mind becomes something wrong but tolerable and it can be more pernicious than that also, puk chazi. And that's what the Rambam is saying that Dovid HaMelech was involuntarily subjected to, exposed to תשובות השקר שאוחזין בקוצר דעת האדם and because of that, again just beino l'vein atzmo, he didn't have an audience. But he was mosif davka b'Torah she'ne'emar טפלו עלי שקר זדים אני בכל לב אצר פקודיך. It's similar, I don't know if it's identical, maybe it even is, I'm not, you'd have to look and reread it to see if the emphasis is the same, but it's similar to the famous Beis HaLevi commenting on the psukim in Parshas Bo by the Ben Rasha. So in the Haggadah we say

אף אתה הקהה את שיניו ואמור לו בעבור זה לי ולא לו וכולי.

But the Beis HaLevi says when you look in the psukim, so that's not the answer the Chumash gives. והיה כי יאמרו אליכם בניכם מה העבודה הזאת לכם? So what comes next in the Chumash is ואמרתם זבח פסח הוא לה'. So why do we diverge from what from what the Chumash says? So the Beis HaLevi points out, says, no, it's very meduyak. In Parshas Va'eschanan והיה כי ישאלך בנך, so the Torah says ve'amarta l'vincha. This is what you should say to your son, this is the response you give to your son. By the by the Ben Tam, ma zos, again, it's ve'higadta l'vincha. Over here when the when the Ben Rasha says כי יאמרו אליכם בניכם מה העבודה הזאת לכם ואמרתם, not ve'amartem eilav. ואמרתם זבח פסח הוא לה'. You're not talking to him, you're talking to yourself. In the face of his cynicism and his ridicule, so there's no one to talk to there. He's not interested. It's it's והיה כי יאמרו אליכם בניכם. He's not asking. He's not asking. He's he's saying. He's not he's not asking. You know, they tell the story that that Reb Chaim once met someone who had learned in Volozhin and rachmana litzlan who's shana upireish. And when he met Reb Chaim, he understandably felt very very uncomfortable. So he said to him, he said rebbe, he said to him in Yiddish, he said, I had so many kashas and and there were no teirutsim. And Reb Chaim said to him, for kashas there are teirutsim, but אף א תירוץ איז נישט צו קיין תירוץ. In Yiddish the word teirutz can mean answer, but it can also mean excuse. To give a teirutz in Yiddish means not not only to give an answer, but but it can also mean to give an excuse. And Reb Chaim said if you have a question, so there are answers to questions. When you're making an excuse and you're not interested in hearing anything, so there are no answers for excuses. This excuse doesn't work, so you come up with another you come up with with another excuse. So והיה כי יאמרו אליכם בניכם, the rasha is not interested in hearing anything. So the va'amartem is not ve'amartem eilav. It's a similar idea, but in the face of his sarcasm and ridicule, so you need to be mischazek for yourself, the Torah is telling us, va'amartem zevach pesach. Okay, fine. Now, here's where we come to the part of the Rambam which sheds light on the peirush hamishnais. וכל הקרבנות כולן מכלל החוקים הם. All korbanos, says the Rambam, this entire class of mitzvos is bikhlal chukim. לפיכך אמרו חכמים and and here's one of the places where the shibush in the standard dfusim is just just totally totally distorts what what the Rambam actually said and meant. So I think in the standard dfusim it says שבשביל עבודת הקרבנות העולם עומד, but what it says in all the manuscripts apparently is לפיכך אמרו חכמים שאף על עבודת הקרבנות העולם עומד. The the authentic nosach, and and it's clear that this is the right one, לפיכך אמרו חכמים שאף על עבודת הקרבנות העולם עומד. That is, על עבודת הקרבנות העולם עומד is our mishna, right? So the Rambam is clearly referencing our mishna. And what our mishna says according to the Rambam is not that bedavka על עבודת הקרבנות העולם עומד. That's certainly the way one would say it according to Rashi and Rabbeinu Yona, that bedavka avodas korbanos stands out together with Torah and gemilus chasadim. It stands out that it's bedavka al avoda. And it's klar, klar 100% in in light of the Rambam in Hilchos Me'ilah that what the Rambam means in the Perush HaMishnayos when the Rambam says, we said it's such a seemingly such a strange dochak pshat. The mishnah says avodah, which means korbanos. The Rambam says, no, it means shmiras hamitzvos. So the teretz is, yeah, it means all mitzvos, even those mitzvos I would have thought that tehei... again, what is haolam omeid according to the Rambam mean? Haolam omeid according to the Rambam means שתהיה התמדת תיקון העולם וסידור מציאותו על הדרך השלם. So I would have thought, I understand mishpatim are necessary for hasmadas tikkun haolam. Issur gezeilah, issur shefichas damim, חיוב כיבוד אב ואם, those things are necessary for hasmadas tikkun haolam. But chukim, and certainly when the entire class of mitzvos is just one big chok, that's not relevant to hasmadas tikkun haolam. That's not relevant to סידור מציאותו על הדרך השלם. So kamashmalan no, haolam omeid even al ha'avodah. All mitzvos are necessary, all the Torah's mitzvos are necessary for hasmadas tikkun haolam and סידור מציאותו על הדרך השלם. Klar that that's what the Rambam means. And why did the mishnah say avodah? So apparently your question is very good, is correct. Apparently within chukim, so korbanos are the quintessential chok, maybe because it's where the entire class... it's not an individual mitzvah which is a chok, it's not an individual prat which is a chok, but the entire class of mitzvos, the entire category, so in that sense, it's the chok shebechukim, it's the chok shebechukim. Okay, good. Now let's perhaps reread here in Hilchos Me'ilah and then continue a little further. If you have it, take a look, we're reading the final five lines or so here in Hilchos Me'ilah, rabbosai. וכל הקרבנות כולן מכלל החקים הן. Lefichach amru chachamim and again the correct nusach is

שאף על עבודת הקרבנות העולם עומד שבעשיית החקים והמשפטים זוכין הישרים לחיי העולם הבא.

Again, וכל הקרבנות כולן מכלל החקים הן. Lefichach amru chachamim

שאף על עבודת הקרבנות העולם עומד שבעשיית החקים והמשפטים זוכין הישרים לחיי העולם הבא.

So what's difficult here is that the Rambam in Perush HaMishnayos is meforash that haolam omeid means olam hazeh. Right? Olam hazeh. The Rambam here in Hilchos Me'ilah is referencing our mishnah. Lefichach amru chachamim שאף על עבודת הקרבנות העולם עומד is our mishnah. But then he segues and says that what that seemingly, that what that means is שבעשיית החקים והמשפטים זוכין הישרים לחיי העולם הבא. So somehow haolam omeid here in Hilchos Me'ilah means olam haba? Against what he said, which is obviously not what it means in the Perush HaMishnayos. You hear that, rabbosai? But let's continue here in Hilchos Me'ilah a little further. שבעשיית החקים והמשפטים, if you have it, take a look, rabbosai, שבעשיית החקים והמשפטים זוכין הישרים לחיי העולם הבא. Vehikdimah Torah tzivuyah, mapik... Chai bahem means where? Olam hazeh, Olam habah? The way the Rambam is citing this Pasuk, what does Chai bahem mean Rabosai? Olam habah, clearly, right? Because the Rambam says

שבעשיית החוקים והמשפטים זוכין הישרים לחיי עולם הבא והקדימה תורה צוויה על החוקים

in this path to Olam habah, Shene'emar

ושמרתם את חקתי ואת משפטי אשר יעשה אתם האדם וחי בהם.

Good, clearly, right? V'chai bahem means Olam habah, which is what Onkelos says there in actually this Parshas Hashavuah, right? Parshas Acharei Mos. This is what Onkelos says on the Pasuk Chayei alma, ויחי בהון בחיי עלמא. It's what Rashi says also. Rashi says maybe it means Olam hazeh? It's not true, סופו של אדם מת, no one lives forever in Olam hazeh. So Rashi also says it means Chayei olam habah. The Gemara in Yuma famously, Shmuel, when Shmuel says אי הואי התם הוה אמינא לדידי עדיפא מדידהו, had I been present generations earlier when the Tannaim were discussing what's the Makor for the Din that פיקוח נפש דוחה שבת, so I wouldn't have said it's a Kal vachomer me'avodah and I wouldn't have said from Machteress, I would have said וחי בהם ולא שימות בהם. The same Pasuk, right? This same Pasuk in Acharei Mos that the Rambam's quoting at the end of Hilchos Me'ilah, so clearly for Shmuel, V'chai bahem means in Olam hazeh. And the Rambam quotes Shmuel's Makor in Perek hey of Yesodei HaTorah. Take a look in Perek hey of Yesodei HaTorah, Halacha aleph.

בשעה שיעמוד גוי ויאנוס את ישראל לעבור על אחת מכל המצות האמורות בתורה או יהרגנו, יעבור ואל יהרג,

Shene'emar bamitzvos אשר יעשה אתם האדם וחי בהם ולא שימות בהם. So which is it? The Pasuk V'chai bahem means Olam hazeh or it means Olam habah? In Hilchos Me'ilah it clearly means Olam habah, here in Yesodei HaTorah Al pi the Gemara in Yuma it clearly means Olam hazeh. But there's a symmetry between the two Kashas we have Rabosai, right? In terms of the Mishnah in Avos that in the Perakim ha-shnayim it sounds like that Ha'olam omed, doesn't sound like it, it's explicit, it doesn't sound like it is, that Ha'olam omed means Olam hazeh, in Hilchos Me'ilah it's Olam habah, and we have the exact same question Legabei the Pasuk of V'chai bahem, does it mean Chayei alma as Onkelos Taitches Olam habah or does it mean as Shmuel Taitches in the Gemara in Yuma Olam hazeh? So Lachora the Teretz is as follows. If you take a look at it's actually the previous Halacha here in Yesodei HaTorah, Dalet yud bais, the last Halacha in Perek dalet of Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah. The Rambam says that what the first four Perakim in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah deal with are Ma'aseh bereishis and Ma'aseh merkavah, which the Chachamim metaphorically describe as Pardes. And then the Rambam says

ואני אומר שאין ראוי לטייל בפרדס אלא מי שנתמלא כריסו לחם ובשר.

A person should only go for a stroll in the Pardes after, literally after his stomach has been filled with Lechem u-basar. V'lechem u-basar, what's the Nimshal of Lechem u-basar? זהו לידע ביאור האסור והמותר וכיוצא בהם משאר המצות. Gemara, Halacha.

ואף על פי שדברים אלו דבר קטן קראו אותם חכמים,

even though within the hierarchy of Talmud Torah, מעשה בראשית ומעשה מרכבה are higher,

שהרי אמרו חכמים דבר גדול מעשה מרכבה ודבר קטן הויות דאביי ורבא, ואף על פי כן וראויין הם להקדימן.

But a person has to begin with Halakha, with Gemara, שהן מיישבין דעתו של אדם תחילה. It literally settles a person's mind, it trains his mind to think logically, rigorously. ועוד שהן הטובה הגדולה, here's the crucial line for our purposes now.

ועוד שהן הטובה הגדולה שהשפיע הקדוש ברוך הוא לישוב העולם הזה כדי לנחול חיי העולם הבא.

Again, שהן הטובה הגדולה, the Mitzvas hatova, which tell us assur umutar, they're the הטובה הגדולה שהשפיע הקדוש ברוך הוא, the great good that Hakadosh Baruch Hu bestowed. Good for what? לישוב העולם הזה כדי לנחול חיי העולם הבא. So it's good for what? For this world? It's good for the next world? So the Rambam says it's good לישוב העולם הזה כדי לנחול חיי העולם הבא. So what does it mean? Lichora is as follows. The following is a paragraph from the Rav's Ish HaHalakha. Again, we're sort of taking part of one idea which is strung together with other ideas, but it's the part that merges with the Rambam's that we're looking at. איש ההלכה יודע כי דרך המלך, the straight path.

דרך המלך נלך לא נטה ימין ושמאל. איש ההלכה יודע כי דרך המלך מוליכה אל תחום הטרנסצנדנטיות.

Let me first read and then try to digest.

האדם חסום בצמד פתיל הגשמיות המוחשיות והממשיות ואנה מפניהם ילך ואנה יברח מהם?

Question mark.

גם כי יסק הוויה שמימית שם תהיינה וגם כי יסק כנפי שחר ההפשטה והאצילות גם שם ידן תנחהו. אין איש ההלכה מאמין שהחבוש בבית האסורים של הגופניות יכול להתיר את עצמו מאזיקי החיים החומריים לשבור חצובות הגוף והיצר ולרכוב בגאוותו שחקים.

So what the Rav is explaining here is, and again, this is just one aspect of his extraordinarily important and new depiction of Halakha, is that spirituality according to Halakha, religiosity according to Halakha, is not something otherworldly but is this worldly. Again. It's not something otherworldly. It's not sort of the fact that we're physical and that we exist physically and that we live in a physical world, all of that is just sort of a necessary evil fact of existence, but genuine ruchanius means that somehow or other a person transcends Olam Hazeh while in Olam Hazeh and that's how a person attains kedusha and that's how a person aspires to and attains dveikus. Avada avada a person has to curb his physical impulses and yetzarim and a person has to channel them and a person has to discipline them. But the way a person connects with what's transcendental with Hakadosh Baruch Hu is by living in Olam Hazeh. Because a person can't, it's a futile attempt for a person to think that he can sort of transcend his own physicality. האדם חותם בצומד פתיל הגשמיות. The seal of physicality is imprinted upon the person, of mushchiyus and mamashiyus, sensual, concrete. אנה מפניהם ילך ואנה יברח מהם. A person is a person, not a malach. Skipping a sentence: אין איש ההלכה מאמין שהחבוש בבית האסורים של הגופניות that one who's imprisoned within the prison of physicality יכול להתיר את עצמו מאזיקי החיים החומריים from the bonds, from the shackles of physical life, lishbor chatzuvos haguf to break the chains of the body velirkov bega'avaso shechakim. Avada a person can't be a hedonist and be oved Hashem, but on the other hand if he thinks that by being an ascetic he's going to somehow or other transcend his own physicality, so that's it's futile, a person can't, that's not the way we were created. So how does a person be oved Hashem? Derech hamelech. Avada it means he moderates physical impulses, he curbs, he sublimates, he channels, but kedusha is something which is this-worldly as long as we live here and that's where the person and how the person attains it. You look, this idea, again there's many many other ideas here which are not in the Rambam here, but this idea is what all these Rambams are talking about. If you look, it's the same question that keeps recurring. The pasuk of vechai bahem is it talking about Olam Hazeh, is it talking about Olam Habah? The mishna of olam omed is it talking about Olam Hazeh, is it Olam Habah? הטובה הגדולה של מצוות is it yishuv Olam Hazeh or is it was it לנחול חיי עולם הבא? So how can it be that the same question keeps emerging? So obviously if whenever one thing comes in the door the other thing comes, it means that the two are just inextricably bound together and linked and it means that they're two sides of a coin. It means that olam omed if we'll devote ourselves to that which allows us to live the way we're supposed to, again not try to escape Olam Hazeh, but live the way we're supposed to in Olam Hazeh, so that is with that זוכין הישן לחיי עולם הבא. What does Vachai Bahem mean? Vachai Bahem initially means Olam Hazeh, but a person lives in Olam Hazeh, again, not not not not looking to, not not having some definition of spirituality where the the person thinks that that he can transcend the Olam Hazeh. Well no, he's in Olam Hazeh with all of its concrete, physical, material reality. Again, he's not... that doesn't define him in terms of excess. But a person Vachai Bahem Olam Hazeh, memaila, it's Vachai Bahem, Chayei Olam. If it means one, it means the other. If Haolam Omed in the Mishna in Avos means Olam Hazeh, it means Olam Haba. If Vachai Bahem in the posuk means Olam Hazeh, it means Olam Haba. Agav, the Ibn Ezra on on the posuk says it means both, says it means Olam Hazeh and Olam Haba. And that's what the Rambam says in Yesodei Hatorah. What are Torah Mitzvos for? They're all oriented to Olam Hazeh. Torah Mitzvos is all oriented to Olam Hazeh. מיישב הטובה שהשפיע הקדוש ברוך הוא ליישוב עולם הזה, but that gufa is kedei linchol chayei Olam Haba. Okay, and maybe we will stop here.