Jewish Thought - 48 qualities of Torah

[muman613]

Shalom,

This bit of Jewish wisdom strikes me on this day:

Ethics of the Fathers - Chapter 6

Mishnah 6
Torah is greater than the priesthood or sovereignty, for sovereignty is acquired with thirty virtues, the priesthood with twenty-four, and Torah is acquired with forty-eight qualities. These are: study, listening, verbalizing, comprehension of the heart, awe, fear, humility, joy, purity, serving the sages, companionship with one's contemporaries, debating with one's students, tranquility, study of the scriptures, study of the Mishnah, minimizing engagement in business, minimizing socialization, minimizing pleasure, minimizing sleep, minimizing talk, minimizing gaiety, slowness to anger, good heartedness, faith in the sages, acceptance of suffering, knowing one's place, satisfaction with one's lot, qualifying one's words, not taking credit for oneself, likableness, love of G-d, love of humanity, love of charity, love of justice, love of rebuke, fleeing from honor, lack of arrogance in learning, reluctance to hand down rulings, participating in the burden of one's fellow, judging him to the side of merit, correcting him, bringing him to a peaceful resolution [of his disputes], deliberation in study, asking and answering, listening and illuminating, learning in order to teach, learning in order to observe, wising one's teacher, exactness in conveying a teaching, and saying something in the name of its speaker. Thus we have learned: One who says something in the name of its speaker brings redemption to the world, as is stated (Esther 2:22), "And Esther told the king in the name of Mordechai."

Every one of us who strive for the goal of a Torah life should examine these 48 qualities again {we usually contemplate them during the Omer} . I was just talking with my good friend who is an Orthodox rabbi about another bit of wisdom in Pirkie Avot Chap 6 Mishnah 9. While looking for that pearl of wisdom I came across the 48 qualities and they really touch me. I have always sought these qualities in my life.

muman613
 

[GodGunsAndGlory]

Why don't people call it the Tanakh...

[muman613]

Torah is an all encompassing term for the teachings of Judaism.

Tanakh is actually more than the 5 books of Moshe.

Tanakh is an acronym for Torah, Navi, and Ketuvim. Torah is the Chumash {Five books} which we received at Mount Sinai. This is also known as the Written Torah.

Navi are the prophetic writings. This includes Joshua, Judges, Isaiah, Ezekial, etc.

And then the Ketuvim are things like Psalms, Song of Songs, Proverbs, Job, etc.

In Pirkie Avos this Mishnah is referring to both the Written Torah and the Oral Torah and all of Tanakh.

muman613
http://www.aish.com/literacy/concepts/What_Is_Torah$.asp

No word in the Jewish religion is so indefinable and yet so indispensable as the word Torah. Torah is the most comprehensive term for the substance of Judaism. Torah is Teaching. Torah is Law. No one can hope to achieve even a minimal appreciation of the Jewish religion without learning, and then reflecting on, the idea of Torah and its place in the life of the Jew.

http://www.askmoses.com/article/326,108/What-is-Tanach.html


    ______   _______  __   __    _______   ______   ___     ______
   |  __  | |.  __  | \ \ / /   |_____  | |____  | |_  |   |  __  |
   | |  | |  | |  | | |  V /      _   | |      | |   | |   | |  | |
  _| |  | |  | | _| | | |\ \     | |  | |      | |   | |  _| |  | |
 |___|  |_|  |_||___| |_| \_\    |_|  |_|      |_|   |_| |___|  |_|

[zachor_ve_kavod]

Shalom,

This bit of Jewish wisdom strikes me on this day:

Ethics of the Fathers - Chapter 6

Mishnah 6
Torah is greater than the priesthood or sovereignty, for sovereignty is acquired with thirty virtues, the priesthood with twenty-four, and Torah is acquired with forty-eight qualities. These are: study, listening, verbalizing, comprehension of the heart, awe, fear, humility, joy, purity, serving the sages, companionship with one's contemporaries, debating with one's students, tranquility, study of the scriptures, study of the Mishnah, minimizing engagement in business, minimizing socialization, minimizing pleasure, minimizing sleep, minimizing talk, minimizing gaiety, slowness to anger, good heartedness, faith in the sages, acceptance of suffering, knowing one's place, satisfaction with one's lot, qualifying one's words, not taking credit for oneself, likableness, love of G-d, love of humanity, love of charity, love of justice, love of rebuke, fleeing from honor, lack of arrogance in learning, reluctance to hand down rulings, participating in the burden of one's fellow, judging him to the side of merit, correcting him, bringing him to a peaceful resolution [of his disputes], deliberation in study, asking and answering, listening and illuminating, learning in order to teach, learning in order to observe, wising one's teacher, exactness in conveying a teaching, and saying something in the name of its speaker. Thus we have learned: One who says something in the name of its speaker brings redemption to the world, as is stated (Esther 2:22), "And Esther told the king in the name of Mordechai."

Every one of us who strive for the goal of a Torah life should examine these 48 qualities again {we usually contemplate them during the Omer} . I was just talking with my good friend who is an Orthodox rabbi about another bit of wisdom in Pirkie Avot Chap 6 Mishnah 9. While looking for that pearl of wisdom I came across the 48 qualities and they really touch me. I have always sought these qualities in my life.

muman613
 

Fleeing from honour?

[muman613]

Fleeing from honour?

Zachor_Ve_Kavod,

Fleeing from Honour means that a Jew should not seek positions where he is given a lot of honour. Because honor can corrupt a persons humililty when he thinks that the great honors given to him/her are due to his/her own work instead of because Hashem has bestowed it.

I will quote from an OU Drash @ http://www.ou.org/index.php/shabbat_shalom/article/12586/

Fleeing from Honor
By Rabbi Yikhat Rozen, Merkaz Neria, Kiryat Malachi
A Lesson For the Children - Moshe had studied for many years until he had reached this glorious moment. And now, finally, he reached the end, and he was appointed rabbi of a small town. He was still young, and his heart was filled with emotion and pride about his new position. He was sure that the members of the community would consult with him about many questions, that they would stand up to show respect when he entered a room, that they would speak to him from a distance and with great respect, as befits a community rabbi.

But at the same time, Moshe knew that it was not right to have a desire for honor. As is well known, pride is one of the worst possible traits, which a man must avoid and completely remove from his heart. But what could he do, if his evil inclination would not give him any rest?

Moshe remembered the lesson of the sages: "If anybody flees from honor, the honor will pursue him." He realized that if he would not show pride and would not demand to be honored, the people would pay him even more respect, because they would appreciate that he is so modest. In this way, honor could pursue him. If that is the case, Moshe said to himself, the situation is not bad at all. I will wait patiently, overcoming my desire for honor, and in the end, "I will have no choice" but to accept the respect of the people.

After making this decision, Moshe took it upon himself to reject any honor as much as possible. When he entered the synagogue, the people stood up to honor their new rabbi. But Moshe immediately waved them aside, and said, in a false voice: "You shouldn't stand up. Really! Did you stand up for me? There is no need. Please sit down." And the people sat.

After the prayers, one of the congregants came to ask him a question about halacha. He began respectfully, "Honorable rabbi..." But Moshe immediately cut him off and said: "There is no need for that, my friend. My name is Moshe! Just Moshe!" At affairs the new rabbi refused to sit at a table with prominent leaders of the community, and he said: "No, no. I do not want any of this special honor! My place is here, with the regular folks!"

The people of the town really appreciated the way the rabbi acted. At first, they tried to convince him to act like every other rabbi – to sit in a prominent place, to respond to respectful titles, and so on. But he refused to let them do this. However, in the end, most of the people did not like this exaggerated stubbornness. If the man was a rabbi, then he should at least accept his own worth. Why did he disparage himself so? Perhaps, they began to feel, he really is not such a learned man. (Is he really a Torah giant? After all, they said to themselves, he is such a young man.) Slowly, the attempts to show him respect stopped, and Moshe was treated the same as any other member of the community. Nobody stood up when he came near, he was given a seat in the middle of the synagogue, when he gave a sermon most of the people whispered among themselves, and fewer people came to ask him halachic questions.

Moshe saw what was happening and to be honest he was quite disappointed. He had expected a different reaction, but now he did not know what to do to regain the respect that he had lost. One day, he decided that he needed to consult with somebody, and he went to see his teacher, one of the true Torah giants of the day.

"Please advise me, my respected rabbi," he began in a trembling voice. "All my life I have been careful to flee from special honor, why then doesn't it pursue me?"

And the rabbi replied, "The honor acted just the way it should. It tried to pursue you. But it saw that all the time you were looking back, to see if it was there. It could not accept this. Every time you looked back to search for it, the honor went further away, until it disappeared completely..."

I hope this helps...

muman613

[zachor_ve_kavod]

Zachor_Ve_Kavod,

Fleeing from Honour means that a Jew should not seek positions where he is given a lot of honour. Because honor can corrupt a persons humililty when he thinks that the great honors given to him/her are due to his/her own work instead of because Hashem has bestowed it.

I will quote from an OU Drash @ http://www.ou.org/index.php/shabbat_shalom/article/12586/

I hope this helps...

muman613

That's very interesting Muman.  I was stuck on the word honour.  I don't think it is honour that a person is meant to flee, but, as indicated by this story, perhaps recognition or self-inflation or pride.  One can be honourable and not seek prominence, no?  Am I splitting hairs?