Description: Chapter 1 - 11
Pirkei Avos
Chapter 1 – 11
The next Mishnah, Mishnah vav, says:
יהושע בן פרחיה ונתאי הארבלי קבלו מהם. יהושע בן פרחיה אומר עשה לך רב וקנה לך חבר והוי דן את כל אדם לכף זכות.
Yehoshuah ben Perachiah and Nitay Ha’Arbaili received the tradition from them. Yehoshua ben Perachiah said, make yourself a rebbi, buy yourself a friend, and judge every person favorably.
The contrast between a rebbi and a friend is fascinating. If we are to understand the words of Yehoshuah ben Perachiah literally, as many meforshim do, this means that a friend should be sought after even with money – do whatever it takes to get a friend, whereas a rebbi isn’t as vital. You should make yourself a rebbi, but you don’t have to spend money! Some meforshim explain that a rebbi is forbidden to take money to teach Torah – mah ani bi’chinam af atem bi’chinam, Hashem says the same way I taught Torah for free, you also should teach Torah for free. The way rebbeim take money today is through a loophole known as ‘schar Battalah.’ According to this, the Mishnah isn’t demonstrating a difference in value between a rebbi and a friend.
Some meforshim explain that make yourself a rebbi means that even if you have colleagues who are equal to you, rather make them your rebbi, treat them with honor and accept them upon yourself as a rebbi – you will benefit greatly from doing that! There is a Gemarah in Baba Kamah that says that one Amorah wasn’t able to go to Beis Medrash one day, and he met another and asked him to teach him what was taught in the Beis Medrash, and that Amorah requested that he first do an act of service for him, like a talmid performs for a rebbi! Creating an aura of rebbi-talmid is essential for learning, and when a person starts to treat a colleague with reverence due to a rebbi, it enables one to learn so much more!
But the value of a friend to learn with and to discuss things with can’t be underestimated. That is why meforshim explain that the Mishnah requires you to invest in getting a friend. It doesn’t mean literally paying off someone to be your friend – that doesn’t usually work. But it means investing the time, money, and effort it takes to making a valuable friend. Friends are very approachable and easy to talk to, while a rebbi there is always a little distance, in order to create the aura of respect and honor which is necessary for learning and accepting. With a friend a person can truly speak his heart and mind and have his friend understand him and help him understand himself, with a rebbi that can be difficult sometimes. That is why the Mishnah encourages us to do what we can to get a good friend. Can we ever think that we have made a strong effort to get friends? Sometimes we expect them to come to us! But the Mishnah puts the onus on us!
Pirkei Avos
Chapter 1 – 11
The next Mishnah, Mishnah vav, says:
יהושע בן פרחיה ונתאי הארבלי קבלו מהם. יהושע בן פרחיה אומר עשה לך רב וקנה לך חבר והוי דן את כל אדם לכף זכות.
Yehoshuah ben Perachiah and Nitay Ha’Arbaili received the tradition from them. Yehoshua ben Perachiah said, make yourself a rebbi, buy yourself a friend, and judge every person favorably.
The contrast between a rebbi and a friend is fascinating. If we are to understand the words of Yehoshuah ben Perachiah literally, as many meforshim do, this means that a friend should be sought after even with money – do whatever it takes to get a friend, whereas a rebbi isn’t as vital. You should make yourself a rebbi, but you don’t have to spend money! Some meforshim explain that a rebbi is forbidden to take money to teach Torah – mah ani bi’chinam af atem bi’chinam, Hashem says the same way I taught Torah for free, you also should teach Torah for free. The way rebbeim take money today is through a loophole known as ‘schar Battalah.’ According to this, the Mishnah isn’t demonstrating a difference in value between a rebbi and a friend.
Some meforshim explain that make yourself a rebbi means that even if you have colleagues who are equal to you, rather make them your rebbi, treat them with honor and accept them upon yourself as a rebbi – you will benefit greatly from doing that! There is a Gemarah in Baba Kamah that says that one Amorah wasn’t able to go to Beis Medrash one day, and he met another and asked him to teach him what was taught in the Beis Medrash, and that Amorah requested that he first do an act of service for him, like a talmid performs for a rebbi! Creating an aura of rebbi-talmid is essential for learning, and when a person starts to treat a colleague with reverence due to a rebbi, it enables one to learn so much more!
But the value of a friend to learn with and to discuss things with can’t be underestimated. That is why meforshim explain that the Mishnah requires you to invest in getting a friend. It doesn’t mean literally paying off someone to be your friend – that doesn’t usually work. But it means investing the time, money, and effort it takes to making a valuable friend. Friends are very approachable and easy to talk to, while a rebbi there is always a little distance, in order to create the aura of respect and honor which is necessary for learning and accepting. With a friend a person can truly speak his heart and mind and have his friend understand him and help him understand himself, with a rebbi that can be difficult sometimes. That is why the Mishnah encourages us to do what we can to get a good friend. Can we ever think that we have made a strong effort to get friends? Sometimes we expect them to come to us! But the Mishnah puts the onus on us!