רִ֭פְאוּת תְּהִ֣י לְשָׁרֶּ֑ךָ וְ֝שִׁקּ֗וּי לְעַצְמוֹתֶֽיךָ׃
ce sera la santé pour ton corps; une sève généreuse pour tes membres.
English Explanation of Pirkei Avot
Great is Torah for it gives life to those that practice it, in this world, and in the world to come,
As it is said: “For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh” (Proverbs 4:22),
And it says: “It will be a cure for your navel and marrow for your bones” (ibid. 3:8)
And it says: “She is a tree of life to those that grasp her, and whoever holds onto her is happy” (ibid. 3:18),
And it says: “For they are a graceful wreath upon your head, a necklace about your throat” (ibid. 1:9),
And it says: “She will adorn your head with a graceful wreath; crown you with a glorious diadem” (ibid. 4:9)
And it says: “In her right hand is length of days, in her left riches and honor” (ibid. 3:1,
And it says: “For they will bestow on you length of days, years of life and peace” (ibid. 3:2).
This mishnah is basically a series of prooftexts taken from Proverbs, and used to prove the life-giving qualities of Torah. The book of Proverbs was an especially rich source for quotes in rabbinic literature. Note that there are seven prooftexts, a number that is surely not accidental.
This mishnah is a series of quotes from Proverbs, each of which proves that Torah is beneficial, that it bestows life and wealth. I will only comment on a few of these texts.
Section three: The Torah is a tree of life, but only for those who “grasp her”. This means that the words of Torah require reinforcement, that is continuous study.
Section four: According to the commentators, the head mentioned in this verse refers to thought and the throat refers to speech. Torah learning is only acquired by engaging both one’s head and one’s throat.
Section seven: Just as the Amidah prayer concludes with a request for peace, so too does this mishnah.
As it is said: “For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh” (Proverbs 4:22),
And it says: “It will be a cure for your navel and marrow for your bones” (ibid. 3:8)
And it says: “She is a tree of life to those that grasp her, and whoever holds onto her is happy” (ibid. 3:18),
And it says: “For they are a graceful wreath upon your head, a necklace about your throat” (ibid. 1:9),
And it says: “She will adorn your head with a graceful wreath; crown you with a glorious diadem” (ibid. 4:9)
And it says: “In her right hand is length of days, in her left riches and honor” (ibid. 3:1,
And it says: “For they will bestow on you length of days, years of life and peace” (ibid. 3:2).
This mishnah is basically a series of prooftexts taken from Proverbs, and used to prove the life-giving qualities of Torah. The book of Proverbs was an especially rich source for quotes in rabbinic literature. Note that there are seven prooftexts, a number that is surely not accidental.
This mishnah is a series of quotes from Proverbs, each of which proves that Torah is beneficial, that it bestows life and wealth. I will only comment on a few of these texts.
Section three: The Torah is a tree of life, but only for those who “grasp her”. This means that the words of Torah require reinforcement, that is continuous study.
Section four: According to the commentators, the head mentioned in this verse refers to thought and the throat refers to speech. Torah learning is only acquired by engaging both one’s head and one’s throat.
Section seven: Just as the Amidah prayer concludes with a request for peace, so too does this mishnah.
Rabbeinu Bahya
כבד את אביך ואת אמך, “honor your father and your mother.” Up until now G’d had instructed the people to honor the original father in heaven, i.e. Himself; now He wanted to sign this side of the Tablets with the command to honor progenitors in the lower world, here on earth. In effect, what G’d says here is “just as I commanded you to treat Me with honor and respect, so I command you this day to treat your father and mother who are My partners in creating you with respect and honor. Just as one of the most important aspects of honoring G’d is to acknowledge Him as such, so one of the most important aspects of honoring one’s parents is to acknowledge them as such.
Just as an important aspect of belief and faith in the Lord is the second commandment לא יהיה לך, that you must not exchange Him for another deity, so an integral part of the commandment to honor one’s father and mother is not to deny the fact that they are in fact your father and mother. Just as it is forbidden to swear a false or vain oath in the name of the Lord, so it is forbidden to use the reference to the life of one’s father or mother as a way of reinforcing one’s credibility when swearing a false or vain oath. Furthermore, it is forbidden to serve one’s father because one expects to inherit his wealth or even because one hopes to receive the honor and title one’s father enjoyed during his own life time.
There are numerous details pertaining to the observance of this commandment which our sages have taught us in this regard. To mention but a few: the son is obligated to provide for his father with food, drink, clothing, etc., both as a financial contribution as well as being a physical support for him in case of illness, frailty in his father’s old age, etc. (Kiddushin 31). In Proverbs 3,8 Solomon instructs us כבד את ה' מהונך, “demonstrate your honoring the Lord by using your wealth.” The way one honors the Lord with one’s wealth [seeing He has neither need of it nor use for it, Ed.] is to distribute some of one’s wealth to the poor. One must set aside the various tithes the Torah has instructed us to give to the priest, the Levite, or the poor. Seeing the Torah has set aside tithes and gifts for these people who are not your next of kin, one must certainly provide for one’ parents if the need arises.
As to the reward promised here that he who observes this commandment will enjoy long life in the land of Israel, Rav Saadyah Gaon has explained that seeing that on occasion father and son share many years together on this earth, i.e. the father enjoys in inordinately long life, and as a result the son may feel that the obligation to look after his father in addition to his obligation to look after his own wife and children has become very burdensome, this is the reason why the Torah went out of its way in this instance to promise long life to the son who observes this commandment meticulously. This is not as much a promise of reward as it is a warning not to neglect fulfillment of this commandment as failing to observe it is equivalent to playing with one’s own life. If you are interested in long life yourself, make sure that your father and mother’s lives are enjoyable.
This concludes the first five of the Ten Commandments. They all appear on the same tablet, and, as we have demonstrated, there is conceptual linkage between all of them. To sum this up once more: the first commandment is to believe in the Lord, His existence, His exclusivity. In order that one should not think that it suffices to believe in the Lord and at the same time to believe that He has partners, the second commandment spells out that belief in any partner of G’d is intolerable. In order that someone should not say that seeing that G’d has no partner it does not matter if we bandy His name about needlessly, the Torah had to go on record that this is the very reverse of honoring Him, that one must on no account treat His name as if it were something common or ordinary. Having begun to tell us what is an act of dishonoring G’d, i.e. using His name in vain, the Torah then instructed us in an example of how to honor His name, i.e. observing His Sabbath. If we really want to show that we honor Him and His name we will be meticulous in our Sabbath observance. Having instructed us in how to honor Him by honoring the Sabbath, the Torah then proceeded to instruct us to honor those who have begotten us, i.e. our parents. This concludes my commentary on the first five of the Ten Commandments and how they are related to each other.
Just as an important aspect of belief and faith in the Lord is the second commandment לא יהיה לך, that you must not exchange Him for another deity, so an integral part of the commandment to honor one’s father and mother is not to deny the fact that they are in fact your father and mother. Just as it is forbidden to swear a false or vain oath in the name of the Lord, so it is forbidden to use the reference to the life of one’s father or mother as a way of reinforcing one’s credibility when swearing a false or vain oath. Furthermore, it is forbidden to serve one’s father because one expects to inherit his wealth or even because one hopes to receive the honor and title one’s father enjoyed during his own life time.
There are numerous details pertaining to the observance of this commandment which our sages have taught us in this regard. To mention but a few: the son is obligated to provide for his father with food, drink, clothing, etc., both as a financial contribution as well as being a physical support for him in case of illness, frailty in his father’s old age, etc. (Kiddushin 31). In Proverbs 3,8 Solomon instructs us כבד את ה' מהונך, “demonstrate your honoring the Lord by using your wealth.” The way one honors the Lord with one’s wealth [seeing He has neither need of it nor use for it, Ed.] is to distribute some of one’s wealth to the poor. One must set aside the various tithes the Torah has instructed us to give to the priest, the Levite, or the poor. Seeing the Torah has set aside tithes and gifts for these people who are not your next of kin, one must certainly provide for one’ parents if the need arises.
As to the reward promised here that he who observes this commandment will enjoy long life in the land of Israel, Rav Saadyah Gaon has explained that seeing that on occasion father and son share many years together on this earth, i.e. the father enjoys in inordinately long life, and as a result the son may feel that the obligation to look after his father in addition to his obligation to look after his own wife and children has become very burdensome, this is the reason why the Torah went out of its way in this instance to promise long life to the son who observes this commandment meticulously. This is not as much a promise of reward as it is a warning not to neglect fulfillment of this commandment as failing to observe it is equivalent to playing with one’s own life. If you are interested in long life yourself, make sure that your father and mother’s lives are enjoyable.
This concludes the first five of the Ten Commandments. They all appear on the same tablet, and, as we have demonstrated, there is conceptual linkage between all of them. To sum this up once more: the first commandment is to believe in the Lord, His existence, His exclusivity. In order that one should not think that it suffices to believe in the Lord and at the same time to believe that He has partners, the second commandment spells out that belief in any partner of G’d is intolerable. In order that someone should not say that seeing that G’d has no partner it does not matter if we bandy His name about needlessly, the Torah had to go on record that this is the very reverse of honoring Him, that one must on no account treat His name as if it were something common or ordinary. Having begun to tell us what is an act of dishonoring G’d, i.e. using His name in vain, the Torah then instructed us in an example of how to honor His name, i.e. observing His Sabbath. If we really want to show that we honor Him and His name we will be meticulous in our Sabbath observance. Having instructed us in how to honor Him by honoring the Sabbath, the Torah then proceeded to instruct us to honor those who have begotten us, i.e. our parents. This concludes my commentary on the first five of the Ten Commandments and how they are related to each other.
Rashi
לא אשים עליך I WILL NOT PLACE ON THEE — and if I do place them on thee because thou refusest to hearken to My voice, it will be as though they had not been placed on thee, for if thou repentest of thy disobedience I will remove them immediately, כי אני ה׳ רפאך BECAUSE I AM THE LORD THAT HEALETH THEE. This is its Midrashic explanation (Mekhilta). But according to its literal sense the meaning is: For I am the Lord who healeth thee and teacheth thee the Law and Commandments in order that thou mayst be saved from them (these diseases) — like a physician who says to a man: Do not eat this thing lest it will bring you into danger from this disease. So, too, it states, (Proverbs 3:8) “It (obedience to God) will be wholesome to thy body” (implying that disease will not fall upon thee) (Mekhilta).