כָּ֭בוֹד חֲכָמִ֣ים יִנְחָ֑לוּ וּ֝כְסִילִ֗ים מֵרִ֥ים קָלֽוֹן׃ (פ)
지혜로운 자는 영광을 기업으로 받거니와 미련한 자의 현달함은 욕이 되느니라
English Explanation of Pirkei Avot
One who learns from his fellow one chapter, or one halakhah, or one verse, or one word, or even one letter, is obligated to treat him with honor; for so we find with David, king of Israel, who learned from Ahitophel no more than two things, yet called him his master, his guide and his beloved friend, as it is said, “But it was you, a man mine equal, my guide and my beloved friend” (Psalms 55:14). Is this not [an instance of the argument] “from the less to the greater” (kal vehomer)? If David, king of Israel who learned from Ahitophel no more than two things, nevertheless called him his master, his guide and his beloved friend; then in the case of one who learns from his fellow one chapter, or one halakhah, or one verse, or one word, or even one letter, all the more so he is under obligation to treat him with honor. And “honor’” means nothing but Torah, as it is said, “It is honor that sages inherit” (Proverbs 3:35). “And the perfect shall inherit good” (Proverbs 28:10), and “good” means nothing but Torah, as it is said, “For I give you good instruction; do not forsake my Torah” (Proverbs 4:2). This mishnah teaches that one who learns even the smallest amount of Torah from someone else, must treat him with honor. This lesson is learned from King David’s treatment of Ahitophel. Ahitophel was David’s adviser, who betrayed him when Absalom, David’s son rebelled and claimed the kingship (See II Samuel 15:12). When Absalom did not take his advice to immediately wage war on David, Ahitophel committed suicide (17:23). According to rabbinic aggadah (legend), Ahitophel was a great sage, but came to an dishonorable end due to his excessive honor. Psalms 55:13-15 is understood as being a lament by David referring to Ahitophel (this is even how the ancient Aramaic translation, targum, translates the verse). David refers to Ahitophel with three titles of respect, due to the mere two things that Ahitophel taught him. According to various legends found in rabbinic literature these two things are: 1) That the Levites should carry the ark on their shoulders and not on a cart (see II Samuel 6:3-8); 2) That he could write the name of God on a piece of clay in order to prevent the primal waters from rising (this is a legend found in Sukkah 53b). If David, King of Israel treated Ahitophel, who only taught him these two things, with such honor, all the more so must a normal person treat those from whom he learns with respect. The mishnah ends with two midrashim. The first teaches that honor is equated with Torah and the second teaches that goodness is also equated with Torah. Keep in mind that this whole chapter is about the supreme value of the Torah.
Rabbeinu Bahya
A kabbalistic approach: the words שמע ישראל may be understood as “bend your ear and listen.” This verse comprises the subject of true uniqueness which is accepted by all the students of Kabbalah as the mystical dimension of the ten emanations. It is man’s task to unify these ten emanations and to ensure they are joined together not only in a descending but also in an ascending direction [It is a common perception that the concept of the emanations is intended to facilitate our understanding of how something totally abstract, disembodied, can be transformed into a physical, substantive universe. Kabbalists understand it as the task of man to transcend the physical universe they find themselves in and to strive for a union with the source, Hashem, by means of these emanations. Ed.]. The word שמע is perceived as an instruction to create such a bond, union. The word occurs in this context in Samuel I 15,4 וישמע שאול, where it could not mean that Saul had heard with his ears. It means that Saul mustered the troops, i.e. made them join together. Psalms 18,45 is another example of the word שמע meaning something beyond merely hearing with a physical organ of the body. It speaks about the assimilation of such “hearing,” i.e. obedience, as a natural result of “digesting” what one’s ear has heard.
The word Hashem is also to be understood as similar to לך ה’, “it is yours O Hashem” (Chronicles I 29,11). That verse combines the three highest spiritual attributes (emanations) אלו-הינו, הגדולה, הגבורה. The second time the word Hashem occurs in our verse is a reference to the emanation תפארת and the emanations below that until the lowest emanation, “the completion of the structure.”
The word אחד at the end of our verse comprises all the emanations. The letter א in that word refers to the One whom our mental capacities cannot define. The letter ח refers to all the eight emanations which accompany Him; The letter ד refers to the tenth emanation, the crowning glory known as עטרת זהב גדולה, and the word אחד, is not to be separated from the rest of the verse. [I suppose the author stresses this as by definition that which is אחד, one, unique, is distinct and separate from anything else already. Ed.]. Here the Torah tells us that all the ten emanations are to be joined as if they were not multiples but one. The reason it is appropriate for this process of joining the emanations together to proceed from the bottom up, is because we have a principle that in matters of sanctity we always proceed from a lower level to a higher level, never the reverse.
Concerning the letter ד in the word אחד i.e. the lowest emanation known as מלכות, Isaiah 63,12 says בוקע מים מפניהם לעשות לו שם עולם, “Who divided the waters before them to make Himself a name for all time.” We refer to this manifestation of G’d as the lowest of the emanations in our prayers every day when we recite מלכותך ה’ אלו-הינו ראו בניך בוקע ים לפני משה זה אלי ענו, “Your manifestation Lord our G’d as the emanation מלכות Your children have witnessed when You split the sea before Moses and they answered: “this is My G’d.” [The version of this prayer quoted here is similar to that in Machzar Vitri].
Seeing that the verse שמע ישראל does not contain an explicit reference to the emanation מלכות, our sages have seen fit to append the line ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד, “may the name of His glorious emanation מלכות be blessed forever more.” Even though Moses did not mention this attribute explicitly we do find it alluded to in the letter ד at the end of the verse. Our sages (Pesachim 56) illustrated the problems our sages encountered in adding something Moses had not seen fit to add but which our patriarch Yaakov reportedly added, by means of a parable. The daughter of a king who entered the kitchen smelled a delicious dish which had wonderful condiments added to it. She was very eager to eat some of it immediately. She said to herself that if she were to ask for this outright now it would be considered ill-mannered. On the other hand, if she were to wait until evening when the dish would be served she would experience physical pain during the time she had to wait. When her attendants became aware of this they brought her some of the condiment surreptitiously. As a result, the mind of the princess was put at rest. The parable symbolizes the Israelites (princess) who had become aware of the blissful effect of the emanation מלכות. Her attendants, i.e. the Shechinah, realized the Israelites’ strong desire to exalt G’d by making reference to this emanation. If they would not be allowed to do so they might pine away from distress. Giving the princess some of the condiment secretly is equivalent to the sages allowing the Jewish people to recite the line ברוך שם sotto voce, in an undertone, so as not to reflect on the spiritual presumptuousness of the Jewish people. In kabbalistic terms the compromise thought up by the Shechinah, and later our sages, means that reciting this line in an undertone is equivalent to reciting G’d’s “lower level” of unity and praising it. This is also why the line ברוך שם comprises 6 words just as the verse שמע ישראל comprises 6 words, each alluding to the six extremities of the terrestrial universe, i.e. the four directions of the compass plus “up” and “down.” Adding the letter ד from אחד completes the number 10 so that all the ten emanations are represented. The 6 words in the line שמע ישראל allude to the celestial regions, whereas the six words in the line ברוך שם allude to the terrestrial regions of the universe in each of which the Lord is supreme, unique, unmatched.
The Sefer Habahir (item 27) contains the following comment: The students asked their rabbi about the meaning of the letter ד in the word אחד at the end of our verse. He told them by means of a parable that they should perceive of ten kings, all wealthy, all congregating in a single place. One of the ten, while wealthy, was not as wealthy as the others. Due to this relative poverty he was considered as דל, “poor.” Thus far the text in the Sefer Habahir. The ten kings are the ten emanations all of which congregate in the celestial spheres, except the lowest emanation מלכות which is part of the עולם העשיה, the terrestrial universe, (at least perceptually. Ed.). When people in the terrestrial universe declare the Unity of Hashem they must therefore concentrate on all the ten emanations or they would not do justice to their task. The word אחד therefore has especial significance. The number 10 represents the Power of the One who “invented” the ten emanations
Compare the smallest unit in our terrestrial universe the “point.” A point is not really only a point, as no matter how small it is it has width, length, and depth. Not only that, but the area (or imaginary line) called length has a beginning, a middle and an end. The same is true for the area called width and that called depth. This already makes a “point” something consisting of no less than nine definable areas. Add to this the space in the universe this “point” occupies and we are talking about 10 units of space. This demonstrates the importance of the number 10 as an indispensable number; in terrestrial terms you may call it an irreducible minimum. When we translate this into the aleph bet, the smallest letter the י, though perceived and spoken of as no more than a “point,” נקודה, actually represents both the number 1 and the number 10. A similar principle applies to the letter ה of the tetragrammaton, the Holy name of Hashem. Being three-sided it has three times beginnings, middles and ends in each line. Add the space it occupies and you find it also represents the number 10. Or, you simply view the letter ה as a combination of the letter י, i.e. the left, lower part, plus the letter ו. In either event you wind up with the number 10 (at least).
When we recite the Kaddish, this also has to include concentrating on the ten emanations. The words אמן יהא שמיה רבה מברך are perceived as being said on the קו האמצעי, the center line of the diagram of the ten emanations. Five of the emanations are above this “center line,” whereas the other 5 are below making a total of 10. (The author proceeds to demonstrate similar patterns in the kedushah claiming that the sages of the Great Assembly who formulated that prayer deliberately chose to commence with the word כתר to allude to the highest, the tenth of the emanations. He continues in this vein to analyze the visions described by Ezekiel and quoted in the קדושה דסדרא in the daily ובא לציון גואל prayer).
The word Hashem is also to be understood as similar to לך ה’, “it is yours O Hashem” (Chronicles I 29,11). That verse combines the three highest spiritual attributes (emanations) אלו-הינו, הגדולה, הגבורה. The second time the word Hashem occurs in our verse is a reference to the emanation תפארת and the emanations below that until the lowest emanation, “the completion of the structure.”
The word אחד at the end of our verse comprises all the emanations. The letter א in that word refers to the One whom our mental capacities cannot define. The letter ח refers to all the eight emanations which accompany Him; The letter ד refers to the tenth emanation, the crowning glory known as עטרת זהב גדולה, and the word אחד, is not to be separated from the rest of the verse. [I suppose the author stresses this as by definition that which is אחד, one, unique, is distinct and separate from anything else already. Ed.]. Here the Torah tells us that all the ten emanations are to be joined as if they were not multiples but one. The reason it is appropriate for this process of joining the emanations together to proceed from the bottom up, is because we have a principle that in matters of sanctity we always proceed from a lower level to a higher level, never the reverse.
Concerning the letter ד in the word אחד i.e. the lowest emanation known as מלכות, Isaiah 63,12 says בוקע מים מפניהם לעשות לו שם עולם, “Who divided the waters before them to make Himself a name for all time.” We refer to this manifestation of G’d as the lowest of the emanations in our prayers every day when we recite מלכותך ה’ אלו-הינו ראו בניך בוקע ים לפני משה זה אלי ענו, “Your manifestation Lord our G’d as the emanation מלכות Your children have witnessed when You split the sea before Moses and they answered: “this is My G’d.” [The version of this prayer quoted here is similar to that in Machzar Vitri].
Seeing that the verse שמע ישראל does not contain an explicit reference to the emanation מלכות, our sages have seen fit to append the line ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד, “may the name of His glorious emanation מלכות be blessed forever more.” Even though Moses did not mention this attribute explicitly we do find it alluded to in the letter ד at the end of the verse. Our sages (Pesachim 56) illustrated the problems our sages encountered in adding something Moses had not seen fit to add but which our patriarch Yaakov reportedly added, by means of a parable. The daughter of a king who entered the kitchen smelled a delicious dish which had wonderful condiments added to it. She was very eager to eat some of it immediately. She said to herself that if she were to ask for this outright now it would be considered ill-mannered. On the other hand, if she were to wait until evening when the dish would be served she would experience physical pain during the time she had to wait. When her attendants became aware of this they brought her some of the condiment surreptitiously. As a result, the mind of the princess was put at rest. The parable symbolizes the Israelites (princess) who had become aware of the blissful effect of the emanation מלכות. Her attendants, i.e. the Shechinah, realized the Israelites’ strong desire to exalt G’d by making reference to this emanation. If they would not be allowed to do so they might pine away from distress. Giving the princess some of the condiment secretly is equivalent to the sages allowing the Jewish people to recite the line ברוך שם sotto voce, in an undertone, so as not to reflect on the spiritual presumptuousness of the Jewish people. In kabbalistic terms the compromise thought up by the Shechinah, and later our sages, means that reciting this line in an undertone is equivalent to reciting G’d’s “lower level” of unity and praising it. This is also why the line ברוך שם comprises 6 words just as the verse שמע ישראל comprises 6 words, each alluding to the six extremities of the terrestrial universe, i.e. the four directions of the compass plus “up” and “down.” Adding the letter ד from אחד completes the number 10 so that all the ten emanations are represented. The 6 words in the line שמע ישראל allude to the celestial regions, whereas the six words in the line ברוך שם allude to the terrestrial regions of the universe in each of which the Lord is supreme, unique, unmatched.
The Sefer Habahir (item 27) contains the following comment: The students asked their rabbi about the meaning of the letter ד in the word אחד at the end of our verse. He told them by means of a parable that they should perceive of ten kings, all wealthy, all congregating in a single place. One of the ten, while wealthy, was not as wealthy as the others. Due to this relative poverty he was considered as דל, “poor.” Thus far the text in the Sefer Habahir. The ten kings are the ten emanations all of which congregate in the celestial spheres, except the lowest emanation מלכות which is part of the עולם העשיה, the terrestrial universe, (at least perceptually. Ed.). When people in the terrestrial universe declare the Unity of Hashem they must therefore concentrate on all the ten emanations or they would not do justice to their task. The word אחד therefore has especial significance. The number 10 represents the Power of the One who “invented” the ten emanations
Compare the smallest unit in our terrestrial universe the “point.” A point is not really only a point, as no matter how small it is it has width, length, and depth. Not only that, but the area (or imaginary line) called length has a beginning, a middle and an end. The same is true for the area called width and that called depth. This already makes a “point” something consisting of no less than nine definable areas. Add to this the space in the universe this “point” occupies and we are talking about 10 units of space. This demonstrates the importance of the number 10 as an indispensable number; in terrestrial terms you may call it an irreducible minimum. When we translate this into the aleph bet, the smallest letter the י, though perceived and spoken of as no more than a “point,” נקודה, actually represents both the number 1 and the number 10. A similar principle applies to the letter ה of the tetragrammaton, the Holy name of Hashem. Being three-sided it has three times beginnings, middles and ends in each line. Add the space it occupies and you find it also represents the number 10. Or, you simply view the letter ה as a combination of the letter י, i.e. the left, lower part, plus the letter ו. In either event you wind up with the number 10 (at least).
When we recite the Kaddish, this also has to include concentrating on the ten emanations. The words אמן יהא שמיה רבה מברך are perceived as being said on the קו האמצעי, the center line of the diagram of the ten emanations. Five of the emanations are above this “center line,” whereas the other 5 are below making a total of 10. (The author proceeds to demonstrate similar patterns in the kedushah claiming that the sages of the Great Assembly who formulated that prayer deliberately chose to commence with the word כתר to allude to the highest, the tenth of the emanations. He continues in this vein to analyze the visions described by Ezekiel and quoted in the קדושה דסדרא in the daily ובא לציון גואל prayer).
Haamek Sheilah
However, it is relevant to know that tzel (“shade”) and huppah (“canopy”) refer to honor, as similar language is used in Isaiah 4:8Verses 5 and 6. “For more than any honor shall be a canopy, and a booth for shade in the day-time [to protect one] from the heat.” The meaning is that even though two different people can perform the same mitzvah in an equal manner and receive the same reward in the World of Rewards (Gan Eden), nevertheless, their honor is dissimilar. For one’s honor is dependent on the totality of his actions and his conduct in the World of Living, which essentially is the attire that he will wear in the Heavenly World. Just as it is shameful for a man who is distinguished to sit in a lowly seat and wear ordinary clothing, so does shame envelop the face of ordinary men who sit in esteemed places and wear formal attire, receiving honor for a transitory act that it is incompatible with his character. This is what is written in chapter 29Verse 16. of Habakkuk, when speaking of Nebuchadnezzar, “You are filled with shame instead of glory.” This means that because of their fear of Nebuchadnezzar, they honored him more than was acceptable to his soul and this is why there was “shame instead of glory.” It is written in chapter 3 of Proverbs,10Verse 35. “The wise shall inherit honor, but as for the fools, they carry away shame.” This means that the wise inherit honor, for it is appropriate and acceptable to them. However, when honor arrives for the foolish it brings them shame, for those who sit at the gates [in the marketplace] speak of how unworthy they are to receive that honor. Similar to the honor for vanities in this world is the honor [to be received from] God in the World to Come – in other words, it is unacceptable to one unless it matches his general strength [of achievements]. This is stated in Tractate Bava Basra 75a, [that in the World to Come, God will make everyone a canopy corresponding to what they deserve], and “each one will be burned because of the canopy of his friend.” Each one will perceive himself as being unworthy of this honor, to benefit from the light emanating from the Face of the Living King in a manner equal to his fellow. Behold, the Kingdom of the Firmament is like the earthly kingdom: just as we see how the king grants honor to a man of valor who deserves the reward of receiving a title of officer of the army or leader of battle, so it may be said that they are the bearers of his kingdom and upon them depends the kingdom’s strength and splendor. It is because of this that he gives them citations of power and splendor, proportional to how each one has excelled in battle. Such is the kingdom of the Holy One, blessed be He, which uplifts those who fight the battle of Torah. It is for this reason that the [Torah] is referred to as a sword, as stated in Tractate Shabbos 6011I found it on 63a. regarding the verse, “Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one, your glory and your majesty”12Psalms 45:5. – that the simple meaning of this verse pertains to the study of Torah. Just as His Kingdom, may He be blessed, is uplifted through those who meditate on [the Torah], so she [the Torah] provides strength and glory to those [who study her], as it is written, “Strength and glory are her clothing,”13Prov. 31:25. – the glory of God is reserved particularly for the Talmud scholar. This is stated in Tractate Bava Basra 8b, “What does Scripture say of the rabbis? Ravina answered: ‘Those who love Him are like the sun when he goes forth in his might.14Judges 5:31.’ “The sun represents honor,” as Psalms states,1584:12. “A sun and a shield is the Lord God. The Lord bestows favor and glory; He withholds no goodness from those who walk in perfect innocence.” This means that Divine Providence is comparable to the sun, as it bestows favor and glory similar to the way the sun illuminates a [particular] thing [causing it] to be [viewed] more favorably than any other, even though [the two things] may be truly similar. See Part 1, chapter 14, of Kadmas Ha’amek for an explanation of this verse.