תִּפְאֶ֣רֶת בַּחוּרִ֣ים כֹּחָ֑ם וַהֲדַ֖ר זְקֵנִ֣ים שֵׂיבָֽה׃
Ozdobą młodzieńców jest ich siła, a strojem starców włos siwy.
English Explanation of Pirkei Avot
Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai: Beauty, strength, riches, honor, wisdom, [old age], gray hair, and children are becoming to the righteous, and becoming to the world,
As it is said: “Gray hair is a crown of glory (; it is attained by way of righteousness” (Proverbs 16:31,
And it says: “The ornament of the wise is their wealth” (ibid. 14:24),
And it says: “Grandchildren are the glory of their elders, and the glory of children is their parents” (ibid. 17:6),
And it says: “The glory of youths is their strength; and the beauty of old men is their gray hair” (ibid. 20:29),
And it says: “Then the moon shall be ashamed, and the sun shall be abashed. For the Lord of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and God’s Honor will be revealed to his elders” (Isaiah 24:23). Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya said: these seven qualities, which the sages have listed [as becoming] to the righteous, were all of them fulfilled in Rabbi and his sons.
Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya was a colleague of Rabbi Judah Hanasi. He and another rabbi were part of a group called “the holy assembly” for one of two reasons. Either they split their day into three parts, one third in study, one third in prayer and one third working. Alternatively they worked during the summer and learned Torah all winter.
Similar to the previous mishnah, this mishnah employs mostly verses from Proverbs.
Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya lists seven qualities that when possessed by a righteous person, are beneficial to him and beneficial to the whole world. In this list I have placed the words “old age” in parentheses, for they should not be part of the source. Old age is synonymous with “gray hair” (my apologies if this insults those who have gone prematurely gray). Furthermore, if this were part of the list there would be eight qualities and not seven. It is obvious from the end of the mishnah that there are supposed to be only seven.
1. Beauty although we may not like to admit this, good-looking people are more admired and listened to than not good-looking people. The righteous person’s good looks benefit him and the rest of the world for others will listen to his sage advice.
2. Strength with strength the righteous person will be able to vanquish the wicked.
3. Wealth to be used to support the poor.
4. Honor when the righteous person is honored, others will listen to his words.
5. Wisdom to learn what it is that God wants him to do.
6. Gray hair with gray hair and the accompanying onset of old age comes the important quality of experience, which is so essential to any teacher.
7. Children who will hopefully inherit his righteous ways.
In order to facilitate the understanding of the texts brought as support, I have highlighted the appearance of each of these qualities in the various verses.
At the end of the mishnah Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya testifies that all of these characteristics were fully present in Rabbi [Judah Hanasi], the editor of the Mishnah, and his sons.
As it is said: “Gray hair is a crown of glory (; it is attained by way of righteousness” (Proverbs 16:31,
And it says: “The ornament of the wise is their wealth” (ibid. 14:24),
And it says: “Grandchildren are the glory of their elders, and the glory of children is their parents” (ibid. 17:6),
And it says: “The glory of youths is their strength; and the beauty of old men is their gray hair” (ibid. 20:29),
And it says: “Then the moon shall be ashamed, and the sun shall be abashed. For the Lord of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and God’s Honor will be revealed to his elders” (Isaiah 24:23). Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya said: these seven qualities, which the sages have listed [as becoming] to the righteous, were all of them fulfilled in Rabbi and his sons.
Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya was a colleague of Rabbi Judah Hanasi. He and another rabbi were part of a group called “the holy assembly” for one of two reasons. Either they split their day into three parts, one third in study, one third in prayer and one third working. Alternatively they worked during the summer and learned Torah all winter.
Similar to the previous mishnah, this mishnah employs mostly verses from Proverbs.
Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya lists seven qualities that when possessed by a righteous person, are beneficial to him and beneficial to the whole world. In this list I have placed the words “old age” in parentheses, for they should not be part of the source. Old age is synonymous with “gray hair” (my apologies if this insults those who have gone prematurely gray). Furthermore, if this were part of the list there would be eight qualities and not seven. It is obvious from the end of the mishnah that there are supposed to be only seven.
1. Beauty although we may not like to admit this, good-looking people are more admired and listened to than not good-looking people. The righteous person’s good looks benefit him and the rest of the world for others will listen to his sage advice.
2. Strength with strength the righteous person will be able to vanquish the wicked.
3. Wealth to be used to support the poor.
4. Honor when the righteous person is honored, others will listen to his words.
5. Wisdom to learn what it is that God wants him to do.
6. Gray hair with gray hair and the accompanying onset of old age comes the important quality of experience, which is so essential to any teacher.
7. Children who will hopefully inherit his righteous ways.
In order to facilitate the understanding of the texts brought as support, I have highlighted the appearance of each of these qualities in the various verses.
At the end of the mishnah Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya testifies that all of these characteristics were fully present in Rabbi [Judah Hanasi], the editor of the Mishnah, and his sons.
Rashi
Remorse shall be hidden from My eyes Heb. נֹחַם. I will not regret this evil. נֹחֵם is an expression of regret (נִחוּם), and the “mem” is a radical like the “mem” of נֹעַם, pleasantness, for the accent is on the first syllable, and the “heth” is vowelized with a “pattah.” Were it an expression of resting (נָח), with the “mem” serving as a suffix denoting the plural, the accent would be under the “heth,” and it would be vowelized with a “kamatz” [like כֹּחָם their strength; רוּחָם, their spirit.]
Rabbeinu Bahya
A Midrashic approach based on Vayikra Rabbah (30,10): the words פרי עץ הדר are a reference to Avraham. The words כפת תמרים are a reference to Yitzchak, whereas the words ענף עץ עבות are a reference to Yaakov. The words ערבי נחל are a reference to Joseph. We need to understand this Midrash along the following lines: The Torah mentioned the word פרי, i.e. fruit in the singular thereby hinting that it was Avraham who paved the way for recognition of G’d as the “One” and only Creator. He spread the idea, i.e. his words bore fruit. The Torah cites proof of this at the beginning of Parshat Lech Lecha (Genesis 12, 5) crediting both Avram and Sarai with having “made” נפש souls, i.e. converting people to monotheism already while they were in Charan and before they moved to the land of Canaan. Furthermore, as we already mentioned, Avraham is referred to in Ezekiel 33,24 as אחד היה אברהם, “unique was Avraham, singular.”
The word עץ, tree, in our verse of פרי עץ הדר refers to a unique feature about Avraham. Just as a tree stops giving fruit when there was no supply of water for its roots but is able to revive itself when provided with water, so Avraham, who had despaired of producing biological offspring and had “dried out,” was rejuvenated and sired a son at one hundred years of age. This is part of what the sages (Baba Metzia 86) had in mind that until the advent of Avraham the concept of old age was unknown. People had not been able to distinguish father and son from their exterior appearance as they looked as if both were of the same age. Avraham was granted the appearance of “old age,” so that henceforth one could distinguish (and honour) the aged on the basis of their appearance even if one did not know the individual in question personally. This is what the Torah (Genesis 24,1) had in mind when it wrote: ואברהם זקן בא בימים, “Avraham had become aged, advanced in years.” We have another verse in Proverbs 20,29 where Solomon elaborates on what the Torah wrote about Avraham. He says: והדר זקנים שיבה, “the majesty of old men is their gray hair.”
The words כפות תמרים refer to Yitzchak seeing he had been bound, כפות, (on the altar). The word תמרים is related to תימרות עשן, “columns of smoke,” mentioned in Song of Songs 3,6 i.e. an allusion to the smoke rising from the remains of the sacrificial animal. He has always been compared to an “unblemished burnt-offering” in our history.
The words ענף עץ עבות are a reference to Yaakov; just as the stem of the myrtle is surrounded by leaves, so Yaakov was surrounded by his sons, the twelve tribes.
The words ערבי נחל refer to Joseph. Just as a willow, after a period of being full of juices shrivels and dries out, so Joseph after a brilliant youth as second in command to Pharaoh the mightiest King of his time, experienced the loss of his legendary father, losing the source of his inspiration. He “dried out,” i.e. he died earlier than his brothers who were senior to him in years. The point that the Midrash wants to make is that when we perform the commandment of taking the four species of plants and waving them in all directions we should remind G’d of the merit of these patriarchs so that their merit will assist us in securing the beneficial rainfall required for the year which has just commenced. Even Moses used to preface his prayers by asking G’d to remember the merits of the patriarchs, such as in Exodus 32,13.
The word עץ, tree, in our verse of פרי עץ הדר refers to a unique feature about Avraham. Just as a tree stops giving fruit when there was no supply of water for its roots but is able to revive itself when provided with water, so Avraham, who had despaired of producing biological offspring and had “dried out,” was rejuvenated and sired a son at one hundred years of age. This is part of what the sages (Baba Metzia 86) had in mind that until the advent of Avraham the concept of old age was unknown. People had not been able to distinguish father and son from their exterior appearance as they looked as if both were of the same age. Avraham was granted the appearance of “old age,” so that henceforth one could distinguish (and honour) the aged on the basis of their appearance even if one did not know the individual in question personally. This is what the Torah (Genesis 24,1) had in mind when it wrote: ואברהם זקן בא בימים, “Avraham had become aged, advanced in years.” We have another verse in Proverbs 20,29 where Solomon elaborates on what the Torah wrote about Avraham. He says: והדר זקנים שיבה, “the majesty of old men is their gray hair.”
The words כפות תמרים refer to Yitzchak seeing he had been bound, כפות, (on the altar). The word תמרים is related to תימרות עשן, “columns of smoke,” mentioned in Song of Songs 3,6 i.e. an allusion to the smoke rising from the remains of the sacrificial animal. He has always been compared to an “unblemished burnt-offering” in our history.
The words ענף עץ עבות are a reference to Yaakov; just as the stem of the myrtle is surrounded by leaves, so Yaakov was surrounded by his sons, the twelve tribes.
The words ערבי נחל refer to Joseph. Just as a willow, after a period of being full of juices shrivels and dries out, so Joseph after a brilliant youth as second in command to Pharaoh the mightiest King of his time, experienced the loss of his legendary father, losing the source of his inspiration. He “dried out,” i.e. he died earlier than his brothers who were senior to him in years. The point that the Midrash wants to make is that when we perform the commandment of taking the four species of plants and waving them in all directions we should remind G’d of the merit of these patriarchs so that their merit will assist us in securing the beneficial rainfall required for the year which has just commenced. Even Moses used to preface his prayers by asking G’d to remember the merits of the patriarchs, such as in Exodus 32,13.