עֲטֶ֣רֶת זְ֭קֵנִים בְּנֵ֣י בָנִ֑ים וְתִפְאֶ֖רֶת בָּנִ֣ים אֲבוֹתָֽם׃
די קרױן פֿון אַלטע לײַט זײַנען קינדסקינדער, און די צירונג פֿון קינדער זײַנען זײערע עלטערן.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ועשו לי מקדש, “They shall make a Sanctuary for Me.” The reason the Torah refers to the Tabernacle as Temple, Sanctuary, from the word קדש holy, is that it was sanctified by the very Presence within it of the Shechinah. According to Shemot Rabbah 34,4 the words ועשו לי imply that Israel are G’d’s flock and He is their shepherd. This is the meaning of Ezekiel 34,17: “As for you, My flock, thus said the Lord G’d, etc.” The fact that G’d considers Himself our shepherd is based on Psalms 80,2: “Give ear, O shepherd of Israel! Appear, You who are enthroned on the cherubim.” There are numerous other verses quoted by the author, such as Isaiah 5,7, Psalms 121,4, Deut. 14,1 and Jeremiah 31,8 all making essentially the same point about the G’d-Israel relationship. This relationship bespeaks honour for the children when they are in the proximity of their father, and honour for the father when he is within the home of his children and feels welcome there. All of this is the meaning of the reciprocal relationship suggested by the words: “they shall make for Me a Sanctuary and I shall dwell amongst them. The words ושכנתי בתוכם may also be read as ושכינתי בתוכם, “so that My Presence will be amongst them.”
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.
Pat Lechem
whose chief hope is centered in his offspring -- he hopes to receive from his offspring a future and a hope, either by having a name and a remnant in the world through his offspring, something human beings naturally long for. Or, he hopes through torah law, that "a son brings merit to his father" (Sanhedrin 104a), for "the crown of elders is grandchildren" (Mishlei 17:6). He first mentioned the reason that the child is a branch of his tree, and it is a logical reason that the Understanding obligates a bit. Afterwards, he brought the second reason of "natural instinct" - that even if it were without any logical reason, for natural love is without any reason.