משֶׁה קִבֵּל תּוֹרָה מִסִּינַי,

Moses our teacher received everything that can be categorized as Torah from the mouth of God at Sinai,when he was atop the mountain for forty days and forty nights (Exodus 24:18) and received the Torah in its entirety there (Deuteronomy 4:14).

וּמְסָרָהּ לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ,

And this Torah that Moses received, he transmitted it to Joshua, his primary disciple, who was chosen as his replacement and successor (see Numbers 27:18). Joshua was first to receive the Oral Torah in the chain of transmission.

וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לִזְקֵנִים,

And Joshua transmitted the Torah that he received to the Elders, the leaders of Israel in his generation, who outlived him and continued his legacy (Joshua 24:1).

וּזְקֵנִים לִנְבִיאִים, וּנְבִיאִים מְסָרוּהָ לְאַנְשֵׁי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה.

And the Elders transmitted it to the prophets,who lived during the era of the Judges and thereafter, and the later prophets transmitted it to the members of the Great Assembly,who were their colleagues and disciples at the beginning of the Second Temple era.

הֵם אָמְרוּ שְׁלשָׁה דְּבָרִים:

They, the members of the Great Assembly, stated three matters: Be deliberate in judgment,as the judges must precisely analyze every case that comes before them, even if it appears to them that the matter is clear and resolved. And establish many studentsin order to create a broad foundation of Torah study and Torah instruction. And establish a fence [seyag] for the TorahThese are ordinances and decrees enacted in order to distance individuals and society from transgressing mitzvot of the Torah.

הֱווּ מְתוּנִים בַּדִּין, וְהַעֲמִידוּ תַּלְמִידִים הַרְבֵּה, וַעֲשׂוּ סְיָג לַתּוֹרָה.

שִׁמְעוֹן הַצַּדִּיק הָיָה מִשְּׁיָרֵי כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה.

Shimon HaTzaddik was among the remnants of the Great Assembly, one of the last of its Sages, and he continued the transmission of the Torah.

הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר:

He would regularly say a fundamental principle that he would repeat:

עַל שְׁלשָׁה דְּבָרִים הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד,

On the basis of three matters the world exists; there are three foundational spiritual pillars upon which the world rests that enable it to exist: on the basis of the Torah, i.e., studying it, knowing it, and engaging in it; on the basis of worship of God through the Temple service; and on the basis of acts of kindness, performing good deeds to benefit another person.

עַל הַתּוֹרָה, וְעַל הָעֲבוֹדָה, וְעַל גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים.

אַנְטִיגְנוֹס אִישׁ סוֹכוֹ קִבֵּל מִשִּׁמְעוֹן הַצַּדִּיק.

Antigonus of the city of Sokho in Judah received Torah from Shimon HaTzaddik.

הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר: אַל תִּהְיוּ כַּעֲבָדִים הַמְשַׁמְּשִׁין אֶת הָרַב עַל מְנָת לְקַבֵּל פְּרָס, אֶלָּא הֱווּ כַּעֲבָדִים הַמְשַׁמְּשִׁין אֶת הָרַב שֶׁלֹּא עַל מְנָת לְקַבֵּל פְּרָס.

He would regularly say: Do not be, when fulfilling mitzvot and worshipping God, like servants who serve the master in order to receive a portion, in order to receive their portion of food, i.e., to receive reward for mitzvot, as that is not the ideal mode of service. Rather, be like servants who serve the master not in order to receive a portion.

וִיהִי מוֹרָא שָׁמַיִם עֲלֵיכֶם.

He added: Although you are not worshipping God in order to receive compensation, do not forget that you are servants of God, and let the fear of Heaven be upon you.

יוֹסֵי בֶּן יוֹעֶזֶר אִישׁ צְרֵדָה וְיוֹסֵי בֶּן יוֹחָנָן אִישׁ יְרוּשָׁלַיִם קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם.

Yosei ben Yo’ezer of Tzereida and Yosei ben Yoḥanan of Jerusalem received from them.

יוֹסֵי בֶּן יוֹעֶזֶר אִישׁ צְרֵדָה אוֹמֵר:

Yosei ben Yo’ezer says: Let your house be a meeting placefor the Sages, who will influence the atmosphere in your house;

יְהִי בֵּיתְךָ בֵּית וַעַד לַחֲכָמִים,

and sit in the dust of their feet, sit before them on the ground as students would sit before their teacher, and accept their authority;

וֶהֱוֵי מִתְאַבֵּק בַּעֲפַר רַגְלֵיהֶם,

and thirstily imbibe their words, listen to them attentively, with thirst and desire to hear what they have to say.

וֶהֱוֵי שׁוֹתֶה בְּצָמָא אֶת דִּבְרֵיהֶם.

יוֹסֵי בֶּן יוֹחָנָן אִישׁ יְרוּשָׁלַיִם אוֹמֵר:

Yosei ben Yoḥanan of Jerusalem says:

יְהִי בֵּיתְךָ פָּתוּחַ לִרְוָחָה,

Let your house be open wide so that all the needy will be able to come to it.

וְיִהְיוּ עֲנִיִּים בְּנֵי בֵיתְךָ,

And let the poor be members of your household; receive them hospitably, so they feel like members of the household.

וְאַל תַּרְבֶּה שִׂיחָה עִם הָאִשָּׁה.

He qualifies the statement: Although your house and heart should be open to people, do not speak excessively with a woman.

בְּאִשְׁתּוֹ אָמְרוּ – קַל וָחֹמֶר בְּאֵשֶׁת חֲבֵרוֹ.

The mishna adds: They said this general prohibition regarding one’s wife, as excessive conversation between man and woman has the potential to lead to extreme frivolity and to sexual tension that is not beneficial in seeking to build a spiritual household. And all the more so must one be careful in this respect regarding the wife of another, as excessive conversation could lead to an inappropriate sense of intimacy and even deteriorate into forbidden actions.

מִכָּאן אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים: כָּל זְמַן שֶׁאָדָם מַרְבֶּה שִׂיחָה עִם הָאִשָּׁה – גּוֹרֵם רָעָה לְעַצְמוֹ, וּבוֹטֵל מִדִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה, וְסוֹפוֹ יוֹרֵשׁ גֵּיהִנֹּם.

The mishna further adds: Consequently, the Sages said: Any time one speaks excessively with a woman, the longer the conversation lasts, the more he causes himself harm, due to excessive intimacy that is liable to lead to sin or to lead to altercation or strife, is idle from matters of Torah, as this conversation usually comes at the expense of Torah study, and ultimately inherits Gehenna, as he caused harm to himself and was also idle from engaging in Torah study.

יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן פְּרַחְיָה וְנִתַּאי הָאַרְבֵּלִי קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם.

Yehoshua ben Peraḥya and Nitai HaArbeli received from them, from Yosei ben Yo’ezer and Yosei ben Yoḥanan.

יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן פְּרַחְיָה אוֹמֵר:

Yehoshua ben Peraḥya says matters relating to the type of relationships that one should forge with various other people.

עֲשֵׂה לְךָ רַב,

Establish for yourself a teacher, even if is difficult for you to designate someone specific to be your teacher.

וּקְנֵה לְךָ חָבֵר,

Acquire for yourself, through effort and investment, a friend with whom you can conduct close and reciprocal relations.

וֶהֱוֵי דָּן אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם לְכַף זְכוּת.

And judge every person, in terms of his personality as a whole, favorably, so that his shortcomings will not overshadow his positive characteristics.

נִתַּאי הָאַרְבֵּלִי אוֹמֵר:

Nitai HaArbeli says:

הַרְחֵק מִשָּׁכֵן רָע,

Distance yourself from an evil neighbor, refrain from residing near a wicked person, or minimize neighborly relations with a person of that kind, in order to avoid conflict with him or avoid his negative influence.

וְאַל תִּתְחַבֵּר לָרָשָׁע,

Likewise, do not associate with the wicked, even if he is successful and it appears that associating with him could bring one benefit and facilitate success.

וְאַל תִּתְיָאֵשׁ מִן הַפֻּרְעָנוּת.

And do not despair of divine punishment of the wicked. Although it appears that the wicked one is successful in his wickedness, as though there is no justice and no Judge, know and believe that ultimately, the wicked will be punished.

יְהוּדָה בֶּן טַבַּאי וְשִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן שָׁטָח קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם.

Yehuda ben Tabai and Shimon ben Shataḥ received from them, from Yehoshua ben Peraḥya and Nitai HaArbeli.

יְהוּדָה בֶּן טַבַּאי אוֹמֵר:

Yehuda ben Tabai says to judges:

אַל תַּעַשׂ עַצְמְךָ כְּעוֹרְכֵי הַדַּיָּנִין.

Do not render yourself, when you adjudicate between two parties, like court advocates, who represent a particular party. Do not seek to represent and explain the positions of one of the parties, as in Jewish courts there are no advocates, just witnesses and judges.

וּכְשֶׁיִּהְיוּ בַּעֲלֵי דִינִין עוֹמְדִים לְפָנֶיךָ – יִהְיוּ בְּעֵינֶיךָ כִּרְשָׁעִים.

When litigants stand before you, they should be wicked in your eyes. One should relate with suspicion to everything that they say and analyze it thoroughly.

וּכְשֶׁנִּפְטָרִים מִלְּפָנֶיךָ – יִהְיוּ בְּעֵינֶיךָ כְּזַכָּאִין, כְּשֶׁקִּבְּלוּ עֲלֵיהֶם אֶת הַדִּין.

And when they depart from your presence after sentencing, transform your attitude toward both parties so they would be innocent in your eyes, and judge them favorably from when they accepted the verdict upon themselves to rectify what needs to be rectified.

שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן שָׁטָח אוֹמֵר:

Shimon ben Shataḥ says:

הֱוֵי מַרְבֶּה לַחְקֹר אֶת הָעֵדִים,

You shall interrogate the witnesses extensively, even beyond the basic questions, in order to precisely ascertain the matter and arrive at the true ruling.

וֶהֱוֵי זָהִיר בִּדְבָרֶיךָ, שֶׁמָּא מִתּוֹכָם יִלְמְדוּ לְשַׁקֵּר.

And be careful with your statements when you interrogate the witnesses extensively, as that can also lead to problems; lest from them, from your words, they learn to lie, when they learn the judge’s thought process and the potential conclusions that are likely to arise from their testimony.

שְׁמַעְיָה וְאַבְטַלְיוֹן קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם.

Shemaya and Avtalyon received from them, from Yehuda ben Tabai and Shimon ben Shataḥ.

שְׁמַעְיָה אוֹמֵר:

Shemaya says matters relating to areas of life that a person should draw near to and those from which he should distance himself:

אֱהֹב אֶת הַמְּלָאכָה,

Love labor, as it facilitates physical and mental health, and engaging in it helps settle the world.

וּשְׂנָא אֶת הָרַבָּנוּת,

Hate authority, both communal and religious, as it involves the potential of evil and corruption.

וְאַל תִּתְוַדַּע לָרָשׁוּת.

And do not become intimate with gentile governmental authorities, as their motives are different from yours, and your well-being is not their priority.

אַבְטַלְיוֹן אוֹמֵר:

Avtalyon says:

חֲכָמִים, הִזָּהֲרוּ בְּדִבְרֵיכֶם!

Sages, who engage in issuing rulings to the public and to their students, be careful with your statements, both in terms of their content and in terms of the form in which they are stated, especially regarding matters that can be misunderstood and lead to pitfalls.

שֶׁמָּא תָּחוּבוּ חוֹבַת גָּלוּת, וְתִגְלוּ לִמְקוֹם מַיִם הָרָעִים, וְיִשְׁתּוּ הַתַּלְמִידִים הַבָּאִים אַחֲרֵיכֶם וְיָמוּתוּ, וְנִמְצָא שֵׁם שָׁמַיִם מִתְחַלֵּל.

You must do so lest you incur liability to be exiled, both in the literal, physical sense and in the spiritual sense, and you will be exiled to a place of bad water, to a place or society in which influence of negative elements prevails. Even if you are not at all harmed, because you are wise and mature, there is a concern that your students will not be able to withstand that influence; and the students who come after you to those places will drink the “bad water,” the foreign influences, and die, and will be totally corrupted, and the name of Heaven will be desecrated, as those students continue to be associated, in their own eyes or in the eyes of their surroundings, with the teacher. Everyone will believe that it was due to his Torah that they ended up as they did.

הִלֵּל וְשַׁמַּאי קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם.

Hillel and Shammai received from them, from Shemaya and Avtalyon.

הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר:

Hillel says:

הֱוֵי מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן,

Be among the disciples of Aaron the priest, who was both a guide and teacher of the multitudes, and a paradigm of a righteous person living in the midst of his people, as these were his qualities:

אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם, וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם,

He was one who loves peace and considers it a supremely important value, and also pursues peace in a practical sense, as he makes efforts in order to increase its presence in the world.

אוֹהֵב אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת, וּמְקָרְבָן לַתּוֹרָה.

This pursuit of peace is not undertaken in an isolated, arrogant manner, stemming merely from tolerance, but it grows out of the fact that he genuinely loves people, because they are God’s creations. Besides his love for them as they are, he takes action to elevate them to a higher level and draws them near to the Torah.

הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר: נָגֵד שְׁמָא – אָבֵד שְׁמֵיהּ.

He, Hillel the Elder, would say: One who glorifies his name, loses his name, because true glory stems from eternal, substantive matters, rather than from seeking instant publicity and glory, which do not endure over time.

וּדְלָא מוֹסִיף – יָסֵיף.

One who does not increase, will lose, as one who does not progress in his wisdom and in his character traits and behavior, but remains in the same place and in the same condition, will deteriorate and be lost.

וּדְלָא יָלֵיף – קְטָלָא חַיָּיב.

One who does not study is liable to be put to death. One who does not at all enter the gateways of Torah study, substantively undermines his very character as a Jew; his status is more severe than one who studied but discontinued his studies.

וְדִישְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּתָגָא – חָלֵף.

One who exploits the crown will pass. One who exploits the crown of Torah for his own purposes to garner honor and wealth will pass from the world. This is because he is profaning the sacred and is exploiting a crown that is not his, but God’s, for his own lowly, personal needs.

הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר:

He, Hillel the Elder, would say:

אִם אֵין אֲנִי לִי – מִי לִי.

If I am not for myself, who will be for me? It is incumbent upon a person to take action and make an effort to ensure his success. If a person acquires a matter without investing effort or personal involvement, that acquisition is compromised.

וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי לְעַצְמִי – מָה אֲנִי.

And, on the other hand, if I am only for myself, what am I? Alongside all his effort, the person must remember that he lacks the ability to act and succeed alone. He needs the support of his environment and the Holy One blessed be He.

וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו – אֵימָתַי?

And if not now, when? One must not wait with these matters and procrastinate until another time, as every other time will also be “now.”

שַׁמַּאי אוֹמֵר:

Shammai says:

עֲשֵׂה תּוֹרָתְךָ קֶבַע,

Make your Torah into a fixed matter. Torah study shall be a foundation in your life more than any of your other pursuits.

אֱמֹר מְעַט וַעֲשֵׂה הַרְבֵּה,

Say little when you make a commitment to another, and do much when you are carrying out that commitment.

וֶהֱוֵי מְקַבֵּל אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם בְּסֵבֶר פָּנִים יָפוֹת.

And receive every person, regardless of their actions or their status, graciously, with a cheerful expression.

רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הָיָה אוֹמֵר:

Rabban Gamliel says statements that provide clear and accurate guidance to a person regarding the manner in which to perform mitzvot.

עֲשֵׂה לְךָ רַב,

Establish for yourself a teacher, whose halakhic decisions you can consistently follow.

וְהִסְתַּלֵּק מִן הַסָּפֵק, וְאַל תַּרְבֶּה לְעַשֵּׂר אוֹמָדוֹת.

Avoid uncertainty; perform matters in a way that is clear and certain. For example, do not regularly tithe on the basis of estimates. When tithing produce, do not tithe on the basis of an approximation, but on the basis of a precise measure or weight, as the Sages instituted to perform the tithe ab initio.

שִׁמְעוֹן בְּנוֹ אוֹמֵר:

Shimon, his, Rabban Gamliel’s, son,says matters that address the virtue of silence over speech in various respects:

כָּל יָמַי גָּדַלְתִּי בֵּין הַחֲכָמִים, וְלֹא מָצָאתִי לַגּוּף טוֹב אֶלָּא שְׁתִיקָה.

All my days I grew among the Sages, who engage in matters of reason and wisdom, and, nevertheless, I have found nothing for the body better than silence, as silence is preferable even to words of wisdom.

וְלֹא הַמִּדְרָשׁ הוּא הָעִקָּר, אֶלָּא הַמַּעֲשֶׂה.

It is not study or rhetoric that is principal, but rather, action.

וְכָל הַמַּרְבֶּה דְּבָרִים – מֵבִיא חֵטְא.

Anyone who speaks excessively engenders sin, because the more one speaks, the more difficult it is to be cautious and precise regarding the content. One is consequently liable to gravitate in an undesirable direction, which will lead to sin and deception.

רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר:

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says:

עַל שְׁלשָׁה דְּבָרִים הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד,

On the basis of three mattersthe world stands; through them, the world, riven by dispute, continues to exist.

עַל הַדִּין וְעַל הָאֱמֶת וְעַל הַשָּׁלוֹם,

On justice, issuing rulings based on existing information; on truth, which is the guideline, which is not associated with one party or the other, and is complex to apply; and on peace, which is the attempt to arrive at compromise, beyond the letter of the law.

שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: "אֱמֶת וּמִשְׁפַּט שָׁלוֹם שִׁפְטוּ בְּשַׁעֲרֵיכֶם".

As it is stated: “Administer truth and justice, peace in your gates” (Zechariah 8:16).