Ethics of our Fathers (3:15) brings a quote
from Rabbi Akiba, “All is foreseen, and freedom of choice is granted. The world
is judged with goodness, but in accordance with the amount of man's positive
deeds”. This Mishna raises the issue of man’s free will and suggests how we are
to properly use our lives. It also deals with the omniscience and benevolence
of the Holy One blessed be He.
Concerning free will the Bartenura explains
that it is in the hands of a man to do good or bad and brings the passage G-d
has placed before you, life, good, death, and evil. These include the decision
whether to love Hashem and go in His paths. His paths are the ways of life and
blessing and this should be our choice (see Deuteronomy 30:15-19). He also
remarks that all actions are seen including the actions in the inner recesses
of a person’s heart. Never the less the judgement is in the spirit of mercy.
Maimonides adds that the judgement of the most high is in the spirit of
goodness and kindness and not entirely according to what would be abstractly
correct.
The next Mishna poetically
develops this idea first in the spirit of caution saying, “Everything is given
on the basis of a pledge and a net is spread out over all life. The store is
open and gives credit, everything is written down, all who want to borrow can
do so, and the bill collectors collect whether a person agrees to it or not”. It
ends optimistically saying, “the judgements are truthful and everything is
prepared for a banquet”. The basic idea is that G-d gives man the resources he
needs and wants. After that there is an evaluation but, the expectation, though,
is that the person will be deserving of a feast.
The final Mishna in the
chapter is in the name of Rabbi Eliezer ben Chisma, who states that the topics
of bird’s nests and menstruation are the substance of halacha and that astronomy
and gematrias are the condiments of wisdom. The idea seems to be that astronomy
and more generally knowledge of how the world really operates prepares a person
to learn what is really good and evil. Once a person knows right and wrong they
are prepared to understand the revealed hand of Hashem in this world.
The Torah forbids a man from
having relations with his wife during her monthly period. It is here that
biology and morality intersect. The Talmud gives rules how to determine its
beginning, end, and how to set a fence so as not to err. The issue of bird’s
nests in the Mishna קנין tends to be more
obscure. The term itself is an idiom for pigeons that are brought as
sacrifices. Depending on the circumstances, a single pigeon or a pair of
pigeons may be brought. When a pair of pigeons is brought typically one is a
sin offering and the other is a burnt offering. The laws concerning these two
sacrifices are different, but pigeons often look the same. Many problems can be
avoided if the designation is made at the latest time possible. Never the less a problem can arise when birds
or sacrifices get mixed up.
Pigeons can be offered on the altar
for a number of reasons, among them for a woman who has recently given birth. One
is an expression of devotion, and the other an expression of apology either specific
or general. The message of Ethics of our Fathers here seems to be proper use of
a person’s creative ability both in theory and practice.
The last Mishna in the fourth
chapter also deals with how we choose to behave during our lifetime. It states those
that lived will be judged according to their knowledge of Hashem and how much
they have imparted this knowledge to others. Specifically He is the creator,
who is omniscient, omnipotent. One cannot escape Him in the grave. On the
contrary all will be required to make a proper accounting before the king of
kings, HaKadosh Baruch Hu.
לע"נ בן דוד שמואל בן נח ז"ל
נלב"ע טו באב תשס"ט
http://dyschreiber.blogspot.co.ilניתן בדואר אלקטרוני וגם באתר
Blogger English http://dyschreiber.blogspot.com/2015/09/ki-tavo-ethics-of-our-fathers-chapter-3.html
Blogger Hebrew http://dyschreiber.blogspot.com/2015/09/138.html
YouTube http://youtu.be/zU65phT4tro
No comments:
Post a Comment