Avot194

16:
Silence is a fence around wisdom: many of the sages were wont to reprimand those who are garrulous. Already in the bible Kohelet gives such advice:

Rambam [Mishneh Torah, De'ot 2:4] goes so far as to turn this advice into halakhah:

Rambam concludes this halakhah by quoting the second verse from Kohelet that we have brought above. (Incidentally, unless Rambam had before him a different version of the Mishnah he has slightly misquoted the second quote from Avot 1:17. The text which we have reads: 'I have found nothing to be of greater physical benefit than silence.')

17:
However, in the very next halakhah [De'ot 2:5] Rambam relates our present mishnah to the lecture hall:

He concludes this halakhah with another quotation from Kohelet [9:17]

18:
Before we conclude our study of this mishnah I think that I should point out that the traditional interpretation of the teaching of Rabbi Akiva in our present mishnah is quite different from the interpretation that I have given.

1. The 'tradition' that is a fence around the Torah is taken to be a reference to the correct reading of the text of the Torah as expounded by the sages. For instance in the Gemara [Sukkah 6b] the halakhic parameters of the sukkah are derived from the defective spelling of the word 'sukkot' in Leviticus 23:42. (Thus the defective spelling of the words is held to be deliberate.)

2. Tithes are connected with wealth by reference to the blessings that God will shower on those who observe the laws of tithing, as promised by the prophet Malachi [3:10].

3. Vows are seen as a fence around asceticism insofar as when a person sees that he is giving way to his baser instincts he protects himself from sin by strengthening his willpower with a vow.

In Avot 191 I wrote: Thus, Rabbi Akiva in our present mishnah, may be understood as teaching that the interpretative skills of the sages should be seen as having a liberalizing effect upon the text of the Torah.

Meir Noach writes:

I agree with you 100% but I am very troubled by the rare times in which it seems to me that the Sages go in the opposite directions. As in the case of Rabban Gamaliel when he caused his servant to lose an eye he was very happy because now the beloved slave had to be freed. But the sages told him if there were not 2 witness he could not free his slave.

I respond:

The story is told in the Talmud of Eretz-Israel [Ketubot 23a]. Rabban Gamli'el accidentally knocked out a tooth of his favourite servant, Tavi. He conferred with Rabbi Yehoshu'a, saying, "I think I have found a reason to free my servant, Tavi" (because I knocked out one of his teeth and the Torah [Exodus 21:27] requires a master to free a servant who suffered mayhem at his hands). Rabbi Yehoshu'a reminded him that he was only required to do so by law if two competent witnesses testified against him in court. But, of course, Rabban Gamli'el could free Tavi from servitude whenever he wished. (If my memory serves me correctly I think that Tavi did not want to be released.) Rabbi Yehoshu'a did not say that Rabban Gamli'el could not free Tavi, only that he did not have to.

Due to the incidence in Israel of Memorial Day and Independence Day, the next shiur in this series is scheduled for Monday 8th May.