Avot165
|
BET MIDRASH VIRTUALI
of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel
RABIN MISHNAH STUDY GROUP
|
|
|
TRACTATE AVOT, CHAPTER THREE, MISHNAH SEVEN (recap):
Rabbi Ĥalafta ben-Dosa from Kefar Ĥananyah says: When ten people sit down and occupy themselves with Torah the Divine Presence rests among them, for it is said [Psalm 82:1] "God stands in the divine assembly". And from where [do we know that this is the case with] even [just] five? – It says [Amos 9:6] "And His thumb founded it on the earth". And from where [do we know that this is the case with] even [just] three? – It says [Psalm 82:1] "Among the justices He pronounces judgment". And from where [do we know that this is the case with] even [just] two? – It says [Malachi 3:16] "Those who revere God have been talking to one another; God has heard and noted it". And from where [do we know that this is the case with] even [just] one? – It says [Exodus 20:21] "In every place where I cause My name to be mentioned I will come to you and bless you".
EXPLANATIONS (continued):
17:
The task of supporting the idea that even when only two people are occupied together with Torah study the Divine Presence rests upon them falls to a verse from the prophet Malachi [3:16]. The reasoning in this case is clear and certainly not convoluted: "the God-fearing have been talking to each other" – although this is clear enough in the English translation it is even clearer in the Hebrew original: two religious people have been talking together. The continuation of the verse clearly suggests that God is a third party to their conversation: "God listened and heard and noted it down…" 18: 19:
In any place where my Shekhinah is made to rest [by invocation] to that place will I send my blessing to you.
Another translation into Aramaic, Targum Yonatan, which was finally redacted in Eretz-Israel some thirteen hundred years ago, is even more explicit:
In any place where my Shekhinah is made to rest and you worship me, to that place will I send my blessing to you.
The Targum Yerushalmi is related to Targum Yonatan, perhaps a different redaction. It translates as follows:
In any place where you mention my holy name there will my presence be revealed upon you and bless you.
The classical commentators Rashi, Ibn-Ezra, Ramban and so on follow suit in one way or another.
Thus it is clear that the sages understood the biblical verse as saying "Wherever you mention my name there will my Divine Presence rest." Quod erat demonstrandum. DISCUSSION:
My colleague, Joel Berman takes us back to Avot 158. He writes:
Just to get it straight in my head: You refer to Rabbi Ĥanina ben-Ĥakhinai in the mishnah, and refer to Avot 131 for corroboration as to Rabbi Rabbi Ĥanina ben-Ĥakhinai's inclination to mystical matters. But in Avot 131, the student of Akiva's with that bent is Rabbi El'azar ben-Arakh. Are they the same, or am I just not reading something correctly? Ben Ĥakhinai doesn't seem to be one of the 5 students of Akiva in that mishnah. I respond: No. My only intention was to refer back to a place where we had already witnessed a propensity among the sages to indulge in mystical studies. Rabban Yoĥanan ben-Zakkai and Rabbi El'azar ben-Arakh may have been among the earlier devotees. It is Rabbi Ĥanina ben-Ĥakhinai who is a student of Rabbi Akiva and he belongs to a later generation; but the chain of mystical studies was unbroken. BMV Home | The shiurim of the Rabin Mishnah Study Group are usually sent out on Monday and Thursday; These shiurim are and will remain free of charge. |
Donation Form