Avot241

11:
For a short time Rabbi Me'ir was removed from the Sanhedrin. How and why this happened is a sad story which shows that not all the sages were able to being themselves to practice in its entirety what they preached. We should first recall that Rabban Gamli'el had been deposed from the presidency of the Sanhedrin for trying to ride roughshod over other sages. (The story is recounted in Berakhot 023.) This had been at the end of the 1st century or the beginning of the 2nd century. The events which we must now recount occurred towards that latter half of the 2nd century.

12:
Rabban Shim'on ben-Gamli'el (the son of Rabban Gamli'el) was now president of the reconstituted Sanhedrin (its function had been discontinued during the Hadrianic persection). As we learned in Avot 025, the President of the Sanhedrin had always had an Av Bet Din (Chief Justice) as his deputy. However, it was now decided that Rabban Shim'on ben-Gamli'el should have two deputies. Rabbi Natan was appointed Av Bet Din and Rabbi Me'ir was appointed Ĥakham (Chief Sage). (It is possible that there was in this arrangement more than just a hint of 'jobs for the boys'.)

13:
To begin with the three leaders of the Sanhedrin were held in equal honour. The Gemara [Horayot 13b] tells us that whenever they entered the conclave of the Sanhedrin all present would stand as a mark of respect. On one occasion both Rabbi Natan and Rabbi Me'ir were absent from the conclave; the following day, when they entered the meeting, they discovered that during their absence Rabban Shim'on ben-Gamli'el had enacted a new rule according to which only the President himself would be accorded this mark of respect. (It is possible that this enactment of Rabban Shim'on ben-Gamli'el was the result of human jealousy; but it is also possible that it was the result of a perceived need to strengthen the authority of the President in very difficult times.)

14:
Rabbi Natan and Rabbi Me'ir now conspired to have Rabban Shim'on ben-Gamli'el removed from office. (Again, it is possible that their actions were provoked by human jealousy and anger; but it is no less possible that they were concerned that Rabban Shim'on was beginning to show the same signs of an autocratic presidency that had led to his father's deposition.) Their plan was shameful in the extreme. They agreed that the following day they would suggest that Rabban Shim'on ben-Gamli'el lecture on the very recondite tractate Uktzin, "because he doesn't know that stuff". However, their plan backfired because Rabban Shim'on got to hear of the plan and studied Uktzin all night and the following day gave a decent lecture.

15:
It seems that the Sanhedrin had become rather Byzantine in its arrangements, with cliques and parties vying with each other. Rabban Gamli'el had been advised of the plan to topple him by one of his supporters. Now, of course, he demanded that Rabbis Natan and Me'ir be removed from office. The Sanhedrin complied. However, both these sages were clearly the most learned and the most capable of their time from the halakhic point of view. So, over the next few days, when difficult issues arose in the discussions of the Sanhedrin little notes had to be passed to and from between those in the hall and the two sages outside. Finally, one of their supporters, Rabbi Yosé, said: "Torah is outside and we are inside!?" The two sages were re-admitted and restored to their former positions. But the Sanhedrin (Rabban Shim'on ben-Gamli'el?) decided that as a punishment in future their halakhic views would not be set forth in their own names. The opinions of Rabbi Me'ir would be recorded as "others say" [aĥerim om^erim and the opinions of Rabbi Natan would be recorded as "there are some who say" [yesh om^erim]. So, the great sages could be human and petty.

16:
I would like to think that part of the teaching attributed to Rabbi Me'ir in our present mishnah was the result of this sorry episode. Having seen what pride and jealousy could lead to he ate humble pie and taught: "be humble before every person". The other elements of his teaching in this mishnah are simple. Rabbi Me'ir encourages everyone to devote ample time to the study of Torah and not to find excuses why one cannot do so because of the exigencies of earning a living. It will always be easy to find excuses not to study, and the more one invokes them the more excuses one will find. But the study of Torah itself brings great reward.