Rabbi Chanina, The Deputy High Priest, Would Say: "Pray For The Welfare Of The [Ruling] Kingdom, For Were It Not For The Fear Of It, Men Would Swallow One Another Alive."
Rabbi Chanina Ben Tradyon Would Say: "If Two Sit Together And No Words Of Torah Are Exchanged Between Them, It Is A Company Of Mockers, As It Is Stated:[5] 'He Does Not Sit Among The Company Of Mockers.' But If Two Sit Together And Exchange Words Of Torah, The Divine Presence Rests Between Them, As It Is Written:[6] 'Then The G-D-Fearing Conversed With One Another, And G-D Listened And Heard, And A Book Of Remembrance Was Written Before Him For Those Who Fear G-D And Meditate Upon His Name.' "
"[FROM THIS VERSE, WE LEARN] ONLY THAT THE ABOVE APPLIES WITH REGARD TO TWO PEOPLE. WHICH SOURCE TEACHES THAT EVEN WHEN ONE PERSON SITS AND OCCUPIES HIMSELF WITH THE TORAH, THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, ALLOTS A REWARD FOR HIM? THE VERSE:[7] 'HE SITS ALONE AND [STUDIES] IN STILLNESS; HE TAKES [THE REWARD] UNTO HIMSELF.' "
Pirkei Avos is not wont to speak in metaphors. If the intent is merely to say that people would wantonly kill each other were it not for the rule of law, the
mishnah would have said just that. Moreover, the purpose of
Pirkei Avos is to teach pious behavior, i.e., conduct beyond the measure of the law.
[8] Seemingly, Rabbi Chanina's advice and the situation it wishes to forestall are basic matters - relevant to people at even a rudimentary spiritual level.
So we should look for a much deeper message. "Swallow[ing] one another alive" implies the subsuming of another person within one's own desires. The other person is alive - he thinks and feels - but one has "swallowed" him within one's self; i.e., one thinks of him only inasmuch as he can further one's own purposes. Instead of appreciating who that person is, what he wants and needs, one thinks only of one's own self and the benefit the other person will bring him.
On this basis, we can appreciate the connection between this teaching and the one which follows:[9]
This teaching emphasizes the importance of communication, of two people sitting together as equals and sharing words of Torah.
(Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XVII, p. 365ff)
When two individuals study together, the Divine Presence - a level of revelation beyond the grasp of mortals - is drawn down. In contrast, when an individual studies alone, he receives a reward, for he has done a worthy act, but the reward is limited.
What is the difference? When a person communicates with others, he extends himself beyond his individual limits. Therefore, study in such a setting evokes a transcendent revelation of G-dliness. When, by contrast, a person studies alone, his understanding cannot grow beyond the limits of his own thought. Therefore, the reward he receives is also limited.
(Sichos Shabbos Parshas Devarim, 5741)
This verse is a quote from
Eichah, the book which laments the destruction of the
Beis HaMikdash. The fact that a Jew must sit
alone and study Torah is itself a sign of the exile. For in regard to the Era of the Redemption, it is written:
[10] "The occupation of
the entire world will be solely to know G-d."
(Ibid.)
Notes:
- (Back to text) Tehillim 1:1.
- (Back to text) Malachi 2:16.
- (Back to text) Eichah 3:28.
- (Back to text) Bava Kama 30a.
- (Back to text) On the surface, the connection between the two statements is questionable. And yet, were there no connection, the two concepts would not have been included in a single mishnah. (See Shaar HaKollel, ch. 30, sec. 3, which states that one of the reasons the Alter Rebbe included Pirkei Avos in his text of the Siddur was to emphasize the proper division of the mishnayos.)
- (Back to text) Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Melachim 12:5.
Chapter Three - Mishna 1