Luke 17:10: So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
CHAPTER I Pirke Avot
All Israel have a portion in the world to come, and it is said, "And
thy people shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land for
ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be
glorified."
1. Moses received the Torah from Sinai, and handed it down to
Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and
the prophets delivered it to the men of the Great Synagogue. They
said three things, "Be deliberate in judgment; raise up many
disciples; and make a fence about the Torah."
2. Simon, the Just, was of the last survivors of the Great Synagogue.
He used to say, "Upon three things the world rests: upon the Torah,
upon the Temple service, and upon the doing of acts of kindness.
3. Antigonus of Soko received (the tradition) from Simon, the Just.
He used to say, "Be not like hirelings who work for their master for
the sake of receiving recompense; but be like servants who minister to
their master without any thought of receiving a reward; and let the
fear of Heaven be upon you."
>> = >> Luke 17:
1Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!
2It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
3¶Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
4And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
5And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
6And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
7But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
8And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
9Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not.
10So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
10. Shemaiah and Abtalion received (the tradition) from them.
Shemaiah said, "Love work; hate lordship; and seek no intimacy with
the ruling power."
11. Abtalion said, "Ye sages, be heedful of your words, lest ye incur
the penalty of exile and be exiled to a place of evil waters, and the
disciples who come after you drink thereof and die, and the Heavenly
Name be profaned."
12. Hillel and Shammai received (the tradition) from them. Hillel
said, "Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace,
loving mankind and drawing them night to the Torah." 13. He used to
say, "A name made great is a name destroyed; he who does not increase
(his knowledge) decreases (it); and he who does not study deserves to
die;
2:9. Rabban Jochanan, the son of Zakkai received (the tradition) from
Hillel and Shammai. He used to say, "If thou hast learnt much
Torah, ascribe not any merit to thyself, for thereunto wast thou
created."
18. R. Simeon said, "Be careful in reading the Shema and the Amidah; and
when thou prayest, consider not thy prayer as a fixed (mechanical)
task, but as (an appeal for) mercy and grace before the All-present,
as it is said, 'For he is gracious and full of mercy, slow to anger,
and abounding in loving-kindness, and repenteth him of the evil'; and
be not wicked in thine own esteem."
20. Rabbi Tafron said, "The day is short, the task is great, the
laborers are sluggish, the reward is much, and the Master of the house
is urgent." 21. He also used to say, "It is not thy duty to complete
the work, but neither art thou free to desist from it; if thou hast
studied much Torah, much reward will be given thee; and faithful is
thy Employer to pay thee the reward of thy labor; and know that the
grant of reward unto the righteous will be in the time to come."
3:6. R. Nechunya, son of ha-Kanah, said, "Whoso receives upon himself
the yoke of the Torah, from the yoke of the kingdom and the yoke of
worldly care will be removed, but whoso breaks off from him the yoke
of the Torah, upon him will be laid the yoke of the kingdom and the
yoke of worldly care."
9. R. Jacob said, "He who is walking by the way and studying, and
breaks off his study and says, 'How fine is that tree, how fine is
that fallow,' him the Scripture regards as if he had forfeited his
life.
11. R. Chanina, the son of Dosa, said, "He in whom the fear of sin
precedes wisdom, his wisdom shall endure; but he in whom wisdom comes
before the fear of sin, his wisdom will not endure." 12. He used to
say, "He whose works exceed his wisdom, his wisdom shall endure; but
he whose wisdom exceeds his works, his wisdom will not endure." 13.
He used to say, "He in whom the spirit of his fellow-creatures takes
not delight, in him the Spirit of the All-present takes not delight."
4:7. R. Zadok said, "Separate not thyself from the congregation; (in the
judge's office) act not the counsel's part; make not of the Torah a
crown wherewith to aggrandize thyself, nor a spade wherewith to dig."
So also used Hillel to say, "He who makes a worldly use of the crown
(of the Torah) shall waste away." Hence thou mayest infer that
whosoever derives a profit for himself from the words of the Torah
is helping on his own destruction.
14. R. Jochanan, the sandal-maker, said, "Every assembly which is in
the Name of Heaven will in the end be established, but that which is
not in the Name of Heaven will not in the end be established.
5:21. Whosoever causes the multitude to be righteous, over him sin
prevails not; but he who causes the multitude to sin shall not have
the means to repent. Moses was righteous and made the multitude
righteous; the righteousness of the multitude was laid upon him, as it
is said, "He executed the justice of the Lord and his judgments with
Israel."
22. Whosoever has these three attributes is of the disciples of
Abraham, our father, but whosoever has three other attributes is of
the disciples of Balaam, the wicked. A good eye, a humble mind, and a
lowly spirit (are the tokens) of the disciples of Abraham, our father;
an evil eye, a haughty mind, and a proud spirit (are the signs) of the
disciples of Balaam, the wicked. What is the difference between the
disciples of Abraham, our father, and those of Balaam, the wicked?
The disciples of Abraham, our father, enjoy this world and inherit the
world to come, as it is said, "That I may cause those that love me to
inherit substance, and may fill all their treasuries"; but the
disciples of Balaam, the wicked, inherit Gehinnom, and descend into
the pit of destruction, as it is said, "But thou, O God, wilt bring
them down into the pit of destruction; bloodthirsty and deceitful men
shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
6:8. R. Simeon, the son of Judah, in the name of R. Simeon, the son of
Yohai, said, "Beauty, strength, riches, honor, wisdom, old age, a
hoary head, and children are comely to the righteous and comely to the
world, as it is said, 'The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be
found in the way of righteousness'; and it says, 'The glory of young
men is their strength, and the adornment of old men is the hoary
head'; and it says, 'A crown unto the wise is their riches'; and it
says, 'Children's children are the crown of old men, and the adornment
of children are their fathers'; and it is said, 'Then the moon shall
be confounded and the sun ashamed; for the Lord of hosts shall reign
in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before his elders shall be
glory.'" R. Simeon, the son of Menasya, said, "These seven
qualifications which the sages enumerated as becoming to the righteous
were all realized in Rabbi Judah, the Prince, and in his sons."
Rabbi Chanania, the son of Akashia, said, "The Holy One, blessed be
He, was pleased to make Israel worthy; wherefore He gave them a
copious Torah and many commandments, as it is said, 'It pleased the
Lord, for his righteousness' sake, to magnify the Torah and make it
honorable'"
