In my previous post (“Finding that elusive good path”, 5 December 2022), I discussed the mishnah (Avot 2:13) in which Rabban Yochanan asks his five leading talmidim to “go out and take a look at the good path to which a person should adhere”. Rabbi Eliezer suggests a “good eye”, Rabbi Yehoshua “being a good friend”, Rabbi Yose HaKohen “being a good neighbour”, Rabbi Shimon ben Netanel offers “ability to see what’s coming” and Rabbi Elazar ben Arach proposes “a good heart”. Rabbi Elazar ben Arach’s answer is preferred to the other four on the basis that it is broad enough to embrace them too.
To the modern English reader, if the terms “good eye” and “good heart” are
taken literally they convey no relevant meaning in this context. I therefore explained
“good eye” as “generosity” and “good heart” as “spirit of magnanimity”. Eagle-eyed reader Claude Tusk swiftly spotted
that, in an earlier post, I had explained that the term “good eye” referred to
"magnanimity". I had indeed done
this because I was struggling to find blanket terms both for “good eye” and “good
heart” in such a way as to enable the first of these terms to fall within the
scope of the second.
I’ve just been looking at what I wrote in my book on these two concepts.
First, there is the “good eye”, which I describe in terms of both generosity
and magnanimity:
The “good eye”
Rabbi Eliezer ben
Hyrcanus’ recommendation for the good path was that a man should have a “good
eye.” This phrase probably means that he should view others in a generous
and magnanimous way, sharing their happiness at their good fortune rather
than being jealous of it and, when judging their actions, giving them the
benefit of the doubt. The opposite of this expression, a “bad (or evil) eye,”
is the term used by Rabbi Eliezer’s fellow talmid Rabbi Yehoshua to
indicate ill-will towards others. That same term is also employed in a later
Mishnah to describe both the attitude of someone who wants to give to a charity
but does not want others, by giving too, to share the reward for their
generosity, and to someone who wants others to give so generously that he need
not give at all. It is possible that, in making this suggestion, Rabbi Eliezer
was looking not out into the wide world but deeply into his own soul. From what
we know of him – which is a considerable amount more than we know of most
Tannaim – magnanimity and generosity were not among his defining
characteristics. Identifying this, he may have proposed the path of the “good
eye” out of recognition that this should be his own personal route to
redemption [emphases added; footnotes omitted].
A “good heart”
If the words of
Rabbi Elazar ben Arach are to be given their literal meaning, they must be
interpreted widely enough to embrace the words of all four other talmidim.
On this basis, the “good heart” may refer to the heart as a metaphor for the
focal point of a person’s disposition, just as in English one might describe a
person as being “good-hearted.” Rabbi Elazer’s suggestion would therefore be a counsel
of perfection: in short, the best path is to do what is right at all times in a
warm, friendly and accommodating manner, being slow to anger, quick to forgive,
willing to share, foresighted and prudent in all his dealings, and as happy at
the good fortune of others as he would be at his own [footnotes omitted].
There
should be no doubt that magnanimity is a broader category of good-heartedness
than is generosity. For example, where two protagonists are engaged in a game
of chess, if the loser can feel genuine warmth towards the winner and share the
latter’s happiness at winning, he is said to be magnanimous in defeat. To say
that he is generous might rather suggest that he gave the game away.
As ever, readers’ comments and perspectives are welcome.
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