Ben Zoma controversially teaches (Avot 4:1):
אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם, הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם
Who is wise? One who learns from
every man.
“Can this be right?” Our sages and commentators on Avot have
long affirmed the principle but many have questioned the practice. Is it right
to learn from non-Jews, idolators, apostates, criminals, animals—or even women?
The answer, essentially, is yes. Wherever something of value can be learned, we
should take the opportunity to learn it. Rambam is a leading exponent of this
principle, even to the extent that he refuses to comply with the requirement in
Avot 6:6 of citing his sources by name. As he writes in his introduction to the
Shemonah Perakim:
“It is important to know … that I
did not originate the ideas expressed or the explanations offered in these
chapters or in my commentary [to Pirkei Avot]; rather, they have been collected
from the words of the Sages in midrashim, the Talmud, and in their other works,
as well as from the words of earlier and later philosophers [Jewish and
non-Jewish], and from the works of many others. Accept the truth from whoever
utters it. … I will .. not say, "So-and-so said this" or
"So-and-so said that" because that would be unnecessarily wordy.
Furthermore, it might make a reader who does not accept the author think that
what he said is harmful or has a sinister intent that he is unaware of.
Therefore I decided to leave out the author's name, for my aim is to help the
reader and explain what is hidden away in this tractate”.
To illustrate how widely the net of prospective and
potentially objectionable sources can be spread, Reb Zusha of Anipoli is said
to have taught his followers that he learned seven things from a thief and a
further three from an infant—all of which being lessons that could be put into
practice in the service of God.
The seven lessons learned from the thief are as follows (as
listed in R’ Tal Moshe Zwicker, Ma’asei Avos: Pirkei Avos through the eyes
of the Baal Shem Tov and their disciples):
· He works at night when he can see but not be seen;
· If he fails today, he is not discouraged and tries again tomorrow;
· He loves his fellows and would never harm them;
· He is willing to sacrifice and even place himself in danger for any job, large or small;
· He will sell his wares even for a small profit so long as he covers his tracks;
· He does not reveal his past and he does not tell what he will do in the future;
· He loves his job and would never switch to another profession.
The three things learned from the infant run like this:
· He is always busy and never idle for a moment;
· If he lacks anything he asks for it, crying and begging, shedding tears;
· If he does not lack anything, he is joyful and happy, full of glee, peace and contentment.
Having said this, I have some disquiet over the content of
Reb Zusha’s thief list. Are these all things even true? And are they things
that are useful in our service to God? If
it was ever true that a thief “loves his fellows and would never harm them”, I
doubt that many of us would be able to extract that message from the thieves of
today, and it is hard to see how the fact that a person “does not reveal his
past and he does not tell what he will do in the future” aids in serving an
omniscient God who exists beyond time. The infant list, though much shorter,
seems far more appropriate.
I’m curious to know what readers of Avot Today think about
this. Do please share your views—and do offer some original suggestions as to
what we might learn from other occupations.
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