A recent post (“Mishnah, motive and mind-games: can you make
the right decision?”, here)
discusses the teaching of Akavyia ben Mahalalel at Avot 3:1:
עֲקַבְיָא בֶּן
מַהֲלַלְאֵל אוֹמֵר: הִסְתַּכֵּל בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה דְבָרִים, וְאֵין אַתָּה בָא לִידֵי
עֲבֵרָה. דַּע מֵאַֽיִן בָּֽאתָ, וּלְאָן אַתָּה הוֹלֵךְ, וְלִפְנֵי מִי אַתָּה
עָתִיד לִתֵּן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן. מֵאַֽיִן בָּֽאתָ: מִטִּפָּה סְרוּחָה. וּלְאָן
אַתָּה הוֹלֵךְ: לִמְקוֹם עָפָר רִמָּה וְתוֹלֵעָה. וְלִפְנֵי מִי אַתָּה עָתִיד
לִתֵּן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן: לִפְנֵי מֶֽלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ
בָּרוּךְ הו
Reflect upon three things and you
will not come to the hands of transgression. Know where you came from, where
you are going, and before whom you will give an account of yourself. Where did
you come from? A putrid drop. Where are you going? To a place of dust, worms
and [other] worms. And before whom will you give an account of yourself? Before
the supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.
This is the second Mishnah in Avot to open with the words: “Reflect
upon three things and you will not come to the hands of transgression”. We find
them in the opening Mishnah to the second perek where Rebbi teaches:
הִסְתַּכֵּל
בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה דְבָרִים, וְאֵין אַתָּה בָא לִידֵי עֲבֵרָה, דַּע מַה לְּמַֽעְלָה
מִמָּךְ, עַֽיִן רוֹאָה וְאֹֽזֶן שׁוֹמַֽעַת, וְכָל מַעֲשֶֽׂיךָ בְּסֵֽפֶר
נִכְתָּבִים
Reflect upon three things, and
you will not come to the hands of transgression: Know what is above you: a
seeing eye, a listening ear, and all your deeds being inscribed in a book.
Many commentators have asked why Rebbi, who redacted the
tractate, felt it necessary to include both his prescription for sin avoidance
and that of his distinguished precursor, and there are many answers. I’ve just
come across a fresh one, thanks to Rabbi Asher Weiss’s recently published
two-volume set, Rav Asher Weiss on Avos. There he writes:
“It would seem that the method of
Akavya ben Mahalalel does not apply at all times; it is only to be employed
when a person’s yetzer hara seeks to overcome him. It is not recommended
that a person constantly consider where he came from and where he is heading.
Doing so will likely lead him to sadness. It is, moreover, only effective for a
short period, while thinking about it constantly is likely to make it less
effective. He should instead use this method only when his yetzer hara
is about to overcome him and he cannot otherwise prevail against it.
By contrast, Rebbi’s advice
offers a pathway upon which a person should treat constantly. He should
remember that there is a ‘watchful eye, an attentive ear, and all your deeds
are recorded in a book’—Hashem looks into his heart and soul at every moment…”
In other words, we are instructed to try Rebbi’s approach
first. That’s Plan A and it’s for everyone. Plan B, Akavya ben Mahalalel’s
prescription, is only applicable where the yetzer hara is particularly
stubborn.
Pirkei Avot being full of mussar, it is unsurprising
that it offers not only a Plan C but a Plan D, though they are not expressed in
precisely the same terms. Plan C is to learn Torah for its own sake, which
distances a person from sin (Avot 6:1, per Rabbi Meir). Then if that doesn’t
work, Plan D is to carry on learning Torah but get stuck into one’s day job
too. This should have the effect of making oneself so heavily engaged in one’s
studies and discharging one’s work and family obligations that all thought of
sinning is forgotten (Avot 2:2, per Rebbi’s son Rabban Gamliel).
Well, readers, which do YOU find the most efficacious—and why?
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