One destination, two paths

There is a strange mishnah at Avot 5:21:

כָּל הַמְזַכֶּה אֶת הָרַבִּים, אֵין חֵטְא בָּא עַל יָדוֹ, וְכָל הַמַּחֲטִיא אֶת הָרַבִּים, אֵין מַסְפִּיקִין בְּיָדוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה. מֹשֶׁה זָכָה וְזִכָּה אֶת הָרַבִּים, זְכוּת הָרַבִּים תָּלוּי בּוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: צִדְקַת יְיָ עָשָׂה, וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו עִם יִשְׂרָאֵל. יָרָבְעָם בֶּן נְבָט חָטָא וְהֶחֱטִיא אֶת הָרַבִּים, חֵטְא הָרַבִּים תָּלוּי בּוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: עַל חַטֹּאות יָרָבְעָם אֲשֶׁר חָטָא, וַאֲשֶׁר הֶחֱטִיא אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל

Whoever causes the community to be meritorious, no sin will come by his hand. But anyone who causes the community to sin is not given the opportunity to repent.

Moses was meritorious and caused the community to be meritorious, so the community's merit is attributed to him; as it says: "He did God's righteousness, and His laws with Israel" (Devarim 33:21). Jeroboam the son of Nevat sinned and caused the community to sin, so the community's sin is attributed to him, as it says: "For the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and caused Israel to sin" (I Melachim 15:30).

Let’s leave aside the issues of what the verses cited in support of this teaching actually prove, and why the first of the two does not even refer to Moses, and move on to another point, one that our Sages discuss. They ask: when the mishnah says, of the person who makes the community meritorious, “no sin will come by his hand”, to whose sin does this refer? Is it the person who benefits the community who is saved from sinning—or is it the community itself?

R' Shimshon Raphael Hirsch mentions both possible readings and treats them as being valid, as does R’ Abraham J. Twerski (Visions of the Fathes). Some commentators opt for the latter since this is the reward that the community gets for following the example of its righteous leader. R’ Avraham Azulai (Ahavah beTa’anugim) gives the example that, when the leader performs an act which is normally forbidden  but for which he has a heter (permission), it will not happen that others, watching him, will perform the same act in breach of halachah. The Meiri argues however that it must mean the leader, since he should not go to Gehinnom when he dies while his community relishes the joys of the Garden of Eden. R’ Yitzchak Magriso (Me’am Lo’ez) supports this view, which originates with Rambam.

Now here’s a fresh perspective on this Mishnah, based on an idea of Maharam Shik.

Looking generally at people whose actions benefit the community, we can divide them into two camps. There are those who act this way because they love God and are motivated by their love for Him to do His will by assisting His creations to keep on the right path. There are also those who are motivated by love for their fellow humans, with whom they empathise and deeply wish to elevate to heightened standards of behaviour towards God and man.

What is the significance of this distinction? Perhaps it offers a key to unlock the answer to our question above. We can say that, where a person is driven by love for God, it is he who will not be caused to sin in the process of helping others. However, where a person seeks to help others because of his love for them, it is they who will not be led into the grasp of sin.

In reality we do not live in a binary world in which everything is either-or. There is no reason why a person cannot be motivated both by love of God and by love of one’s fellow humans. Indeed, when it comes to either seeking to acquire Torah learning (Avot 6:6) or to learning Torah for its own sake and without any ulterior motive (Avot 6:1), the paradigm figure is one who loves both God and His creations.

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The message on the door

How should we deal with other people? Pirkei Avot is full of general guidance. Thus, for instance, we should love them and lead them into the ways of the Torah (1:12), which essentially means the ways of peace (Proverbs 3:17). We should greet them pleasantly (1:15, 3:16) and give them personal space when they need it (4:23). If they are bad neighbours or a bad influence we should keep our distance (1:7), but we should give them the benefit of the doubt if we can (1:6).

Avot also encourages us to learn from everyone (4:1). It is a bit of a cliche to talk about getting an education from the University of Life, but we should recognise our potential to learn from everything in the world and from every experience we have, regardless of whether we set out to do so or whether the lesson is painfully imprinted on us.

One of my favourite lessons comes from the door to the Pomeranz bookshop in Jerusalem. The outside of the front door carries a notice that reads "Pull gently"; on the inside, a corresponding notice reads "Push gently". In the nicest possible way I felt that this door was speaking to me. Its message: this is exactly how we should strive to deal with other people.

Every one of us has the capacity to make an impact on others. Sometimes we consciously or unconsciously influence those who are around us. On other occasions we feel their influence and may want to lessen it or even break free from it altogether. The message of the door is clear, though: whatever we do, and whichever way we go, we should be gentle where and when we can.

In practical terms this means that. whether we wish to pull others into the orbit of our lives or push back from their hopes and plans for us, we should treat them gently and with respect because they, like us, are created in the image of God (Avot 3:18, citing Genesis 9:6). No shouting, no pressurising, no psychological warfare -- only be gentle with others, just like you would prefer them to be towards you.

Avot and leadership: practical applications for ancient advice

I am always pleased so see people taking the ancient sayings in Pirkei Avot and applying them to our current lives and lifestyles. That's why I was happy to read Randi Braun's post in the Jewish Journal, "What Does Leading With Heart Look Like in Modern Life?" This piece looks at Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai's question to his five top talmidim (Avot 2:13): "what is the good path that a person should stick to?", together with their various answers. Rather than just discuss the "winning" answer, the author considers the virtues of all five within the context of leadership and making an impact on others.