Pirkei Avot - Ethics of the Fathers

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Chapter 3 Mishna 6
פרק ג משנה ו

Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakana would say: "whoever takes upon himself the yoke of torah has the yoke of the government and the yoke of livelihood removed from him. And whoever removes from himself the yoke of torah, has the yoke of the government and the yoke of livelihood placed upon him".
רַבִּי נְחוּנְיָא בֶּן הַקָּנָה אוֹמֵר, כָּל הַמְקַבֵּל עָלָיו עֹל תּוֹרָה, מַעֲבִירִין מִמֶּנּוּ עֹל מַלְכוּת וְעֹל דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ. וְכָל הַפּוֹרֵק מִמֶּנּוּ עֹל תּוֹרָה, נוֹתְנִין עָלָיו עֹל מַלְכוּת וְעֹל דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ:


~Level 1~
Bartenura - "the yoke of the government (malchut)" - the yoke of the king and ministers (government).

"the yoke of livelihood (derech eretz)" - the toil and efforts in making a livelihood because his work is blessed.

"whoever removes from himself the yoke of torah" - one who says: "the yoke of torah is difficult and I am unable to bear it".
~Level 2~
Rabeinu Yonah - "yoke of the government" - since he makes his torah primary and his work secondary, The Holy One, blessed be He, will guard him from all evil and from the need to interrupt his torah study. And G-d will not put in the king's heart to take him for his work. He will be saved from the government to do the will of his Father in Heaven to toil in torah.

"yoke of derech eretz" - he will not need to do much work for his livelihood. A little work will suffice him to sustain himself. For the work of a Tzadik (righteous man) is blessed and he is happy with his portion.

"whoever removes" - he thinks to work a lot through abandoning the work of torah. But G-d foils his plan and puts in the king's heart to take him for his work. For "a king's heart is like rivulets of water in the G-d's hand; wherever He wishes, He turns it" (Mishlei 21:1).

"the yoke of livelihood placed upon him" - he will strain and wander after his livelihood but will not find it. And even if he finds it, he will not be happy with his portion. He wll squander all his days in vanity to amass wealth and increase it, similar to: "Whoever loves silver will not be sated with silver" (Kohelet 5:9). Thus all his days are troubles and he wastes them in toil and strain and he will not have rest forever.
~Level 2~
Hanhagot HaGr'a - immediately upon waking up from one's bed, to say wholeheartedly and with joy: "I accept upon myself the yoke of torah today" (Hanhagot HaGr'a)
~Level 3~
Matanat Avot - it is written: "man was born to toil" (Job 5:7). Thus, every person must toil and endeavor in something during his life. This must be something heavy and pressuring that he is forced to toil in otherwise it is not considered toil. Hence, since man was born to toil, then only if he toils in something specific will he find satisfaction (sipuk) in life. For then he will have fulfilled the purpose of his creation and the form of man within him.

Thus for something very easy , there is no satisfaction in doing it. Only when man invests himself and toils in something difficult for him - then he will have joy and satisfaction when he succeeds in standing up to the thing he took upon himself.

Thus it is not enough for a man to sit and study torah lightly, such as reading the torah portion every day, or "chok l'yisrael", or tehilim in order to save himself from the yoke of the government and livelihood. For then he will not have toil - neither in torah nor in livelihood. How then will he find satisfaction and fulfillment of his purpose in life (to toil)?

Therefore, G-d fixed in the creation that only one who takes on himself completely the yoke of torah and this is his goal and life and all his labor and work is to attain a certain ambitious level in torah - he will merit to be exempted from the yoke of government and livelihood.

For since he has taken on a yoke, then he has what to fulfill man's purpose to toil, and there is no need to saddle on him another toil...

~Level 4~
Rabbi Avraham Azoulai - Ahava b'Taanugim - "the yoke of the government (Malchut)" - (kabalistic - the trait of Malchut, namely, the Shechina which governs the world and decrees good or bad. But he who accepts the yoke of torah can annul the decrees of the Malchut Shamayim. He can even annul the yoke of nature whenever he wants, namely, the physical laws of nature since the six days of creation. This is similar to: "He who decreed that oil should burn can decree that vinegar shoud burn" (Taanit 25a). So too for many other righteous men who could change nature.