Pirkei Avot - Ethics of the Fathers

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Chapter 3 Mishna 14
פרק ג משנה יד

Rabbi Elazar of Moda'ih would say: "one who profanes the Kodashim ("holy things"), one who dishonors the Holidays, one who pales (humiliates) the face of his fellow in public, one who annuls the Brit (covenant) of Avraham our forefather, and one who reveals facets of Torah not in line with Halacha (distorts torah) - even though he possesses torah and good deeds - he has no share in the World-to-Come.
רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר הַמּוֹדָעִי אוֹמֵר, הַמְחַלֵּל אֶת הַקָּדָשִׁים, וְהַמְבַזֶּה אֶת הַמּוֹעֲדוֹת, וְהַמַּלְבִּין פְּנֵי חֲבֵרוֹ בָרַבִּים, וְהַמֵּפֵר בְּרִיתוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם, וְהַמְגַלֶּה פָנִים בַּתּוֹרָה שֶׁלֹּא כַהֲלָכָה, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּיָדוֹ תוֹרָה וּמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים, אֵין לוֹ חֵלֶק לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא


~Level 1~
Yachel Yisrael - one who profanes..dishonors.. pales.. - every case is said in present tense. "profanes", "dishonors", etc. This is to emphasize that we are talking about a person who continues in his wickedness. But one who did this in the past and regretted it and repented - he escaped from this accusation (kitrug) of "he has no share in the World-to-Come"
~Level 1~
Sforno - "even though he possesses torah and good deeds" - for without a doubt his deeds are not directed to the will of his Maker and his torah is just external lip service.
~Level 3~
Siftei Daat on Avot (R.Yerucham Levovitz) (quoting "Daas Chochma u'Mussar chelek 2 part 12, chelek 3 part 32-33") - "one who profanes the Kodashim" - the talmud (Sanhedrin 99a) says that we learn this from the verse: "for he treated the L-rds' word with contempt.. (ki devar H' baza)" (Bamidbar 15:31), etc. This [mishna] reveals to us a new insight (gilui chadash).

For it seems to require great investigation (tzarich iyun gadol). After all, profaning the kodashim and dishonoring the Holidays are not among the severe sins. For one does not incur death by Beit Din nor karet (excision) for these sins.

Furthermore, for those capital sins which incur the most severe death penalty - death by stoning, such as desecrating the Sabbath, nevertheless, the person still has a share in the World to Come. But these five don't have a share in the world to come??

Likewise, for one who "pales the face of his fellow", this is nothing but the "dust" of murder (i.e. a very faint form of murder). How can this possibly be more severe than actual murder? For a murderer does have a share in the world to Come. This is a great wonder!

It seems the answer is that the verse "for he treated the G-d's word with contempt.. (ki devar H' baza)" (Bamidbar 15:31)" teaches us a special prohibition on disrespecting the word of G-d. For through this, one disrespects G-d and His honor and the main [pillar] of the entire creation was: "all that is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, I formed and made" (Isaiah 43:7).

Thus for one who disrespects the word of G-d and His honor, this is a sin more severe than all other sins in the torah. For all other sins in the torah, even the most severe ones whereby one transgresses them because his evil inclination overpowered him, even rebelliously, but nevertheless, in this he did not strike (pogeah) [directly] at G-d's honor.

But for one who profanes the Kodashim (temple offerings) or disrespects the holidays, even though the sin itself is not so severe, but "he treated G-d's word with contempt" and this is striking at the honor of G-d. Thus, this is a sin by itself which is more severe than all other sins and weighs like the whole torah. Due to this he has no share in the world to come.

Just as we explained the matter between man and G-d, so too is the matter between man and his fellow. For in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Nedarim 9:4):
" 'Love your fellow as yourself' (Lev.19:18) - Rabbi Akiva said: 'this is the great general principle of the torah'. Ben Azai said the verse: 'This is the book of the generations of man [on the day that G-d created man, in the likeness of G-d He created him]..' (Genesis 5:1) - this is an even greater general principle of the torah'"
Furthermore, our sages taught: "know whom you are disrespecting. For He made man in the image of G-d" (Ber.Rabba 24:8).

According to Ben Azai, "this is the book of the generations of man" is a greater general principle [than love your fellow]. For a man is obligated to honor his fellow more than himself. This is as our sages said: "a man is asked at the time of judgment: 'did you coronate your fellow pleasantly'" (brought in Reishit Chachma, Shaar Yirah ch.12) - i.e. to honor him the honor of a king. For he is an image of G-d. This is a duty by itself - to be careful of the honor of your fellow to the extent of coronating him [as a king]. This is besides the other laws between man and his fellow.

According to this, it is well understood that which we learned: "one who pales the face of his fellow.. has no share in the World-to-Come". For even though "paling someone's face" is only the dust (avak) of murder (i.e. much less). But nevertheless, one who dishonors (mevaze) the honor of his fellow who was created in the image of G-d, this is the most severe sin between man and man. Due to this, he has no portion in the world to come.

We can understand from here how great is the reward for one who honors other people. For G-d's trait of good (reward) is greater [than the trait of punishment].

This (honoring others) is the general principle of the entire torah. And according to Ben Azai, it is an even greater general principle than "love your fellow as yourself". The matter is awesome and wondrous.

When we contemplate this, we will see that the whole torah is but laws of honor (hilchot kavod). The foundation of the whole torah is nothing but the matter of "honor". This is the central matter which encompasses the whole torah. Honor of G-d and honor of the image of G-d. The entire torah is divided into these two types of honor - honor of Heaven, which is called the torah "laws between man and G-d", and honor of others from which branches out the torah (laws) between man and his fellow.

Thus according to our words, the structure of the torah in a nutshell is honor of G-d and honor of the image of G-d. The rest is just an explanation. Go and learn.
~Level 3~
Matnat Avot - for each Jew was created with a tzelem Elokim (image of G-d) and the whole structure of man's body includes the structure of all the mystical worlds and all their powers (see Nefesh Hachaim ch.1). And every Jew has a divine soul within him which is a "part of G-d" (Chelek Eloka) and there is no Jew which is not very precious and important in G-d's eyes. For G-d permitted one to transgress the whole torah (except three sins) in order to save the life of a Jew, regardless of how much righteousness or fear of Heaven he has (except for heretics who excluded themselves from the Jewish people and have no portion in the G-d of Israel).

Thus, according to this, one who pales (humiliates) his fellow publicly (which is a form of murder), he murders, so to speak, a piece of the Holy One, blessed be He, ch'v.

For this Jew which you humiliated is also a son of the Holy One, blessed be He and an attack on him is an attack on the Holy One, blessed be He, as our sages said: "one who slaps the cheek of a Jew is as if he slapped the cheek of the Shechina (G-d)" (Sanhedrin 58b).

There is no coincidence in the world! This chidush (insight) was written eve of the fourth day of the week of Parsha Vayeshev 5778. And exactly on the fourth aliyah is the story of Tamar from which our sages deduced that it is better to throw oneself in a furnace rather than humiliate someone publicly.
~Level 4~
Daas Chachma u'Mussar, chelek 3, p.36 - the pious Yavetz wrote:
For their sin is similar to heresy which uproots the whole torah. For the great foundation upon which the whole torah revolves around is that man has tremendous powers to demolish and destroy. This is to such an extent that by merely uttering one small word, he can make hekdesh (holy) a thousand, thousand portions, etc.

On this he said: "one who profanes the kodashim.." He tells himself "they were chulin (non-holy) before this".

And likewise, one who dishonors the holidays, etc, and so too for the others, it is as if he has uprooted this foundation. Due to this, his punishment is as severe as one who denies the whole torah". end quote
We learn from his holy words that it is in this that he does not believe and recognize the power of man.

For if he recognized this matter, he would realize that there are no small things. Because one who understands the root of man, just how far is his portion, for man is a "sapling planted" (netzer matai) in the World to Come, then he would realize that all his deeds have lofty and supernal effects according to their roots in Olam Haba.

This is a sign that he has no portion and no connection with spiritual matters in Olam Haba and he is cut off from his root and separated from there. His residence is only in this world.

This explanation applies to all other cases which our sages stated the punishment of "has no portion in the world to come" such as embarrassing someone publicly, or honoring oneself through putting others down, etc. etc.

They are light in his eyes because he has no portion there in the world to come...

We learn from this that all of a man's toil is to be always cleaving to spiritual concepts (iyunim). Through this he will distance from the murgash (physical appearance which deceives).

And in Daat Chochma u'Mussar chelek beit, 71:

For why in truth does he not understand the greatness of man (haAdam biyakar)? Certainly it is because he does not recognize the greatness of the matters. "the severe matters appear light to him" (chamurot domot alav k'kalot). This is because his portion is only in the physical world. And from the physical world perspective, man's speech has no importance. For in the physical world, there is no (spiritual) greatness or importance. Thus everything is light and lowly by him.

But in the spiritual world, it is the opposite. Light things look important. There it is certainly already understood that man's speech literally splits Heavens (bokeah reki'im).

This is what our sages said: "Eighteen curses did Isaiah pronounce upon Israel, yet he was not pacified until he pronounced upon them this verse: The youth shall behave insolently against the older, and the lowly against the honorable" (Chagigah 14a). For the final curse which Isaiah cursed the Jews was: "the lowly against the honorable" - "Let one come of whom the severe appears light and act insolently on one of whom the light appears severe".

This is the main point which encompasses our generation of the "footsteps of the Messiah" (ikvatei d'mashichei). For in our times all greatness and severity of matters has been lost.