with a select treasury of commentaries on all levels of Torah interpretation
Chapter 2 Mishna 19
with select commentaries
Commentaries used in this translation:
Rashi Commentary (1040-1105)
Rambam Commentary (1135-1204)
Rabbi Ovadiah of Bartenura Commentary (1445-1515)
Tiferet Yisrael commentary (1782–1860)
Rabeinu Yonah (1180-1263)
Derech Chaim - Maharal of Prague (1525-1609) (hebrewbooks.org/14193)
Biur HaGra of Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna - (1720-1797)
Rabbi Avraham Azoulai commentary - (1570-1643)
Rabbi Chayim Yosef David Azoulai (Chida) commentary - (1724-1806)
Chatam Sofer commentary - (1762-1839), along with Ktav Sofer, and others
Ben Ish Chai commentary - (1835-1909)
and many more..
Commentary Level:
- Min - (level 1) for basic commentaries as relating to the plain meaning (Pshat).
- Med - (level 2) elaborates more into the theme.
- Max - (level 3) deeper in, Maharal of Prague.
- Max+ - (level 4) more themes in the text.
- ShortMix - (recommended) short version of level 4.
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Chapter 2 Mishna 19פרק ב משנה יט
| He [Rabbi Tarfon] would say: it is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you free to idle from it. If you have learned much Torah, you will be given much reward, and your Employer is faithful to pay you the reward of your labor, but know that the giving of reward to the righteous is in the world to come. | הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר, וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּה. אִם לָמַדְתָּ תוֹרָה הַרְבֵּה, נוֹתְנִים לְךָ שָׂכָר הַרְבֵּה. וְנֶאֱמָן הוּא בַעַל מְלַאכְתְּךָ שֶׁיְּשַׁלֵּם לְךָ שְׂכַר פְּעֻלָּתֶךָ. וְדַע מַתַּן שְׂכָרָן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא |
Bartenura - "it is not incumbent upon you to complete the work" - the Holy One, blessed be He, did not require that you finish all of it or lose your reward. Perhaps you will say: "I will not learn and I won't take reward!"...
"neither are you free to idle from it" - the yoke to work is upon you by force.
Rabeinu Yonah - "it is not incumbent upon you to complete the work" - do not think, I am not so smart and cannot finish it. What good is my labor and what will my toil help? - It is not your job to finish it. Rather since you are toiling in Torah, you are fulfilling the command of your Creator.
"but neither are you free to idle from it" - don't say since I am not obligated to finish the work, I will not burden myself. Rather, I will learn one hour per day! It is not so. For you are an acquired servant to contemplate in it day and night - then you will succeed..
Yesod HaEmuna, Rabbi Baruch of Kasov - "it is not incumbent upon you to complete the work" - there is a worker (poel) and craftsman (kablan). The worker is hired for the day, while the craftsman takes upon himself to complete the job. What is the difference between the two? The day worker is not permitted to pause from his work.
This is what is written "it is not incumbent upon you to complete the work". i.e. you are not a craftsman (kablan) but rather a day worker. Therefore, "you are not free to idle from it". Perhaps this is the reason there is no reward in this world. For payment is due at the end and the end is only after death. Because all the time he is alive it is not called the end since he is still bound to the work.
Tiferet Yehoshua - "neither are you free to idle from it" - one might think why should I learn Torah matters I will never use?
Know that the learning itself and the knowledge is a divine commandment. It acquires for a man a straight intellect, perfection in his soul and illuminates his soul directing him to the path of Life.
Ohr Yechezel, part 6, yegata umatzata - a person should not despair on seeing the work is great and many trials stand before him and his abilities are not sufficient to bring him to greatness. For "it is not incumbent upon you to complete the work". True, one who learns Torah and attains Shlemut (levels of perfection) will receive much reward. But nevertheless, he should know that the main thing depends on toil and effort. According to his toil will be the reward.. Even if one does not see with his eyes progress and attainment of levels, nevertheless he must know that the reward of the righteous is not in this world. It is in the next world. There he will delight in G-d on all he toiled and labored to break his bad character traits and tendencies
Tosfot Yom Tov - since he said earlier that the reward is great, a man may tend to tell himself: "I will receive great reward if I learn one hour. Afterwards I will sit idle fom Torah because I already have much reward to receive."
Thus, he said: "If you have learned much Torah, you will be given much reward", otherwise no. For on the contrary you will be punished for the sin of bitul Torah..
Ben Ish Chai - Birkat Avot - "if you have learned much Torah, you will be given much reward" - true a man needs to toil for his livelihood, but the hours you toil in Torah should be more than the hours you toil in your livelihood. This is "if you have learned much Torah", i.e. more than what you toil in your livelihood. Then certainly you will be given great reward in olam haba.
Tiferet Yehoshua - "giving of reward" - from the word "gift". For even the reward of the righteous is a gift of G-d in the world of truth. Because as our sages said:"Man's Evil Inclination gathers strength against him daily and seeks to slay him, for it is said: 'The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him', and were not the Holy One, blessed be He, to help him [man], he would not be able to prevail against him', for it is said: 'The L-rd will not leave him in his hand'" (Kidushin 30b).Thus all the mitzvot a person did in this world were performed only with G-d's help. Without His help, one would not be able to become a tzadik. Thus the reward is a gift.
Tiferet Yehoshua - "know that the giving of reward unto the righteous is in the world to come" - take heart to know and understand that it must be in the next world. For if it were openly in this world, there would no longer be any free will.
Sfas Emes on Avot - "know that the giving of reward to the righteous is in the world to come" - specifically for the tzadikim. But for the wicked, when they have some merit, they are paid in this world, as written: "He pays those He hates..." For the Beinonim (middle people), they are paid partially in this world and partially in Olam Haba.
Chida - Zeroah Yamin - in the book Eished Bachalim, the author asks: "why does G-d not pay reward in this world due to the mitzvah of (Devarim 24:15): 'do not delay payment of wages' (baal talin)?" He answers that fear of G-d is in man's hand. And when a man does a mitzvah or learns Torah with fear [of G-d], he acquires it with the law of "improving the vessel" (koneh b'shevach kli), and in that case there is no mitzvah of 'do not delay wages' (baal talin). This works for a tzadik but for a rasha there is no fear. Therefore G-d pays him in this world due to 'do not delay' (baal talin). This is a summary of his words.
Thus here it says "your Employer is faithful to pay you the reward of your work". For you acquired (your work) through shevach kli... understand this well.
Ben Ish Chai - Birkat Avot - "know that the giving of reward to the righteous is in the world to come" - there is to ask, how can he be given great payment in Olam Haba? It appears like interest, because if he were paid in this world in cash, it would not have been so much..
The answer is that it is like the wages of a worker (schar sachir) whose din (law) is to be paid at the end, i.e. in the next world. Thus the time of payment was not during his time in this world.. If you ask "but it looks like interest?" On this he said: "know that the giving of reward to the righteous is in the world to come", in Olam Haba, i.e. I am stipulating a condition on you that the payment will be in Olam Haba and thus you have no claim in this world...
Chida - Zeroah Yamin - "know that the giving of reward to the righteous is in the world to come" - it is implied from what our sages said in the talmud (Bava Kama 9a) and Rashi and Tosfot that which a man does beyond his obligation, G-d will pay him reward in his life (in this world). For this is not in the category of "there is no reward for mitzvot in this world". From there we learn that one who does more than his obligation, his reward is from justice (din). For he was not commanded on this.
Maharal - "it is not incumbent upon you to complete the work.." - there is to ask a big question here. Here it is implied that everything (the reward) is according to the greatness [of the amount] of Torah he learned. For he said: "If you have learned much Torah, you will be given much reward".
However in the Talmud (Berachot 5b):
R. Eleazar fell ill and R. Yohanan went in to visit him. He noticed that he was lying in a dark room, and he bared his arm and light radiated from it. Thereupon he noticed that R. Eleazar was weeping, and he said to him: Why do you weep? Is it because you did not study enough Torah? Surely we learnt:This implies he who learned much and he who learned little are equal.
"The one who [sacrifices] much and the one who [sacrifices] little have the same merit, provided that the heart is directed to Heaven".
But here he said: "if you have learned much Torah, you will be given much reward".
We may say that here it is referring to toil. Namely, if you learned Torah and you pained yourself greatly, "you will be given much reward", according to the toil and effort, as we explained earlier in the chapter (on be careful of a light mitzvah like a weighty one.." - Avot 2:1), see there.
But certainly if one person learned much Torah in one year and toiled for that year, while another person learned a little Torah in one year and toiled for that year - both are equal.
This is also the explanation of that mishna which Rabbi Yochanan brought proof from. It said by the burnt offering of a bull: "a fire offering, [with] a pleasing fragrance to the L-ord" (Vayikra 1:9), and by a mere flour offering: "[it is] a fire offering [with] a pleasing fragrance to the L-ord" (Vayikra 2:2), to teach "The one who [sacrifices] much and the one who [sacrifices] little have the same merit, provided that the heart is directed to Heaven"..
The intent is not that both are completely equal. For if so, why would anyone bring a bull? Rather, the explanation is that when a rich man increases in the Korban and brings a bull while the poor man brings only a bird or a flour offering, it does not mean that the rich man has more reward. For since the poor man was equally pained in bringing the bird or flour than the rich man was pained in bringing the bull - both are equal.
But if the poor man brought a bull that is certainly greater. For he pained himself more...
So too if one learned a little and another learned alot but both pained themselves equally, their reward is equal. And that which was said here: "if you learned much Torah..", it refers to much toil and effort even though he did not learn much Torah... For it is impossible to finish the work of Torah. Thus, the reward is not for having learned much and finishing the work since there is no finishing... (see there).