LESSON 7 Pirkei Avos (Ethics of the Fathers) 1:11 and 1:12
By Rabbi Moishe Lichtenstein
Director of Torah Links of Eastern Monmouth County

Topic of the Week
Radical Honesty

Introduction

Sometimes the truth is hard to handle. Whether we are educating our children, discussing our lives with our parents, or just schmoozing with friends, we tend to filter our presentation, lest we deal with the consequence of bluntly saying things just the way they are. In the following Mishnayos, we will see both the importance and power of telling the truth and how it can bring peace into our lives and the lives of the people around us.

Text of Mishna:

11. Avtalyon says: Teachers, be cautious with your words, lest you be exiled to the place of forbidden waters. The students who will follow will drink and die, and the name of G-d will be desecrated.

12. Hillel and Shamai received the tradition from them. Hillel says: Be a student of Aaron, love peace and pursue peace, love people and you will bring them closer to Torah.

Quick Questions

Key Commentaries

Teachers are cautioned against making statements that are inaccurate, vague or ambiguous, as they may impart erroneous views that result in spiritual and moral deviations from goodness and truth. “The place of forbidden waters” refers to ambiguous teachings and views presented without due caution from the teacher, which could pose a grave danger. The students might misinterpret these teachings and follow them erroneously, as though their teacher had intentionally taught them that way, and fall victim to moral death. (Rabbi S.R. Hirsch)

There are those who would really like to see a peaceful society, but will not lend a hand in creating and maintaining it. Likewise, there are others who are active in peace efforts, yet they do not harbor true affection for peace deep in their hearts. Therefore Hillel stresses, “Love peace and pursue peace.” (Rabbeinu Yonah)

Love people and you will bring them closer to Torah. Aaron would meet a sinner and befriend him. The sinner would then say to himself “How can I behave this way when I have a friend like Aaron the High Priest?” He would be motivated to study Torah and live a moral life. (Rabbeinu Yonah)

In Mishna 11 we are taught to teach Torah morals accurately; in Mishna 12 we are taught to live Torah morals accurately.

Practical Applications

• 1) Rav Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, who was a pharmacist by trade, compared a teacher’s words to a physician’s medication. Just as a doctor meticulously weighs every medication he prescribes, so too a teacher must weigh the impact of his words upon the physical and spiritual welfare of each of his students. (Maggidei HaEmes)

• 2) The word “shalom” is almost always translated as peace. Actually, the root of “shalom” is “shalem,” which means complete or perfect. It follows that the real meaning of “shalom” is perfection. Real peace is achieved through perfection. Real peace helps people change for the better, as opposed to political peace that just panders to what people want to hear.

Resolutions

• “In educating and disciplining my children, I will try to be consistent and truthful so they will not see any contradictions in my words and/or actions.”

• “I will seek the truth even when it has a potentially uncomfortable outcome.”

For Review

• 1) Why is honesty so important?
  
• 2) Where can I find Truth? How can I teach it to others?

Points to Ponder

• 1) If you knew that telling someone the truth would hurt him or her, should you alter the facts or simply find a way to tell him/her the unadulterated truth?
  
• 2) Think about events in your life that might have turned out differently if you would have been completely honest.