The Maharal M'Prague's Explanations on Pirkei Avos
By Rabbi Shaya Karlinsky
http://torah.org/learning/maharal/archives.html
Chapter 2: Mishna 9
Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai received (the tradition) from Hillel and Shammai. He used to say: If you have learned a large amount of Torah, don't hold yourself in high regard, since it was for this purpose that you were created.
Why is the lesson of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai taught after the lessons of Rebbe and Rabban Gamliel, even though he lived before them?
Furthermore, why is it important to know that he received the tradition from Hillel and Shammai? We wrote in the first chapter that the reason the transmission process was only traced until Hillel and Shammai was because of the deterioration in the quality of the transmission. Why is it relevant here?
The chapter opened with the lesson of Rebbe on the straight path that a person should choose. It was therefore appropriate to include with it Rabban Yochanan be Zakkai's question to his students (in the following Mishna) about the path to which a person should attach himself. But the Tanna wanted to follow Rebbe's lesson with that of his son, Rabban Gamliel. And Hillel's lesson on not separating from the community was connected to Rabban Gamliel's lesson about involvement in communal matters, so it came next. Now we return to the subject that was introduced by Rebbe, paths a man should choose.
There were other reasons for not including this Mishna in the first chapter, even though chronologically it should have followed the lessons of Hillel and Shammai. The lessons in the first chapter were all written very concisely [while this lesson is of a more lengthy and complex nature]. Additionally, the lessons of the first chapter were all taught by the leaders of each generation. This lesson includes the responses of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai's students, something which would not have been appropriate for the first chapter.
So the Tanna opened with the lesson of Rebbe, followed by one from his son, then returned to Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, who was a student of Hillel and Shammai. Since the Tanna wanted to indicate a return to the chain of transmission, he inserted a lesson from Hillel before one from Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai (who received the tradition from Hillel). This link in the transmission chain was not included in the original chronology to indicate that the quality of the ability of the students to receive the tradition was deteriorating in relation to that of earlier generations. The act of receiving is not mentioned after this, due to that continued deterioration.
(The Maharal continues explores other reasons why the Tanna deviated from the chronological order, as well as not including sons who received the tradition from their fathers. I have abridged his explanations, which would be difficult to follow in this forum. But it should be noted that the Maharal spends much space and effort dealing with the problem of the seeming haphazard ordering of the Mishnayoth. His point is to show that, in fact, no element in Chazal is haphazard or coincidental, but written with precision and to communicate a specific message. Even the order of the Mishnayoth communicates information. It is our job to delve deeply to uncover the many layers of meaning embedded in the teachings of Chazal. If we understand it deeply enough, we will see the imperative nature of the way the Mishnayoth are written.)
"If you have learned a large amount of Torah, don't hold yourself in too high regard." A person shouldn't feel that learning a large amount of Torah is an act of "chassidut" (piety). "Chassidut" means that the person has done something which is not required of him (as we have explained a number of times in earlier shiurim), which is not true in this situation. A person's initial creation was in order that he be able to learn Torah (Torah being the wisdom of G-d's will). Everything that was brought into being by G-d was created through the dimension of "din," having a compelling element to its creation. This is reflected in the verse (Koheleth 3:14) "For all that G-d has made will be forever; nothing should be added to it, and nothing detracted." This implies that He created things exactly as the must be, which is "din." In the creation process, the name "Elokim" is used, a name of G-d which reflects his characteristic of "din," strict justice, where every addition or subtraction would be a deviation from true "din."
Our Tanna is teaching us that one who learns Torah should not feel that he has done anything beyond what is required of him by the mere fact of his creation. Just as the nature of man's existence requires that he eat and drink, his true nature also requires that he toil in Torah study. (A person wouldn't pat himself on the back because he ate sufficient food to enable him to function. It is a normal and innate activity. Learning Torah every day should be viewed as being just as natural.)
This is illustrated in the Gemara (Sanhedrin 99b): Rebbi Elazar said "A person is created to toil, as it is written (Iyov 5:7) 'Man is born to toil.' But I don't know whether it is for the toil of the mouth or toil of [physical] labor. When it says (Mishlei 16:26) 'A person who toils, toils for himself; his mouth forces the toil" it shows that it is for the toil of the mouth [that he was created]. But I still do not know whether it [the toil of the mouth] refers to the toil of Torah or to the toil of talking. When it says (Joshua 1:8) "This book of the Torah will not move from your mouth" it shows that it is for the toil of Torah [that man has been created]."
The explanation of the above is as follows. It is not possible that man was created for rest and tranquility. Only something in a state of perfection can truly be at rest, since its goals and needs have reached fulfillment. It has become complete, which allows it to rest. A human being never attains perfection, so he can never be at rest. He is always in motion, seeking and striving to attain that (ever elusive) perfection. Even as man is actualizing elements of his potential, he can never find himself at rest, for he can never reach complete perfection.
There are three levels to the life forces of man's existence. First, he has the life force shared with all animals. He also has an intelligent life force, which is the source of his speaking ability. Finally, he has a transcendent spiritual life force.
Man was not created to be at rest, but to be in a dynamic state, working constantly to realize his potential perfection. G-d created the world with every element existing in a state of completeness, implying a condition of repose. This is the meaning of the verse "ki tov" ("And G-d saw that it was good," implying a completeness), written after each element of creation. However, this phrase was not used after man's creation, for man was not created in the desired state that would allow him to be in a state of rest. Man is incomplete, and he must be constantly striving to reach completeness. Only then will he be in a state of rest and tranquility. His struggle and striving is an inherent element in making his creation complete.
This will help us understand the verse (Koheleth 7:1) "A good name is better than good oil; and the day of death [is better] than the day of his birth." (Why is the day of death better than the day of birth?!) On the day he is born, man lacks completeness, as he is constantly struggling and moving in an attempt to realize his potential. The day of his death, however, marks the time that he has become as complete as he will become, thus reaching a state of rest.
When the Talmud states "I don't know whether it ("amal") is for the toil of the mouth or toil of [physical] labor," the question is built on the different life-forces that man possesses. There is the toil of physical labor which is part of the animal life-force of man, and this physical toil is something man shares in common with animals. There is also the toil of the mouth which is part of the intelligent life-force of man, and is exclusive to him. The ambiguity of the verse ("Man is born to toil") is resolved by an additional verse (Koheleth 6:7) "All of man's toil is for his mouth," which indicates that man has not been created for his physical labor, and his completeness cannot be dependent on his physical life-force. (This verse is not the one brought in the Talmud section we have been discussing, but is introduced by the Maharal.) If man's perfection was dependent on the physical life-force, his toil could not be for his mouth, which is connected to his intelligent life-force.
However, there is still an ambiguity about whether the toil of the mouth refers to the toil of talking, which is part of the intelligent life-force, or to the toil of Torah, which is part of the spiritual life-force. This is clarified with the verse (Joshua 1:8) "This book of the Torah will not move from your mouth," teaching that man's perfection comes from the toil of Torah study.
This will shed light on the conclusion in the Talmud (Shabbath 86b) "All agree that on Shabbath the Torah was given to the Jewish people." Why on Shabbath? If the Torah was given during the week, one could say that just as there is cessation from physical labor on Shabbath, so, too, there is cessation from the labor of Torah study on Shabbath. But with the Torah being given on Shabbath, it is clear that Shabbath is the time to cease physical labor but not to cease Torah study. And if on Shabbath, when man ceases his physical labor, he still continues the labor of his Torah study, then during the week, which is a time of physical labor (as he strives to make himself more complete in his physical dimension) he should certainly be laboring in Torah study (to move towards greater perfection in his primary dimension, the spiritual one).
Furthermore, since man is created to be in a dynamic state of striving, rather than in a static state of completion, if Torah would not have been given on Shabbath, then man would be in a full state of rest and completion on Shabbath. This would go against the nature of his creation in this world, since man was created to toil. The giving of the Torah on Shabbath ensures that even on Shabbath man's existence will continue in a state of movement towards perfection, in the dimension of his spiritual life-force. (This may explain why some people find keeping Shabbath difficult and "boring." If they cease their normal activities, which involve striving for a level of perfection and improvement in the physical world, and don't replace these activities with alternative ones that involve movement towards some dimension of greater perfection, there is a void in their feeling of existence.)
(This section of the Maharal should shed light on the Torah attitude towards the modern goal of increased "leisure time." In fact, the results of the relentless pursuit of this goal over the past forty or fifty years is the strongest validation of the verse "Man is born to toil." As hard as society has worked to develop technology and other mechanisms to ease man's burden and increase his leisure time, today the average person works more than ten percent more hours each week than he did a few decades ago. And this is at a time when the number of families with two "breadwinners" has increased dramatically. While it defies the predictions made by most sociologists and economists twenty or thirty years ago, it is consistent with Koheleth. Man's existence in this world is one of toil. The only thing he can choose is what dimension of his humanity will be toiling -- his physical one, his intellectual one, or his spiritual one. It is in the next world that man will be at rest -- enjoying "well deserved leisure time.")
We now understand Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai's lesson. Man was created to learn Torah, and there is no respite from this, since man never reaches perfection and completion. Working towards this perfection, which is what happens as he learns more and more Torah, is simply a fulfillment of his purpose of existence, and this should not cause man to hold himself in too high regard. (Except, of course, to feel a sense of accomplishment for doing the basic job for which he was put on this earth.)