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Share(ד) יוֹסֵי בֶן יוֹעֶזֶר אִישׁ צְרֵדָה וְיוֹסֵי בֶן יוֹחָנָן אִישׁ יְרוּשָׁלַיִם קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם.
יוֹסֵי בֶן יוֹעֶזֶר אִישׁ צְרֵדָה אוֹמֵר,
יְהִי בֵיתְךָ בֵית וַעַד לַחֲכָמִים,
וֶהֱוֵי מִתְאַבֵּק בַּעֲפַר רַגְלֵיהֶם,
וֶהֱוֵי שׁוֹתֶה בְצָמָא אֶת דִּבְרֵיהֶם:
(4) Yose ben Yoezer (a man) of Zeredah and Yose ben Yohanan (a man) of Jerusalem received [the oral tradition] from them [i.e. Shimon the Righteous and Antigonus].
Yose ben Yoezer used to say:
let thy house be a house of meeting for the Sages
and sit in the very dust of their feet,
and drink in their words with thirst.
(16th cent. commentary, printed in almost all Mishnah editions)
Yose ben Yoezer, man of Tsreida and Yose ben Yochanan, man of Jerusalem: All the Tannaim (early teachers) mentioned in this chapter by pairs, ‘(Rabbi) x and (Rabbi) y, who received from (Rabbi) a and (Rabbi) b,’ the first of them is nassi, and the second is the head of the court.
(21st cent. commentary by Rabbi Joshua Kulp, Rosh Yeshivah of the Conservative Yeshivah)
After the teaching of Antigonus from Socho, the mishnah begins with a period in Jewish history known as the period of the “pairs”. There are five “pairs” of Sages that are mentioned in our chapter, beginning in this mishnah and continuing through mishnah fifteen. The final pair are Hillel and Shammai. We should note how important the concept of the Sage and learning from the Sage is in this mishnah and in the entire chapter. The “pairs” lived in the period between the Maccabean revolt (167 B.C.E.) until about two generations before the destruction of the Temple, which was in 70 C.E. This was a time when many Jews became greatly influenced by Helenistic culture. It was also the formative period of many of the sects, including the Sadducees and probably the Essenes (as well as the Dead Sea sect, who were probably Essenes). It was probably also the formative period for the Pharisees, the predecessors of the Rabbis of the Mishnah and Talmud. Against this historical backdrop it is easy to understand why these Sages were so concerned with the authority and influence that they would have on the general public.
בית ועד לחכמים. ללמוד שם:
(11th cent. commentary by Rabbi Shelomo ben Yitzhaq from Mainz/Worms/Troyes)
house a meeting place for the Sages to study there.
First of the socalled "minor tractates" of the talmud, texts from the time of the talmud who did not make it into the talmud, c.700–900 CE
[Yosei ben Yoezer said:] Let your house be a gathering place for the sages.
How so? This teaches us that a person’s house should always be open to the sages, and to their students, and their students’ students, so that a person should be able to say to his friend: I will save a place for you there! Another explanation: How should your house be a gathering place for the sages? When a student of the sages enters and says: Teach me! – if you have something to teach, teach it, but if not, let him go on his way. He should not sit before you on a bed, or a chair, or a bench. He should sit before you only on the ground. And anything that comes out of your mouth, he should accept with reverence, fear, quaking, and trembling.
"A meeting house": A house of meeting, meaning to say that you should make your house always available for the gathering of sages, like in synagogues and houses of study (batei midrash); such that if a man says to his fellow, "Where can I meet with you, where can I confer with you," he will [answer] him, "In the house of x."
(Maimonides, Commentary on Mishna Avot 1:4 - 12th cent. C.E.)
Yose ben Yoezer encourages Jews to make their own homes into a place for the gathering of Sages. One should sit at the dust of their feet, which reflects the custom of the day whereby the Sage would sit on a chair and the disciple would sit at his feet. At this time period in history fixed study halls such existed in later times, especially in Babylonia during the late Talmudic period, did not yet exist. Learning the Oral Torah was performed (recited and not read) in small “disciple circles”, usually centered around a charismatic leader who would be the teacher. When the leader passed away the center of learning often moved to wherever the new leader was located. Yose ben Yoezer is encouraging people to make their homes open to the Sages, to turn them into places of learning, so that these disciple circles can exist there. ...
(Rabbi Joshua Kulp)
והוי מתאבק בעפר רגליהם. שתהא משמשן:
and sit in the very dust of their feet - that they touched.
בצמא. כאדם שהוא צמא ותאב ושותה לצמאון ולא כאדם שהוא שבע:
with thirst - like a person who ist thirsty and has desire and drinks thirstily and not like a person who is satisfied.
When Yose ben Yoezer says “drink in their words with thirst” he is comparing the Torah to water, a common comparison in rabbinic literature. Just as water can eventually wear down rock, Torah learning eventually can seep into the hardened minds of human beings, even those who have never before learned.
(א) יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא (אָמֵן)
(ב) בְּעָלְ֒מָֽא דִּי־בְרָא כִרְעוּתֵהּ וְיַמְלִיךְ מַלְכוּתֵהּ בְּחַיֵּיכוֹן וּבְיוֹמֵיכוֹן וּבְחַיֵּי דְכָל־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן:
(ג) יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְ֒מֵי עָלְ֒מַיָּא
(ד) יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח וְיִתְפָּאַר וְיִתְרוֹמַם וְיִתְנַשֵּׂא וְיִתְהַדָּר וְיִתְעַלֶּה וְיִתְהַלָּל שְׁמֵהּ דְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא
(ה) לְעֵֽלָּא מִן־כָּל־ (בעשי"ת לְעֵֽלָּא לְעֵֽלָּא מִכָּל) בִּרְכָתָֽא וְשִׁירָתָֽא תֻּשְׁבְּ֒חָתָֽא וְנֶחָמָתָֽא דַּאֲמִירָן בְּעָלְ֒מָֽא וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן:
(ו) יְהֵא שְׁלָמָֽא רַבָּֽא מִן־שְׁמַיָּֽא וְחַיִּים עָלֵֽינוּ וְעַל־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן:
(ז) עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם (בעשי"ת הַשָּׁלוֹם) בִּמְרוֹמָיו הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵֽינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן:
(1) Exalted and sanctified be His great Name
(2) in the world which He created according to His will and may He rule His kingdom. In your lifetime and in your days, and in the lifetime of the entire House of Israel, speedily and in the near future— and say Amein.
(3) May His great Name be blessed forever and for all eternity.
(4) Blessed and praised, glorified, and exalted and uplifted, honored and elevated and extolled be the Name of the Holy One, blessed is He;
(5) above (Ten Days of Penitence: far above) all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations which we utter in the world—and say Amein.
(6) May there be abundant peace from heaven and a good life for us and for all Israel, —and say Amein.
(7) He Who makes peace (Ten Days of Penitence: the peace) in His high heavens may He, in His mercy, make peace for us and for all Israel, —and say Amein.
