“Rabbi Chaninah says: I learned much from my teachers, and from my colleagues more than my teachers, and from my students more than all” (Taanit 7a). While students ostensibly may come to learn from their teachers, more often than not it is the teacher who learns more than the student. Blessed are those teachers who have challenging students.
There is also much we can learn from the common man; often a layperson can offer a perspective that a professional expert may be missing. Our Sages were well aware of the intuitive wisdom of the common man and of insight gained from life’s experiences. They went so far as to demand (Kiddushin 32b) that we honour even a zaken ashmai, defined by Rashi (s.v. zaken) as “an [elderly] evil and ignorant person”. (The Tosafists have a slightly less pointed definition, “an ignorant boor”.) Ben Zoma meant it when he declared, “Who is wise? He who learns from all people” (Avot 4:1).
If such is true of all, how much more does it apply to the simple, pious but ignorant Jew – one who has been a mainstay of the Jewish people for generations? The Gemara (Sanhedrin 7a) quotes a series of seven aphorisms of the common folk. Upon hearing these common folk sayings, Shmuel turned to his student Rav Yehuda and quoted a Biblical verse that expressed the same ideas, thereby beautifully linking the wisdom of the simple Jew to our eternal texts.
These folk sayings appear in midst of a discussion as to whether our courts should encourage din, strict justice, or peshara, an arbitrated compromise. Rav Soloveitchik[1] explains that this is no accident. Whereas in cases of din it is strict legal criteria that must be used in reaching a verdict, when it comes to peshara the legal system may be of little help. When using this preferred method of conflict resolution it is, in the Rav’s words, the judge’s “intuitive sense of rightness…and his love of fellow man[2]” that guides him. An arbitrator must go beyond the dry, technical legal factors and use his common sense and intuition—and such common sense exists both amongst scholars and the unlettered. Sometimes it is specifically the wisdom of the common man that cuts to the heart of an issue. And scholars and judges would do well to learn from the common man – something they are often resistant to doing. Our Sages thus note seven aphorisms of the simple Jew that, unbeknownst to them, were rooted in the Biblical text. Seven, of course, is the number symbolizing completeness.
Scholarly intuition, properly honed, is a basic requirement of a judge. Thus, while the testimony of two witnesses is enough to allow for a death penalty, a judge must ignore such testimony when something tells him that the testimony just does not seem right (Shavuot 30b).
As Rav Soloveitchik beautifully analyzed three of the aphorisms, I will focus on three of the others.
“There was one who used to say: Seven pits lie open for the good man [but he escapes]; for the evil-doer there is only one, into which he falls. Said Samuel to Rav Yehudah: this is alluded to in the verse (Mishlei 24:16): ‘For a righteous man falls seven times, and rise up again, but the wicked stumble under adversity’” (Sanhedrin 7a).
We all face many barriers in life; what determines our lot is how we deal with them. The righteous may fall seven – i.e., a complete cycle of—times, but they manage to get right back up again. It is noteworthy that while we may call such a person tenacious, successful, driven or some other epitaph, the Biblical verse refers to him as righteous. Ultimately, success is beyond our control. While we like to think otherwise, and while we surely do have a share in our success, so much of success – and even “failure” – is due to factors beyond our control: what we may call luck, or more appropriately Divine providence. Righteousness, however, is something we and only we can control: “Rabbi Chaninah says: All is in the hands of heaven save for fear of heaven” (Brachot 33b). The righteous do not give up – they try and when they “fail”, they try again. The evil – and that is how the verse refers to them—are broken by the first sign of failure. It is putting forth your best effort that matters most.
“There was one who used to say: Let he who comes from a court that has taken from him his cloak sing his song and go his way. Said Shmuel to Rav Yehudah: This is alluded to in the verse, (Shemot 18:23) ‘And all this people shall come to their place in peace’" (Sanhedrin 7a).
The way of the world is that those who lose a court case are upset, perhaps even angry. They generally feel they were cheated, and often look to appeal what they believe to be a mistaken outcome. Yet if the court is a courtroom of integrity, a courtroom where “G-d stands in the congregation of G-d, in the midst of the judges He judges” (Tehillim 82:1), then one should be thrilled that a true judgment has been rendered and an object not one’s own was returned to its rightful owner (Rashi, s.v lizmor vleizel). Shmuel finds textual support for this idea in Yitro’s advice to Moshe, where he declares that a properly administered court system will ensure that “all people”, winners and losers, will be at peace with the decision.
“There was one who used to say: When love was strong, we could have made our bed on a sword-blade; now that our love has grown weak, a bed of sixty [cubits] is not large enough for us” (Sanhedrin 7a).
There is little to add to this powerful truism. Space, like so much else, is relative; love is able to conquer space limitations. Supporting this folk saying, Rav Huna quotes a series of verses[3] to demonstrate that when the Jewish people merited such, the Divine presence was in close proximity; but when they sinned, there was nowhere on earth that could contain the Divine presence.
Only when there is shalom bayit, love between husband and wife, can the divine presence rest in the home – no matter how small it may be. “Rabbi Akiva expounded: Husband and wife—if they merit, the divine presence is in their midst; if they do not merit, a fire consumes them[4]” (Sotah 17a).
Some are fortunate enough to receive the opportunity to pursue a solid Jewish education. Many others are not so fortunate. But all have much wisdom to offer. We would be wise to listen.
[1] See R. Abraham Besdin, Reflections of the Rav, (Jerusalem: World Zionist Organization, 1979), 59-70.
[2] As Yehuda ben Tabbai teaches (Avot 1:8), when dealing with a court case, love must be left at the entrance. “When the litigants are standing before you, they should be in your eyes as if they are wicked.”
[3] It was Shmuel who succinctly encapsulated the first six aphorisms in one verse. That this seventh saying was rooted in a series of verses may explain why it was Rav Huna who provided a supporting text for this final teaching.
[4] The words “man” and “woman”, אִישׁ אִשָּׁה, consist of an aleph and sheen, with ish having a yud and isha a heh, those two letters spelling G-d’s name. If you remove them, you are left only with aish, fire.