1 Akabyah ben Mahalalel said: mark well three things and you will not come into the power of sin: Know from where you come, and where you are going, and before whom you are destined to give an account and reckoning. From where do you come? From a putrid drop. Where are you going? To a place of dust, of worm and of maggot. Before whom are you destined to give an account and reckoning? Before the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. 2 Rabbi Hanina, the vice-high priest, said: pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear it inspires, every man would swallow his neighbor alive. Rabbi Hananiah ben Teradion said: if two sit together and there are no words of Torah spoken between them, this is a session of scorners, as it is said: "he does not sit in the seat of the scornful; rather, the teaching of the Lord is his delight" (Psalms 1:1). But if two sit together and there are words of Torah spoken between them, the Shekhinah dwells among them,⁠a as it is said: "then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another, and the Lord listened and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared the Lord and thought upon His name" (Malachi 3:16). This gives scriptural proof only for two; how do we know that even when one person sits and studies Torah, the Holy One, blessed be He, fixes his reward? As it is said: "though he sits alone in stillness and meditates, he takes a reward for himself" (Lamentations 3:28). 3 Rabbi Shimon said: if three have eaten at one table and have not spoken words of Torah there, it is as if they had eaten sacrifices offered to the dead, as it is said, "for all tables are full of filthy vomit, when the All-Present is absent" (Isaiah 28:8). But if three have eaten at one table and have spoken words of Torah there, it is as if they had eaten at the table of the All-Present, blessed be He, as it is said, "And He said to me, 'this is the table before the Lord'" (Ezekiel 41:22). 4 Rabbi Hananiah ben Hakinai said: one who wakes up at night, or walks on the way alone, and turns his heart to idle matters, forfeits his life. 5 Rabbi Nehunia ben Hakkanah said: whoever takes upon himself the yoke of the Torah, they remove from him the yoke of government and the yoke of worldly concerns; and whoever throws off the yoke of the Torah, they place upon him the yoke of government and the yoke of worldly concerns.⁠b 6 Rabbi Halafta of Kefar Hanania said: when ten sit together and occupy themselves with Torah, the Shekhinah dwells among them, as it is said: "God stands in the congregation of God" (Psalm 82:1). How do we know that the same is true even of five? As it is said: "This band of His He has established on earth" (Amos 9:6). How do we know that the same is true even of three? As it is said: "In the midst of the judges He judges" (Psalm 82:1). How do we know that the same is true even of two? As it is said: "Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another, and the Lord listened and heard" (Malachi 3:16). How do we know that the same is true even of one? As it is said: "In every place where I cause my name to be mentioned I will come to you and bless you" (Exodus 20:21). 7 Rabbi Elazar of Bartotha said: give to Him of what is His, for you and all that is yours are His; and thus it says of David: "for everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given You"⁠c (I Chronicles 29:14). Rabbi Jacob said: if one is studying while walking on the road and interrupts his study and says, "how fine is this tree!" or "how fine is this newly ploughed field!", scripture regards him as if he had forfeited his life. 8 Rabbi Dostai ben Rabbi Yannai said in the name of Rabbi Meir: whoever forgets one word of his study, scripture regards him as if he had forfeited his life,⁠d as it is said, "But take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously, so that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes" (Deuteronomy 4:9). One might have inferred that this is the case even when his study proved too hard for him; therefore scripture says, "that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live" (ibid.). Thus he does not forfeit his life unless he deliberately removes them from his heart. 9 Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa said: anyone whose fear of sin precedes his wisdom, his wisdom is enduring; but anyone whose wisdom precedes his fear of sin, his wisdom is not enduring. He also used to say: anyone whose deeds exceed his wisdom, his wisdom is enduring; but anyone whose wisdom exceeds his deeds, his wisdom is not enduring. 10 He used to say: one with whom men are pleased, God is pleased; but anyone from whom men are displeased, God is displeased. Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas said: morning sleep, midday wine, children's talk, and sitting in the assemblies of the ignorant put a man out of the world. 11 Rabbi Elazar of Modiin said: one who profanes sacred things, one who despises the festivals, one who causes his fellow's face to blush in public, one who annuls the covenant of our father Abraham, may he rest in peace, and one who is contemptuous towards the Torah, even though he has knowledge of the Torah and good deeds to his credit, has no share in the world to come. 12 Rabbi Ishmael said: be deferential to a superior, accommodating under compulsory service, and receive every person cheerfully. 13 Rabbi Akiva said: Merriment and frivolity accustom one to sexual licentiousness; Tradition is a fence to the Torah; Tithes are a fence to wealth; Vows are a fence to abstinence; A fence to wisdom is silence. 14 He used to say: Beloved is man, for he was created in the image⁠e of God.⁠f Especially beloved is he, for it was made known to him that he had been created in the image of God, as it is said: "for in the image of God He made man" (Genesis 9:6). Beloved are Israel, in that they were called children to the All-Present.⁠g Especially beloved are they, for it was made known to them that they are called children of the All-Present, as it is said: "you are children to the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 14:1). Beloved are Israel, in that a precious vessel was given to them.⁠h Especially beloved are they, for it was made known to them that the desirable instrument with which the world had been created was given to them, as it is said: "for I give you good instruction; forsake not my teaching" (Proverbs 4:2). 15 Everything is foreseen, yet freedom of choice is granted.⁠i The world is judged with goodness,⁠j and everything depends on the preponderance of deeds. 16 He used to say: everything is given against a pledge, and a net is spread out over all the living. The store is open and the storekeeper allows credit, but the ledger is open and the hand writes. Whoever wishes to borrow may come and borrow, but the collectors go round regularly every day and collect payment from a person with or without his consent, and they have grounds for their claims, seeing that the judgment is a righteous judgment, and everything is prepared for the banquet.⁠k 17 Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said: Where there is no Torah, there is no right conduct; where there is no right conduct, there is no Torah. Where there is no wisdom, there is no fear of God; where there is no fear of God, there is no wisdom. Where there is no understanding, there is no knowledge; where there is no knowledge, there is no understanding. Where there is no bread, there is no Torah; where there is no Torah, there is no bread. He used to say: one whose wisdom exceeds his deeds, to what may he be compared? To a tree whose branches are numerous but whose roots are few, so that when the wind comes, it uproots it and overturns it,⁠l as it is said, "He shall be like a bush in the desert, which does not sense the coming of good. It is set in the scorched places of the wilderness, in a barren land without inhabitant" (Jeremiah 17:6). But one whose deeds exceed his wisdom, to what may he be compared? To a tree whose branches are few but whose roots are many, so that even if all the winds in the world come and blow upon it, they cannot move it out of its place, as it is said, "He shall be like a tree planted by waters, sending forth its roots by a stream. It does not sense the coming of heat, its leaves are ever fresh. It has no care in a year of drought; it does not cease to yield fruit"⁠m (ibid, 17:8). 18 Rabbi Eliezer Hisma said: the laws of mixed bird offerings and the calculations of menstruation days are the essential body of the halakhah. The calculation of the equinoxes and gematria are the desserts of wisdom.