Texts in Conversation
Pirkei Avot 2:1 tells people to treat a minor command as carefully as a weighty one. James makes the same point, warning that whoever keeps the whole law but breaks it at one point is guilty of all of it.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
James 2:10
New Testament
9 But if you show prejudice, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators. 10 For the one who obeys the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law.
Pirkei Avot 2:1
Mishnah
Rabbinic
1 Rabbi Said: which is the straight path that a man should choose for himself? One which is an honor to the person adopting it, and [on account of which] honor [accrues] to him from others. And be careful with a light commandment as with a grave one, for you did know not the reward for the fulfillment of the commandments. Also, reckon the loss [that may be sustained through the fulfillment] of a commandment against the reward [accruing] thereby, and the gain [that may be obtained through the committing] of a transgression against the loss [entailed] thereby. Apply your mind to three things and you will not come into the clutches of sin: Know what there is above you: an eye that sees, an ear that hears, and all your deeds are written in a book. 2 Rabban Gamaliel the son of Rabbi Judah Hanasi said: excellent is the study of the Torah when combined with a worldly occupation, for toil in them both keeps sin out of one’s mind; But [study of the] Torah which is not combined with a worldly occupation, in the end comes to be neglected and becomes the cause of sin. And all who labor with the community, should labor with them for the sake Heaven, for the merit of their forefathers sustains them (the community), and their (the forefather’s) righteousness endures for ever; And as for you, [God in such case says] I credit you with a rich reward, as if you [yourselves] had [actually] accomplished [it all].
Date: 190-230 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
... These 'ways' of behavior, in turn, are explicitly attached to religious motivations that also resemble those in James. The observance of the law is taking on the yoke of the kingdom (Pirke Aboth 3:5), and gives the one who observes it a sort of kingship (Pirke Aboth 6:1 = James 2:8). Humans are created in the image of God (Pirke Aboth 3:15 = James 3:9), and God is both their creator and their judge (Pirke Aboth 2:21; 4:22 = James 4:12), who judges the world by mercy (Pirke Aboth 3:16 = James 2:13). Both 'heavy' and 'light' commandments must be observed (Pirke Aboth 2:1; 4:11; see especially 4:2 = James 2:10–11). Abraham is called 'our father' (Pirke Aboth 5:2, 19 = James 2:21) and the ten trials of Abraham—including the binding of Isaac—are listed (Pirke Aboth 5:3 = James 2:21). ...
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