Avot 5:1-6
The fifth chapter of Pirkei Avot is fundamentally different from the first four in form and content. Unlike the previous chapters which are exclusively and purposefully named quotes from esteemed sages, the opening nineteen mishnayot of chapter five are anonymous statements. The first fifteen mishnayot are framed by numbers. The first six are lists of ten, followed by three that revolve around seven, and then six that are divided into categories of four.
The numbers not only function as a useful memory technique for mishnayot that were originally transmitted orally, but likely also have deeper significance. Maharal, in parallel with ancient Pythagorean number symbolism, assumes that the number ten represents a whole, perfect, and complete number.
Scholars point out that within the first six mishnayot, there are eleven lists of ten, the first ten of which progress chronologically from the creation of the world to the Temple in Jerusalem, and the last returning full circle to Creation. This brief historical recap is encapsulated in the following phrases:
1) With ten utterances the world was created…
2) [There were] ten generations from Adam to Noah…
3) [There were] ten generations from Noah to Abraham…
4) With ten trials was Abraham, our father, peace be unto him, tried…
5) Ten miracles were wrought for our ancestors in Egypt…
6) …and ten at the sea…
7) Ten plagues did the Holy one, blessed be He, bring upon the Egyptians in Egypt…
8) …and ten at the sea
9) [With] ten trials did our ancestors try G-d…
10) Ten wonders were wrought for our ancestors in the Temple…
11) Ten things were created on the eve of the [first] Sabbath at twilight…
Professor Amram Tropper writes that this historical overview complements the chain of transmission from the first Mishna in Avot (“Moses received the Torah from Sinai”), and suggests that “as a whole, perhaps Avot was designed to outline a chronology of Jewish experience from Creation through the Tannaitic period.”
Besides for the brief history lesson, these mishnayot provide important spiritual and ethical messages, many of which highlight key themes from the first chapters of Avot. The primary lesson of the first Mishna relates to reward and punishment:
With ten utterances the world was created. And what does this teach, for surely it could have been created with one utterance? But this was so in order to punish the wicked who destroy the world that was created with ten utterances, And to give a good reward to the righteous who maintain the world that was created with ten utterances.
G-d embedded within the act of creation the gravity of His system of justice. All spiritual-ethical acts have cosmic ramifications. Choose righteousness and you will be rewarded handsomely. Choose evil and there will be serious consequences. Our moral development and decision-making must be infused with this understanding.
The second Mishna highlights G-d’s forbearance:
[There were] ten generations from Adam to Noah, in order to make known what long-suffering is His; for all those generations kept on provoking Him, until He brought upon them the waters of the flood. [There were] ten generations from Noah to Abraham, in order to make known what long-suffering is His; for all those generations kept on provoking Him, until Abraham came and received the reward of all of them.
Despite the accentuation of the necessity of justice in the first Mishna, G-d still gives many chances for repentance. While there are strong penalties for immoral behavior, G-d is willing to be patient and hopeful for change. Presumably we too are called on to emulate the Divine and balance mercy alongside any necessary meting out of justice in our interpersonal dealings.
From Abraham’s reward, we transition to Abraham’s ten trials:
With ten trials was Abraham, our father, peace be upon him, tried, and he withstood them all; to make known how great was the love of Abraham, our father, peace be upon him.
Besides emphasizing the belovedness of G-d to Abraham, and G-d’s love of Abraham, in this Mishna Abraham serves as a model for resilience and post-traumatic growth. He withstood many difficult tests with faith, not only passing the tests but growing stronger as a result. The tests functioned to help Abraham develop as a spiritual forefather, standing as a role model for his descendants to thrive in the face of struggles.
From a key theme from Genesis, the Mishna transitions to a brief overview of Exodus and then Numbers:
Ten miracles were wrought for our ancestors in Egypt, and ten at the sea. Ten plagues did the Holy one, blessed be He, bring upon the Egyptians in Egypt, and ten at the sea. [With] ten trials did our ancestors try G-d, blessed be He, as it is said, “and they have tried Me these ten times and they have not listened to my voice” (Numbers 14:22).
The miracles extend the Divine love of Abraham to the entire Israelite people. The plagues underscore the message from the first Mishna, namely, the Divine punishment in store for the wicked. Then, instead of G-d trying Abraham, the Israelites try G-d ten times in the desert, testing – like the twenty generations from Adam to Abraham – G-d’s patience.
Yet the relationship endures and continues, with the historical outline culminating with ten miracles that were present during the times of the Temple:
Ten wonders were wrought for our ancestors in the Temple: [1] no woman miscarried from the odor of the sacred flesh; [2] the sacred flesh never became putrid; [3] no fly was ever seen in the slaughterhouse; [4] no emission occurred to the High Priest on the Day of Atonement; [5] the rains did not extinguish the fire of the woodpile; [6] the wind did not prevail against the column of smoke; [7] no defect was found in the omer, or in the two loaves, or in the showbread; [8] the people stood pressed together, yet bowed down and had room enough; [9] never did a serpent or a scorpion harm anyone in Jerusalem; [10] and no man said to his fellow: The place is too congested for me to lodge overnight in Jerusalem.
While the commentaries analyze each miracle on its own, the overall thrust of the presentation seems to be that G-d showed an added level of care for the continual functioning of the Temple. These miracles weren’t all inherently necessary for the Temple to function, but they demonstrated a continuous loving relationship between G-d and the Jewish people.
This message, according to Rabbi Dr. Binyanim Ziv, is also reflected in the final Mishna in this set of “tens”:
Ten things were created on the eve of the Sabbath at twilight, and these are they: [1] the mouth of the earth, [2] the mouth of the well, [3] the mouth of the donkey, [4] the rainbow, [5] the manna, [6] the staff [of Moses], [7] the shamir, [8] the letters, [9] the writing, [10] and the tablets. And some say: also the demons, the grave of Moses, and the ram of Abraham, our father. And some say: and also tongs, made with tongs.
While again, each one of these should be analyzed on its own, the main focus is to bring us back to Creation and to see how G-d intentionally incorporated many mini miracles to help the future of humanity in general and the Jewish people in particular. The thoughtfulness of embedding these elements into creation itself shows how much G-d cares.
In all, these sets of mishnayot encapsulate key elements of history from a rabbinic perspective through the prism of the number ten. G-d’s love for, patience with, and dedication to humanity and the Jewish people shine through. The implicit message within Pirkei Avot is that we are called on to reciprocate our part in this loving relationship through character growth and dedication to Torah-learning and spiritual pursuits.
