Rabbi Akiva says: Joking and frivolity lead to immorality; tradition is a fence for Torah; tithes are a fence for protecting wealth; vows are a fence for protecting abstinence; the fence for protecting wisdom in silence. )Avot 3:13).
The collection of statements in the third chapter of Pirkei Avot, according to Abarbanel, all revolve around the theme of avoiding sin. We have seen strategies that include the importance of contemplating the consequences of sin, the role of law and order, the power of Torah study, the centrality of cultivating fear of sin, and the importance of staying productive. In this mishna, Rabbi Akiva focuses on the importance of building fences.
Finding interventions that support self-control is a fundamental task of psychologists. Self-control, or the lack thereof, is one important factor impacting many behavioral health challenges, including obesity, smoking, alcohol and drug use, as well as other addictions. While there are many potential self-control strategies to help alleviate these issues, one effective but ultimately underused strategy is to try to change the environment by putting up barriers so that we avoid the battle with temptation in the first place. These situational strategies, the term used for these tactics by Dr. Angela Duckworth, echo Rabbi Akiva’s advice to build fences around sin, as well as around important values that we strive to protect from corruption.
First, Rabbi Akiva says that “joking and frivolity lead to immorality.” While Rabbi Yishmael in the previous mishna encouraged positive social emotions, Rabbi Akiva cautions that there is a potential moral and spiritual danger lurking if these are not held in check. Joking and frivolity can desensitize our moral sense, potentially leading to rash or impetuous decisions. The seriousness and clear mindedness needed to contemplate the long-term consequences of our actions dissipate in an environment that is too lighthearted. Rabbi Akiva is encouraging us to avoid such situations, or at the very least, to put up clear reminders and barriers to prevent good-hearted laughter from devolving into decadence.
Rabbi Akiva’s second message is that “tradition is a fence for Torah.” Midrash Shmuel understands “tradition” as referring to the Oral Torah, which serves to protect the Written Torah. Without the Oral Torah, people may interpret the text and laws of the Torah incorrectly. The Oral Torah ensures that we follow the proper rabbinic traditions. Rabbeinu Yonah assumes that Rabbi Akiva is referring to the scribal traditions passed down through the generations as to how to write a Torah scroll properly, with the correct spelling, reading, and cantillation.
“Tithes are a fence for protecting wealth,” Rabbi Akiva’s third statement, teaches about the value of money and how to properly utilize material blessings. Rabbi Akiva and his wife, Rachel, who according to the Talmud were at one point destitute, eventually merited vast amounts of wealth. One way of understanding his message is to relate it to another rabbinic teaching – that one who donates to charity can merit to be repaid in more wealth (“Aser bishvil she-titasher”). Alternatively, Sefat Emet suggests that by tithing and donating to charity, one is protected from the spiritual and psychological damage that often result from affluence.
The fourth aspect of Rabbi Akiva’s teaching is that “vows are a fence for protecting abstinence.” Complete abstinence from physicality is not a rabbinic value. However, in response to the danger of the evil inclination, the rabbis sometimes leaned toward moderate asceticism, particularly to avoid the lure of sin. Here, Rabbi Akiva is advising that if we want to increase our levels of self-control, taking a vow can act as an added barrier to avoid falling to temptation. Midrash Shmuel importantly notes that vows should not be taken if there is a danger that one will still succumb to temptation even after taking the vow.
Lastly, Rabbi Akiva closes the mishna by stating that “the fence for protecting wisdom is silence.” Silence has a role in the learning process that leads to wisdom, and is also a signal that one has obtained wisdom. While asking questions has a place within the learning process, active listening and quiet reflection are essential components of deep understanding both of intellectual content as well as of another person’s perspective. As Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch writes, the silence referenced here reflects the intellectual humility of someone “who listens quietly to the views of others in order to learn from them, and does not have the urge to shine forth with his own opinions and to refuse to let others get a word in edgewise.”
In all, Rabbi Akiva’s five messages, while distinct, revolve around the main theme of building barriers to help avoid self-control failures, and constructing fences to help protect our cherished ideals and values.
