Ethics of the Fathers

oO eat os fata MEOGUALIIY LECRLVE | bese AUG emhadamhembetee” | £20111 OL ARS PE Se: sit used to say: Do not be like servants who serve their master on condition of receiving a reward, but be like servants who serve their master not on condition of receiving a reward; and let the fear of Heaven be upon you. 4. Yose ben Yo’ezer of Zereda and Yose ben Yohanan of Jerusalem received [the tradition] from them. Yose ben Yoezer of Zereda used to say: Let your house be a meeting place for sages; sit in the dust at their feet, and with thirst, drink in their words. 5. Yose ben Yohanan of Jerusalem used to say: Let your house be open wide; let the poor join the members of your household; and do not gossip inordinately with women. This was said about one’s own wife; all the more so does it apply to another man’s wife. Hence the sages say: a man who talks too much with a woman brings trouble on himself, neglects the study of Torah, and in the end will inherit Gehinnom. 6. Yehoshua ben Perahya and Nittai the Arbelite received [the tradition] from them. Yehoshua ben Perahya used to say: Get yourself a teacher, acquire a companion, and give everyone the benefit of the doubt. 7. Nittai the Arbelite used to say: Keep far from a bad neighbor, do not associate with a bad person, and do not despair of divine retribution. 8. Yehuda ben Tabbai and Shimon ben Shatah received [the tradition] from them. Yehuda ben Tabbai used to say: [When sitting as a judge] do not act as an advocate; when the parties to a lawsuit appear before you, regard them both as guilty; but when they leave you, having accepted the verdict, regard them both as innocent. 9. Shimon ben Shatah used to say: Examine the witnesses thoroughly, and be careful in your words, lest through them they learn how to lie. 10. Shemaya and Avtalyon received [the tradition] from them. Shemaya used to say: Love work, hate public office, and do not become too intimate with the ruling power. u. Avtalyon used to say: Sages, be careful in what you say, lest you incur the penalty of exile and find yourself banished to a place of evil waters, where your disciples who follow you may drink from them and die, with the result that the name of Heaven will be profaned.