Mishnah Avot

5. He [Rabban Gamaliel, the son of Judah the Prince] used to say: A boor is not sin-fearing, and a person of lax observance is not pious. A shy person cannot learn, and an impatient person cannot teach, and not everyone who engages much in business can become wise. In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man.

6. He also saw a skull floating on the surface of the water. He said to it, “Because you drowned [others], they drowned you, and those who drowned you, in the end, will be drowned.”

7. He used to say: The more flesh, the more worms; the more wealth, the more anxiety; the more wives, the more witchcraft; the more female slaves, the more lewdness; the more male slaves, the more robbery; [but] the more Torah, the more life; the more study, the more wisdom; the more counsel, the more understanding; the more righteousness, the more peace. One who has acquired a good name has acquired something for himself; one who has acquired words of Torah has acquired for himself life in the world to come. [ . . . ]

13. R. Simeon said: Be careful with the recitation of the Shema‘ and with prayer, and when you pray, make your prayer not a fixed habit but [an appeal for] mercy and an entreaty before the Omnipresent, as it is said: For he is gracious and compassionate, long-suffering and abundant in mercy, and relinquishes the evil [punishment] (Joel 2:13), and do not be wicked in your own sight.

14. R. Eleazar said: Be eager to study Torah, and know how to answer an Epicurean, and know before whom you toil. Your employer is faithful and will pay the wages for your labor.

15. R. Tarfon said: The day is short, and the work is much, and the workmen are indolent. But the reward is much, and the master of the house is insistent.

16. He [R. Tarfon] used to say: It is not up to you to finish the work, but neither are you free to refrain from it. If you have studied much Torah, you will be given great reward. Your employer is faithful and will pay the wages for your labor; and know that the reward of the righteous is in the world to come.

Translated by Christine Hayes.