Avos 6:9-10

Avos 6:9

Rabbi Yosi ben Kisma said that he was once walking when a man greeted him. “Where do you come from?” he asked; “From a great city of Torah scholars,” Rabbi Yosi ben Kisma replied. The man then offered him a million gold dinar plus precious gems and pearls to come live in his town. Rabbi Yosi ben Kisma responded that even if he were offered all the silver, gold, jewels and pearls in the world, he would never live anywhere except a place of Torah. This is because, when a person leaves this world, neither precious metals nor gems will accompany him, but Torah and good deeds will as per Proverbs  6:22, “When you walk, it will lead you; when you lie down, it will watch over you; when you wake up, it will be your conversation.” “When you walk, it will lead you” – in this world; “when you lie down, it will watch over you” – in the grave; “when you wake up, it will be your conversation” – in the Next World (presumably referring here to the future revival of the dead). A similar thought is expressed in the Psalms of King David: Psalms 119:72 says that “The Torah of Your mouth is better for me than thousands of gold and silver.” Similarly, Haggai 2:8 says, “The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of Hosts.”

Avos 6:10

God acquired five possessions in His world: The Torah; Heaven and Earth; Avraham; Israel; and the Temple. The Torah as per Proverbs 8:22, “God adopted me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old.” Heaven and Earth as per Isaiah 66:1, “Thus says the Lord: Heaven is My throne and Earth is My footstool. Where can you build a house for me? Where is the place that can be My resting place?” Similarly, Psalms 104:24 says, “How diverse are Your works, Hashem! In wisdom You have made them all; Earth is full of Your possessions.” Avraham as per Genesis 14:19, “He blessed him and said, 'Blessed is Avram of God Most High, the Owner of Heaven and Earth.'” Israel as per Exodus 15:16, “…until Your people pass over, Hashem, until the people pass over whom You possess.” Similarly, Psalms 16:3 says, “As for the holy people on Earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all My delight.” The Temple as per Exodus 15:17, “The Sanctuary, Hashem, that Your hands have established.” Similarly, Psalms 78:54 says, “He brought them to the realm of His sanctuary, to the mountain that His right hand had won.” (All of these verses use the Hebrew root KNH, meaning to possess, even if the English translation of that root varies in some cases.)