Avos 6:5-6

Avos 6:5

Torah is greater than kehuna (priesthood) and kingship. Kingship is acquired through 30 means and kehuna through 24 but Torah is acquired by 48 means: studying, hearing with the ear, reviewing with the lips, contemplating with the heart, and perceiving with the heart, with awe, reverence, humility, and joy, by attending to the Sages, by careful examination with one’s colleagues, by the debates of the students, by being tranquil, through the study of Tanach and Mishna, through moderation in sleep, in conversation, in physical gratification, in levity, and in worldly affairs, by being slow to anger, by having a good heart, through faith in the Sages, and by accepting one’s misfortunes…

Avos 6:6

(Continuing from the previous mishna) …by recognizing one’s place, rejoicing in one’s portion, making a fence around one’s words, claiming no credit for oneself, by being loved by people, loving God, loving mankind, loving justice, loving being corrected, loving righteousness, avoiding honor, not boasting of one’s accomplishments in learning, not taking pleasure in rendering decisions, sharing others’ burdens, and giving others benefit of the doubt, putting others on the right path, and restoring harmony, by having one’s mind steady in one's studies, by asking and answering thoughtful questions; by considering what others have said and adding to it, by learning in order to teach and learning in order to practice, by enlightening one’s teacher (through one’s questions), by being exacting in what he has learned, and by relating things in the name of those who said them. We see that one who relates a teaching in the name of the one who said it brings redemption to the world, as per Esther 2:22, “Esther told the king in Mordechai’s name” (which led to Ahasuerus rewarding Mordechai, which was the beginning of Haman’s downfall).