Avos 5:14-15

Avos 5:14

There are four different types of people when it comes to attending the study hall. One who attends but doesn’t practice what he learns earns the reward for attending. One who practices (what he learns on his own) but doesn’t attend the study hall earns the reward for practicing. One who attends the study hall and practices what he learns is considered pious. One who neither attends nor practices is considered evil.

Avos 5:15

There are four different types who sit before Torah scholars, compared to a sponge, a funnel, a strainer and a sieve. A sponge absorbs everything (without discriminating between good and bad content). A funnel lets everything in at one end and out at the other (retaining nothing). A strainer lets wine pass through, retaining the dregs. A sieve lets coarse flour pass through, retaining the fine flour.