Avos 1:18-2:1

Avos 1:18

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said that the world endures because of three things: justice, truth and peace, as per Zechariah 8:16, “Execute the judgment of truth and peace within your gates.”

Avos 2:1

Rebbi asked, “What is the proper course for a person to choose for himself? The one that brings him honor from himself and from others. Be as careful with ‘minor’ mitzvos as with the ‘major’ ones because we don’t know the relative reward of the various mitzvos. Weigh the loss incurred by observing a mitzvah against the reward it will bring, and the profit gained by performing a sinful act against the loss it will ultimately cause. Consider three things and you will not come to sin: know that above us there is an eye that sees, an ear that hears, and all our deeds are recorded in a book.”