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How does one transform from an undeveloped person into a wise Torah (תורה) scholar? The Mishna in Avos teaches that true growth comes through learning from everyone, but this requires specific attitudes. One must listen without interrupting, understand the premise behind intelligent questions, and recognize that both answers and questions contain wisdom worth absorbing.
This shiur explores the Mishna's guidance on how people learn from each other, focusing on the distinction between a golem (undeveloped person) and a chacham (wise person). Rabbi Zweig explains that according to Rashi (רש"י), this refers specifically to Torah (תורה) scholarship, where one must be genuinely interested not just in material but in another person's understanding of that material. The Mishna provides three key insights for learning from others. First, one must recognize when someone has more experience and knowledge, setting oneself up as a student rather than speaking before them. This humility is essential for receiving wisdom from those with greater understanding.
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Up Next in this Series
Why does Rabbi Shimon's advice to 'see consequences' seem like intelligence rather than character, while the other disciples in Avos suggest clear character traits? True foresight requires the ultimate selflessness - judging objectively rather than through the lens of personal benefit. This removes the stopping point of 'how does this affect me?' and allows infinite analysis, making wisdom itself a character trait rather than mere IQ.
Why is silence called a "fence for wisdom" in Avos 3:13, and why is a healthy body found only in silence? The shiur develops the principle that speech can emanate from either the intellect or the body's physical drives. When speech expresses physical impulses rather than refined thought, the body gains independent momentum and man deteriorates from "adam" (person) into "basar" (flesh)—the transformation that occurred at the flood.
Why does the Mishna say there are three crowns when it lists four, and why is Kesser Shem Tov superior to the crowns of Torah, Kehunah, and Malchus? The shiur explains that Shem Tov means becoming the living definition of what's humanly possible—like Hillel, Rabbi Elazar ben Charsum, and Yosef HaTzaddik—so others see in you the true standard of halacha and mesirus nefesh. Chanukah celebrates this middah, as the Chashmonaim became the model of devotion, and the Menorah represents the Kesser Shem Tov that rises above all others.
Pirkei Avos 5:7
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Why does lashon hara cause tzaraas, and why are those with tzaraas considered 'dead while alive'? The shiur develops a psychological yesod: people speak lashon hara to avoid the hard work of actualizing their potential, instead taking a 'quick fix' by putting others down. This destroys their inner spark, creating spiritual death reflected in the dead skin of tzaraas.
