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Why does this Mishna from Hillel appear in Aramaic rather than Hebrew? The shiur develops the insight that Aramaic expresses the recipient's perspective in relationships, while Hebrew reflects the giver's viewpoint. Hillel warns against the dangerous tendency to focus on what others owe you rather than on your own obligations to them.
This shiur analyzes a complex Mishna from Pirkei Avos containing four statements from Hillel, all uniquely written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew. Rabbi Zweig addresses two fundamental questions: what unifies these seemingly disparate teachings, and why they appear in Aramaic when the rest of the Mishna is in Hebrew. The core insight revolves around understanding that every relationship actually consists of two separate perspectives rather than one unified dynamic. Using the example of marriage, the Rambam (רמב"ם) states both that a husband must honor his wife more than himself, and that a wife must treat her husband like a king. Rather than seeing this as contradictory, Rabbi Zweig explains that each person has distinct obligations from their own perspective - the husband focuses on what he owes his wife, while the wife focuses on what she owes her husband.
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Pirkei Avos 2:5
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