EASTSIDE Torah Learning Coalition - Pirke Avot Ch. 5: FOUR - For and Against God

(11) There are four kinds of dispositions: [a person who is] easy to anger and easy to please -- his virtue cancels out his flaw. [A person who is] hard to anger but [also] hard to please -- his flaw cancels out his virtue. [A person who is] hard to anger, but easy to please -- [that's a] "chasid" (righteous person). Easy to anger and hard to please -- [that's a] "rasha" (wicked person).

(65) The attribute of Hillel the Elder, however, transcends all of the others, for he took offense at nothing and felt not even a stirring of anger. Such a man is absolutely Clean of anger. Our Sages of blessed memory warned against anger even for the sake of a mitzvah, even in a teacher's relationship with his student and in a father's with his son. This is not to say that the offenders should not be reprimanded - they certainly should be; but without anger, with no other purpose than their being set on the right path. Any anger shown to them should be anger of the face and not anger of the heart. Solomon said (Ecclesiastes 7:9), "Do not be hasty-spirited to become angry." And it is stated (Job 5:2), "For the fool is killed by anger." And our Sages of blessed memory said (Eruvin 65b), "A man is recognized in three ways - through his goblet, through his pocket and through his anger."

(1) Every human being has many dispositions, and everyone is both different and very distant from anyone else: One person may have a violent temper, always angry; but another's mind is at ease and he is never angry, or if he does feel anger it is a soft anger once in several years. A person may be very haughty, but another has a very humble disposition. A person may have very strong desires, never satisfied; but another may have a very pure heart, not even desiring those few things that the body requires. A person may be very greedy, not satisfied by all the wealth in the world, as it says, "A lover of silver never has his fill of silver" (Ecclesiastes 5:9). But another may have modest desires, and is satisfied with the smallest thing even if it is not truly enough for him, and he will not exert himself to acquire what he needs.

..."A person who NEVER gets angry is not listed here at all. Who among us is so great in humility and reverence like Moses our Teacher?!

(12) There are four temperaments among men: Easy to provoke and easy to appease--his loss is canceled by his gain. Hard to provoke and hard to appease--his gain is canceled by his loss. Hard to provoke and easy to appease--he is pious. Easy to provoke and hard to appease--he is wicked.

(13) There are four kinds [of] givers of tzedakah (charity). [One who] wishes to give, but does not [wish for] others to give -- he has an evil eye with respect to others; [one who] wishes for others to give, and he [himself] does not give -- he has an evil eye with respect to himself; [one who] gives and [wishes that] others will give -- [that's a] chasid (righteous person); [one who] does not give and does not [wish that] others will give -- [that's a] rasha (wicked person).

...Whenever a poor soul happened to come to them each and every Sodomite would give him a dinar and would write his name on it. But they would not offer or sell any bread to the poor person. When the starved soul finally died of hunger each and every Sodomite came and took back his coin.

...There was a certain maiden (rava) who would bring out bread to the poor and hungry in her pitcher (despite it being outlawed). The matter was discovered. They smeared her with honey and placed her on top of the city wall. Bees stung her to death. This is the meaning of: (Genesis 18:20) God said, "The outcry of Sodom and Amorrrah is great (rabbah)" Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: Sdom and Ammorah were destroyed because of what happened to this maiden! (Midrash - do not read rabbah, read ravah (or rivah) - the outcry that came from the maiden woke up God to the evil of the Sodomites)

(14) There are four characters among those who attend the House of Study: he who goes but does not practice obtains the reward for going; he who practices but does not go obtains reward for practicing; he who goes and practices is pious; he who neither goes nor practices is wicked.

(15) There are four types who sit before the sages: the sponge, the funnel, the strainer, and the sieve. The sponge - because it absorbs everything; the funnel - because it let's in at one end and out the other; the strainer - because it lets the wine out and retains the sediment; the sieve - because it lets out the bran and retains the fine flour.

(65) The attribute of Hillel the Elder, however, transcends all of the others, for he took offense at nothing and felt not even a stirring of anger. Such a man is absolutely Clean of anger. Our Sages of blessed memory warned against anger even for the sake of a mitzvah, even in a teacher's relationship with his student and in a father's with his son. This is not to say that the offenders should not be reprimanded - they certainly should be; but without anger, with no other purpose than their being set on the right path. Any anger shown to them should be anger of the face and not anger of the heart. Solomon said (Ecclesiastes 7:9), "Do not be hasty-spirited to become angry." And it is stated (Job 5:2), "For the fool is killed by anger." And our Sages of blessed memory said (Eruvin 65b), "A man is recognized in three ways - through his goblet, through his pocket and through his anger."