(א) עֲקַבְיָא בֶן מַהֲלַלְאֵל אוֹמֵר, הִסְתַּכֵּל בִּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים וְאִי אַתָּה בָא לִידֵי עֲבֵרָה. דַּע מֵאַיִן בָּאתָ, וּלְאָן אַתָּה הוֹלֵךְ, וְלִפְנֵי מִי אַתָּה עָתִיד לִתֵּן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן. מֵאַיִן בָּאתָ, מִטִּפָּה סְרוּחָה, וּלְאָן אַתָּה הוֹלֵךְ, לִמְקוֹם עָפָר רִמָּה וְתוֹלֵעָה. וְלִפְנֵי מִי אַתָּה עָתִיד לִתֵּן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן, לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא:
(1) Akavia ben Mahalalel says: Keep your eye on three things, and you will not come to sin: Know from where you came, and to where you are going, and before Whom you are destined to give an account and a reckoning. From where did you come? From a putrid drop. And to where are you going? To a place of dust, worms, and maggots. And before Whom are you destined to give an account and a reckoning? Before the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.
Who is Akavyah son of Mehalelel?
(ו) עֲקַבְיָא בֶּן מַהֲלַלְאֵל הֵעִיד אַרְבָּעָה דְבָרִים. אָמְרוּ לוֹ, עֲקַבְיָא, חֲזֹר בְּךָ בְאַרְבָּעָה דְבָרִים שֶׁהָיִיתָ אוֹמֵר וְנַעַשְׂךָ אַב בֵּית דִּין לְיִשְׂרָאֵל. אָמַר לָהֶן, מוּטָב לִי לְהִקָּרֵא שׁוֹטֶה כָּל יָמַי, וְלֹא לֵעָשׂוֹת שָׁעָה אַחַת רָשָׁע לִפְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם, שֶׁלֹּא יִהְיוּ אוֹמְרִים, בִּשְׁבִיל שְׂרָרָה חָזַר בּוֹ.... וְנִדּוּהוּ, וּמֵת בְּנִדּוּיוֹ, וְסָקְלוּ בֵית דִּין אֶת אֲרוֹנוֹ. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם שֶׁעֲקַבְיָא נִתְנַדָּה, שֶׁאֵין עֲזָרָה נִנְעֶלֶת בִּפְנֵי כָל אָדָם מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל בְּחָכְמָה וּבְיִרְאַת חֵטְא כַּעֲקַבְיָא בֶּן מַהֲלַלְאֵל. וְאֶת מִי נִדּוּ, אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן חֲנוֹךְ, שֶׁפִּקְפֵּק בְּטָהֳרַת יָדָיִם. וּכְשֶׁמֵּת, שָׁלְחוּ בֵית דִּין וְהִנִּיחוּ אֶבֶן עַל אֲרוֹנוֹ. מְלַמֵּד שֶׁכָּל הַמִּתְנַדֶּה וּמֵת בְּנִדּוּיוֹ, סוֹקְלִין אֶת אֲרוֹנוֹ:
(6) Akavya the son of Mehalelel testified about four things. They said to him: Akavya, retract the four things you have said and we will make you the head of the court of Israel. He said to them: Better I be called a fool all my days, so long as I do not do wickedness for even a single moment before the Omnipresent, so that they will not say "he retracted because [he wanted] power." . . . . They excommunicated him, and he died in excommunication, and the Court stoned his coffin. Said Rabbi Yehudah: God-forbid [one should say] that Akavya was excommunicated! For the [Temple] courtyard is never locked for any man of Israel who has wisdom and fear of sin like Akavya the son of Mehalelel [had]. So who did [the Court] excommunicate? It was Elazar the son of Khanoch, who mocked the [laws of] purity of hands. And when he died, the Court went and placed a stone on his coffin, teaching that anyone who was excommunicated and died in excommunication, they "stone" his coffin [i.e. they place a stone on his coffin].
(ז) בִּשְׁעַת מִיתָתוֹ אָמַר לִבְנוֹ, בְּנִי, חֲזֹר בְּךָ בְאַרְבָּעָה דְבָרִים שֶׁהָיִיתִי אוֹמֵר. אָמַר לוֹ, וְלָמָּה לֹא חָזַרְתָּ בָּךְ. אָמַר לוֹ, אֲנִי שָׁמַעְתִּי מִפִּי הַמְרֻבִּים, וְהֵם שָׁמְעוּ מִפִּי הַמְרֻבִּים. אֲנִי עָמַדְתִּי בִשְׁמוּעָתִי, וְהֵם עָמְדוּ בִשְׁמוּעָתָן. אֲבָל אַתָּה שָׁמַעְתָּ מִפִּי הַיָּחִיד, וּמִפִּי הַמְרֻבִּין. מוּטָב לְהַנִּיחַ דִּבְרֵי הַיָּחִיד, וְלֶאֱחֹז בְּדִבְרֵי הַמְרֻבִּין. אָמַר לוֹ, אַבָּא, פְּקֹד עָלַי לַחֲבֵרֶיךָ. אָמַר לוֹ, אֵינִי מַפְקִיד. אָמַר לוֹ, שֶׁמָּא עִילָה מָצָאתָ בִי. אָמַר לוֹ, לָאו. מַעֲשֶׂיךָ יְקָרְבוּךָ וּמַעֲשֶׂיךָ יְרַחֲקוּךָ:
(7) In the hour of [Akavya's] death, he said to his son: My son, retract the four things that I used to say. [His son] said to him: And why did you not retract [these statements]? He said to him: I heard them from the mouths of many people, and they [i.e. the other Sages] heard [the opposite] from the mouths of many people. I stood by what I heard, and they stood by what they heard. But [now], you [only] heard [these things] from the mouth of a single person [i.e. me], and [the opposite] from the mouths of many people. It is better to leave the words of the single person, and to grab hold of the words of the many. [His son] said to him: Father, commend me to your colleagues [either referring to those on earth, or those in heaven]. He said to him: I cannot commend [you]. He said to him: Perhaps you do not find in me worthiness? He said to him: No! Your [own] actions will draw you near, or your [own] actions will distance you.
Abravanel's Question:
If we concentrate on the day of our death, what encouragement and motivation will we have to seek the best and finest in this life? What is to stop someone from total moral abandonment, and heading down a oath of more transgressions?
(ג) ר״ש בן אלעזר אומר אמשול לך משל למה הדבר דומה למלך שבנה פלטרין גדולים וישב בכולם וביב של בורסקי עוברת בתוכה ונופל על פתחה כל עובר ושב אומר כמה נאה ומשובח פלטין זו אלמלא ביב של בורסקי לא היתה עוברת בתוכה. אף כך אדם דומה ומה אם עכשיו שמוציאין ממעיו מעין סרוח כך מתגאה על הבריות אם היה מוציא מעין של שמן טוב אפרסמון ופלייטין על אחת כמה וכמה שיתגאה על הבריות:
Rabbi Shimon ben Elezar says: I will teach this through a parable; to what may this be likened? To a king who built a large palace and decorated it, but a tannery pipe led through it and emptied at its doorway. Every passerby says: "How magnificently beautiful this palace could be were it not for the tannery pipe coming through it!" So too is man. If now, with a foul stream issuing from his bowels, he exalts himself over other creatures, how much more would he exalt himself over other creatures if a stream of precious oil, balsam, or ointment issued from him.?
To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you're going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.
It's incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busy-ness of life, to work harder and harder climbing the ladder of success only to discover it's leaning against the wrong wall. It is possible to be busy––very busy––without being very effective.
––Stephen Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, 101
If one is confronted with the reality of nothingness before and nothingness after, and sees that what one gives to life in terms of meaning in the interim period, then all sin could not really occur. The deviance that comes from corporeal attachments would be impossible if one were aware that the physical aspect of life ends in nothingness. Being aware and confronted with this, one either rejects this notion of Akavya and ends up with a life of lust and pleasure or else focuses on it consciously, and in this way avoids the deviances as per Akavya's statement.
––Reuven P. Bulka, Chapters of the Sages: A Psychological Commentary on Pirke Avot, 96
לְפִיכָךְ נִבְרָא אָדָם יְחִידִי, לְלַמֶּדְךָ, שֶׁכָּל הַמְאַבֵּד נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ אִבֵּד עוֹלָם מָלֵא. וְכָל הַמְקַיֵּם נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ קִיֵּם עוֹלָם מָלֵא. וּמִפְּנֵי שְׁלוֹם הַבְּרִיּוֹת, שֶׁלֹּא יֹאמַר אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ אַבָּא גָדוֹל מֵאָבִיךָ
(5) "It was for this reason that man was first created as one person [Adam], to teach you that anyone who destroys a life is considered by Scripture to have destroyed an entire world; and anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world." And also, to promote peace among the creations, that no man would say to his friend, "My ancestors are greater than yours."
וְהִסְתַּכֵּל בִּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים וְאִי אַתָּה בָא לִידֵי עֲבֵרָה, דַּע מַה לְּמַעְלָה מִמְּךָ, עַיִן רוֹאָה וְאֹזֶן שׁוֹמַעַת, וְכָל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ בַסֵּפֶר נִכְתָּבִין:
( Keep your eye on three things, and you will not come to sin: Know what is above you: An Eye that sees, and an Ear that hears, and all your deeds are written in a book.
(ב) בֶּן עַזַּאי אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי רָץ לְמִצְוָה קַלָּה כְבַחֲמוּרָה, וּבוֹרֵחַ מִן הָעֲבֵרָה. שֶׁמִּצְוָה גּוֹרֶרֶת מִצְוָה, וַעֲבֵרָה גוֹרֶרֶת עֲבֵרָה. שֶׁשְּׂכַר מִצְוָה, מִצְוָה. וּשְׂכַר עֲבֵרָה, עֲבֵרָה:
(2) Ben Azai says: Run to do an easy commandment as to a difficult one, and flee from sin; since a commandment leads to another commandment, and a sin leads to another sin; since the reward for a commandment is another commandment, and the reward for a sin is another sin.
A man once captured a Coassack in battle and kept him prisoner. Some time later he went to the rabbi to complain that the Cossack continually beat him up. "Let him go!," advised the rabbi. "I want to" replied the man, "but now it is he who is holding me, and he will not let me go!"
Rabbi Elijah of Vilna, known as the Vilna Ga’on, writes that the yetzer ha’ra does not try to seduce you to do something that is outright sinful because in that case, you’d never take the bait. Rather, the yetzer ha’ra tries to get you to take only one small step down a wrong road, which it can do by convincing you that this first step is actually a good and righteous thing.
Morinis, Alan. Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar (p. 26). Shambhala. Kindle Edition.
To One Who Admonished The Baal Shem
said this to a zaddik who used to preach admonishing sermons: “What do you know about admonishing! You yourself have remained unacquainted with sin all the days of your life, and you have had nothing to do with the people around you—how should you know what sinning is!”
Buber, Martin. Tales of the Hasidim (p. 72). . Kindle Edition.
The List of Sins
During his stay in Mezritch, the rav of Kolbishov saw an old man come to the Great Maggid and ask him to impose penance on him for his sins. “Go home,” said the maggid. “Write all your sins down on a slip of paper and bring it to me.” When the man brought him the list, he merely glanced at it. Then he said. “Go home. All is well.” But later the rav observed that Rabbi Baer read the list and laughed at every line. This annoyed him. How could anyone laugh at sins! For years he could not forget the incident, until once he heard someone quote a saying of the Baal Shem: “It is well-known that no one commits a sin unless the spirit of folly possesses him. But what does the sage do if a fool comes to him? He laughs at all this folly, and while he laughs, a breath of gentleness is wafted through the world. What was rigid, thaws, and what was a burden becomes light.” The rav reflected. In his soul he said: “Now I understand the laughter of the holy maggid.”
Buber, Martin. Tales of the Hasidim (pp. 110-111). . Kindle Edition.
Romans 5:12
When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. His sin spread death throughout all the world, so everything began to grow old and die, for all sinned.
אָשַֽׁמְנוּ, בָּגַֽדְנוּ, גָּזַֽלְנוּ, דִּבַּֽרְנוּ דֹֽפִי. הֶעֱוִֽינוּ, וְהִרְשַֽׁעְנוּ, זַֽדְנוּ, חָמַֽסְנוּ, טַָפַֽלְנוּ שֶֽׁקֶר. יָעַֽצְנוּ רָע, כִּזַּֽבְנוּ, לַֽצְנוּ, מָרַֽדְנוּ, נִאַֽצְנוּ, סָרַֽרְנוּ, עָוִֽינוּ, פָּשַֽׁעְנוּ, צָרַֽרְנוּ, קִשִּֽׁינוּ עֹֽרֶף. רָשַֽׁעְנוּ, שִׁחַֽתְנוּ, תִּעַֽבְנוּ, תָּעִֽינוּ, תִּעְתָּֽעְנוּ.
Vidui Zuta (Short Confession)
Arrogance, Bigotry, Cheating, Deceit, Egotism, Flattery, Greed, Hatred, Injustice, Jealousy, Kvetching, Lying, Meanness, Narrow-mindedness, Obnoxiousness, Possessiveness, Quitting Learning, Ratting on Others Selfishness, Teasing, Violence, Weakness of will, Xenophobia , Yielding to temptation, Zeal for bad causes.