Kiddushin 40b — the Talmud in English

The Sages taught: A person should always

regard himself as though he were half liable and half meritorious.

That is, as though all his deeds were evenly balanced. Therefore, even if he

performed one mitzva

alone,

fortunate is he,

because

he has tilted himself

through the performance of this mitzva

to the side of merit.

Conversely, if he

committed one transgression, woe to him, for he has tilted himself to the side of liability. As it is stated: [

Ecclesiastes 9]

“And one sinner destroys much good.”

That is,

because of a single sin that he committed, much good is lost to him,

for those merits do not tip his judgment toward merit. On the contrary, this single sin tips his fate toward liability.

Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, says: Since

так как

the world

as a whole

is judged according to its majority,

according to the deeds of the majority of people in the world, whether they are meritorious or liable,

and

likewise

the individual is judged according to his majority,

according to the majority of his deeds, whether he is meritorious or liable—therefore a person must reckon that if he

performed

one mitzva, fortunate is he, for he has tilted

by performing a single mitzva

himself, and

also

the entire world, to the side of merit.

If he committed one transgression, woe to him, for he has tilted himself and the entire world to the side of liability. As it is stated: “And one sinner destroys much good.” The verse teaches that

because of the single sin that he committed

this

person, much good was lost from him and from the entire world.

Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says: Even if a person was

completely righteous all his days, but rebelled at the end, he has forfeited his

earlier deeds. As it is stated: [

Ezekiel 33]

“The righteousness of the righteous shall not save him on the day of his transgression.”

And even if he was completely wicked all his days, but repented at the end, his wickedness is no longer mentioned against him. As it is stated: “The wickedness of the wicked shall not cause him to stumble on the day he turns back from his wickedness.”

The Gemara is astonished: Why does the righteous person who sins completely lose his merits from the past? Even if he is not now considered righteous, he should still not be considered wicked, since the majority of his deeds are not transgressions. If so,

let him be,

why should the merits and transgressions of a righteous person who rebelled not be

half transgressions and half merits?

Reish Lakish said:

Here it is referring to

one who regrets,

who repents

his earlier deeds,

for since he regrets having performed the mitzvot, he forfeits their reward.

Mishna:

Anyone who engages in Scripture, in Mishna, and in proper conduct does not readily sin. As it is stated [

Ecclesiastes 4]:

“And the threefold cord shall not quickly be broken.” And anyone who engages neither in Scripture, nor in Mishna, nor

in proper conduct is not part of settled society,

for he has no share in the settlement of the world, and it is fitting to send him to a place where there is no settled society.

поскольку у него нет доли в устроении мира, и он заслуживает того, чтобы его отправили в место, где нет человеческого поселения.

Gemara:

Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Tzadok, said: Why [for what purpose] are the

righteous [

who suffer from troubles]

compared in this world?

To a tree that stands entirely in a place of purity, while its foliage,

one of its branches,

leans toward a place of impurity.

If

its foliage is cut off

from the tree,

its foliage,

then

the entire tree stands in a place of purity.

So too, the Holy One, blessed be He, brings suffering upon the righteous in this world,

and through this they pay for some of the transgressions in their possession,

so that they may inherit the World-to-Come

when they are entirely free of sin.

As it is stated

in the Book of Job [chapter 8]:

“Though your beginning was small, your latter end shall greatly increase.”

And to what are the wicked compared in this world? To a tree that stands entirely in a place of impurity, while its foliage leans toward a place of purity. If its foliage is cut off, the entire tree stands in a place of impurity.

So too, the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows goodness upon the wicked in this world, in order to drive them away and cast them down to the lowest level. As it is stated: “There is a way that seems upright before a man, but its end is the ways of death.”

The Gemara now brings the discussion among the Sages of Israel concerning which is greater: Torah study or action:

And Rabbi Tarfon and the Elders were once reclining in the upper story of the house of Nitzah in Lod, and this question was asked before them: Is study greater

than action,

or is action greater

than study?

Rabbi Tarfon responded and said: Action is greater.

Rabbi Akiva responded and said: Study is greater!

They all responded and said: Study is greater, for study leads to action,

and everyone who studies Torah merits having both of them in his possession.

It was taught: Rabbi Yosei says: Study is greater,

because

it

preceded

the mitzva of

ḥalla by forty years,

for they were commanded regarding Torah study at the time the Torah was given, when they left Egypt, whereas they became obligated in ḥalla only when they entered the Land. It

preceded terumot and tithes by fifty-four

years, for they became obligated in them only after seven years of conquest and another seven years of dividing the Land. And it

preceded the sabbatical years by sixty-one

years, since they became obligated in the sabbatical year only after counting seven years following the conquest and division of the Land. And it

preceded the Jubilee years by one hundred three

years.

The Gemara is astonished: Did study precede the Jubilee years by only

one hundred three

years? But according to the sequence of years explained in the beraita,

there are one hundred four! [40 + 14 + 50 = 104]

And we answer:

He holds

that this tanna maintains that

the Jubilee year remits from its very beginning.

And just as study precedes action, so a person’s judgment for Torah study

precedes

his judgment for

action.

And this is

as in the statement of Rav Hamnuna.

For Rav Hamnuna said: A person’s judgment begins only with regard to Torah matters, as it is stated: “He who releases water is the beginning of strife.”

That is, Torah is compared to water, and “releases” means “begins,” while “strife” means judgment.

And just as his judgment

regarding Torah study

precedes

his judgment regarding

action, so too his reward

for Torah study

precedes action.

As it is stated: “And He gave them the lands of nations, and they inherited the toil of peoples, in order that they should observe His statutes and preserve His teachings.”

And “preserving” refers to reviewing the Mishna, as explained above, 30a.

We learned in the Mishna:

Anyone who engages neither in Scripture nor in Mishna

is not part of settled society.

Rabbi Yohanan said: And he is disqualified

such a person

from giving testimony,

because he does not take care with himself and does not attach importance to his deeds and words, but treats his conduct lightly; it is therefore impossible to rely on him to tell the truth.

The Sages taught: One who eats in the marketplace is comparable to a dog. And some say: He is disqualified from giving testimony,

because he degrades himself.

Rav Idi bar Avin said: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of the anonymous sages.