AVOT 1:7
Choose your company
Read two neighboring teachings together. How do we judge generously and choose our company wisely?
Pick up the thread
In Your first Mishnah, Yehoshua ben Perachyah taught us to seek a teacher, acquire a companion, and judge every person favorably. The next mishnah brings the words of Nittai the Arbelite.
Avot 1:7 means tractate Avot, chapter 1, mishnah 7. This time, notice the instructions about distance and closeness.
Read the teaching
Nittai the Arbelite says:
הרחק משכן רע
Keep far from a bad neighbor,
ואל תתחבר לרשע
and do not join yourself to a wicked person,
ואל תתייאש מן הפורענות
and do not despair of retribution.
English rendering by Messianic Yeshiva
Retribution means punishment for wrongdoing. Bartenura reads the final line as a warning: a wrongdoer's apparent success should not tempt us to join them.
Look closely
- Find the actions. The first instruction tells us to keep far away. The second tells us not to join closely.
- Compare the wording. Avot 1:6 says to judge every person favorably. Avot 1:7 speaks about the company we choose.
- Ask a question. How might these teachings guide different choices in the same situation?
One word to keep: shakhen (שכן) means a neighbor.
Read with a commentary
A commentary explains a source's words and meaning. Here, we will read with Rabbi Ovadiah of Bartenura.
On Avot 1:6, Bartenura describes an uncertain action that could reasonably be understood favorably or unfavorably. On Avot 1:7, he explains that distance can keep us from learning a neighbor's bad conduct.
Reading the two together, we can practice generosity in judgment and care in choosing what conduct to join.
Check your understanding
Answer in your own words, then open each question.
1. What do the first two instructions ask us to do?
Keep far from a bad neighbor and avoid joining closely with a wicked person. Both instructions concern association.
2. How does Bartenura explain the final line?
Someone's apparent success in wrongdoing is no reason to join them. Bartenura connects the line about retribution to the warning about company.
3. Does judging favorably mean joining every action?
These teachings address different choices. We can consider a generous explanation when facts are uncertain and decline to take part in wrongdoing.
Return to the sources
Reread both mishnayot. Which question would you bring to a teacher?
Hebrew text: Mechon Mamre, Avot, chapter 1, mishnayot 6–7. Commentary: Bartenura on 1:6:3, 1:7:1, and 1:7:3.
Reading a source · Tell text, translation, and commentary apart.
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