Pirkei Avot 3.14

Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas used to say: Late morning sleep, midday wine, children's chatter, and sitting at gatherings of the ignorant - remove a man from the world.

This is a difficult mishna to understand. If we take it literally, without any moderation, it seems quite extreme. Surely, there are times when a little extra sleep or some midday revelry are not only permissible indulgences, but can refresh and rejuvenate one for the serious task of life. Chattering with one's children, or with someone else's, can be meritorious. And the obligation to teach and to lift up our fellow Jews inevitably takes us into gatherings of those less educated. It is hard to understand what Rabbi Dosa seems to mean if we take his words at face value.

If we don't take them at face value and add that any of these things not taken in moderation can be dangerous distractions, the warning seems so obvious as to be trivial. Certainly one can not live one's life entirely in the realm of sleep, wine, children, and the ignorant. Life is serious business and the ultimate goal of life is to do G-d's will. Do we need this particular warning to remind of us of this fact?

Not knowing what to do with this text, I looked for other ways to relate it to our circumstances. It occurred to me that it was b'shert that we should reach this text immediately before Passover. The fours of Passover seem to be echoed nicely in this text. I thought that we could relate the four children of the Passover Haggadah to this text.

The child who does not know what to ask can be compared to late morning sleep. We have a duty to wake this child up. This child needs to start her learning and now is better than later.

Drinking midday wine, while it may seem like a simple indulgence, has clear overtones of anti-social behavior. Going from one drink to several is like the wicked child, for whom the rules of common behavior do not apply. The wicked child asks, what does this observance mean to you, not to me. Likewise, indulging in midday inebriation removes one from common society as if to say that those rules don't apply.

The simple child is like one whose chatter is that of children. The simple child needs our help to grow up, to mature and take his place among those who are obligated in G-d's mitzvot.

It is the wise child who understands that he will learn little by remaining amongst those who have much to learn. The wise child knows that he must seek out those who are wiser and more educated. Only by sitting at the feet of sages will he continue to grow in wisdom.

I am certain that Rabbi Dosa did not intend this connection, but this is the richness of our tradition, that it can be endlessly applied to each generation. Like the wise child, by frequenting our tradition and our sages, we continue to learn and grow.

(as presented to CAI, 4/7/2006)