Pirkei Avot 3.17

Rabbi Akiva says: Mockery and levity accustom a man to immorality. The Masora (tradition, Oral Law) is a fence for the Torah; tithes are a fence for wealth; vows are a fence for abstinence; a fence for wisdom is silence

Setting aside the reisha (head, first part), I want to look at the idea of fences and what they mean to Rabbi Akiva and to us. A fence can be something that demarcates a boundary. It can be protection against unwanted intrusions or an obstacle keeping those on the inside from getting out. A fence, in and of itself, has no moral standing. It is how we use that fence that gives it value and worth.

In the traditional view of fences, the intent of Rabbi Akiva's statement is to protect that which is inside the fence by creating a boundary around that which is precious and worth protecting. The Oral Law, which carries the same weight as Torah, is a protection against misinterpreting Torah law. The Oral Law teaches us what the Torah means when it uses ambiguous language such "a tooth for a tooth." The Oral Law teaches us that this is to be understood as monetary compensation, not a literal rendering of the text. In this way, the Oral Law protects us from misapplying Torah dictates.

Likewise, tithes provide a clear protection against the excesses of wealth. The Rabbis never considered wealth to be a bad thing, rather they were concerned, reasonably so, that wealth not be considered an end, but rather a means to do G-d's will. The requirement to give tithes from one's wealth is protection against the idea that the wealth that we achieve is truly ours.

However, we can look at these fences differently. Rather than to protect what is inside the fence (Torah, wealth, etc.) from us, the fence may be there to protect us from what is inside the fence. In our zealousness to have what is good and to do what is good, we require a fence to protect us. From this perspective, the fence around the Torah is to protect us from the zealousness of our desire to do G-d's will. The tradition creates a protective boundary, not to prevent us from "doing it wrong," but to prevent us from getting burned in the act of doing what the Torah commands. Therefore, we learn from the Torah that all belongs to G-d, but we learn from the Oral Law what that means to us on a day to day basis. We learn from the Oral Law how to restrain our thanksgiving and our grief, to balance our commitment to ourselves with our commitment to G-d, Israel and the world.

Tithes, then, may not be a protection against the notion that wealth is the end, but against the zealousness that might cause us to give all of our wealth away in an effort to do what is good. We might feel that if giving some to tzedakah is good, then giving more is better. But the Rabbis warn us that we may give only so much and not more so that we do not impoverish ourselves and become a burden on the community.

Vows are a fence against the zealous desire for abstinence. Abstinence has always been understood as a way to atone and to become closer to G-d. But asceticism has never been part of mainstream Judaism. Our Rabbis prized both worldly physical pleasures along with the more spiritual pleasure. Both were considered valuable. Indeed, we learn that without the yetzer hara (the impulse for evil) there would be no marriage and no trade. Vows allow us to limit and contain our spiritual impulse towards abstinence, thereby protecting us from ourselves.

Finally, the Rabbis cherished wisdom, but saw silence as even greater. Knowing when to speak is at least as important as speaking wisely. Silence preserves our wisdom in two ways. It raises the value of our counsel by making what we say rare and important, rather than plentiful and ordinary. Even more important, silence allows space for us to learn from others. As Ben Zoma says (Pirkei Avot 4:1), the wise person is one who learns from everyone. We can not learn if we are always talking. Silence is a fence that protects us from missing the opportunity to learn from others.

(As presented to CAI 5/7/2006)