עִברִית
יוֹסֵי בֶן יוֹחָנָן אִישׁ יְרוּשָׁלַיִם אוֹמֵר, יְהִי בֵיתְךָ פָתוּחַ לִרְוָחָה, וְיִהְיוּ עֲנִיִּים בְּנֵי בֵיתֶךָ, וְאַל תַּרְבֶּה שִׂיחָה עִם הָאִשָּׁה. בְּאִשְׁתּוֹ אָמְרוּ, קַל וָחֹמֶר בְּאֵשֶׁת חֲבֵרוֹ. מִכָּאן אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים, כָּל זְמַן שֶׁאָדָם מַרְבֶּה שִׂיחָה עִם הָאִשָּׁה, גּוֹרֵם רָעָה לְעַצְמוֹ, וּבוֹטֵל מִדִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה, וְסוֹפוֹ יוֹרֵשׁ גֵּיהִנֹּם:
English
Yose ben Yochanan (a man) of Jerusalem used to say: Let thy house be wide open, and let the poor be members of thy household. Engage not in too much conversation with women. They said this with regard to one’s own wife, how much more [does the rule apply] with regard to another man’s wife. From here the Sages said: as long as a man engages in too much conversation with women, he causes evil to himself, he neglects the study of the Torah, and in the end he will inherit gehinnom.
Commentary
Rodef Shalom Commentary- (2024) Zev ben David, ואוש
One of the hardest problems in artificial intelligence is figuring out a way for computers to be as illogical as humans. In one breadth, we can say that we value freedom more than our lives, and yet vote for people who will take it away from ourselves or our loved ones. We can support Israel as staunch Zionists, but mourn the harm that befalls its enemies.
In this pasuk, we see this on full display. Is a house wide open if half the people who dwell in it are not to be conversed with? Can poor women be said to be members of the household if they are considered a constant threat to tempt men to evil? The temptation for me, and many other modern readers is to look away from these phrases and idea. Accept that the men who said them, wrote them down, and preserved them were wrong to do it, or graciously, were reasonable to do it given their culture but still not something to cling to. This can be especially tempting as the phrases that lead into it seem both discordant and a high bar to set for ourselves. Each Shabbat we are supposed to invite the poor to join us, but I cannot name a family that does, though I do know many who are effectively open, yet only to Jews. We can, and should judge our ancestors for putting the burden of avoiding gehinnon on women, but we should perhaps not rush to throw the baby out with the bathwater and presume ourselves to be better with our modern outlook when we ignore other aspects of their wisdom. The Sages set lofty ideals and terrible ones, and whether we want to or not, each generation must sort through the dust of their wake.
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Discussion Topics
Topic 1:
An open homeDWhat does it mean to have an open home?
why do very few of us have one?Topic 2:
Hush WomanWhy is it only too much conversation with women that is the problem?
What about other genders or ages?Topic 3:
Bitter inheritenceWhat does it mean to inherit gehinnom?
If you inherit it, how can you get rid of it?Translations
English
Mishnah Yomit- Dr. Joshua Kulp
Yose ben Yochanan (a man) of Jerusalem used to say: Let thy house be wide open, and let the poor be members of thy household. Engage not in too much conversation with women. They said this with regard to one’s own wife, how much more [does the rule apply] with regard to another man’s wife. From here the Sages said: as long as a man engages in too much conversation with women, he causes evil to himself, he neglects the study of the Torah, and in the end he will inherit gehinnom.
Open Mishnah
Yose ben Yochanan, man of Jerusalem, says, “May your home be open wide, may the poor be members of your household and do not increase conversation with the woman.” They so stated with his wife; all the more so with the wife of his friend. From this, the sages said, “Any time that a man increases conversation with the woman, he causes evil to himself and neglects the words of Torah; and, in his end, he inherits Geihinam.”
Open Mishnah
The Mishna with Obadiah Bartenura- Rabbi Shraga Silverstein
Yossi ben Yochanan Ish Yerushalayim says: Let your house be open wide, [like the house of our father Abraham, may peace be upon him, which was open on all four sides, so that guests would not have to make a circuit to find the door], and let the poor [of Israel] be the dwellers of your house, [— that one not hire (gentile) servants to serve him. Better that Jews benefit from his possessions and not the seed of the accursed Canaan.], and do not overindulge in speech with the woman. [From “the woman” as opposed to “a woman” we derive that they said this] of one’s own wife; how much more so (does this apply) with the wife of one’s neighbor! [Others explain that this applies to his wife in a state of niddah, so that he not come to the sin itself; but the language of the Mishnah seems to imply that even his wife in a non-niddah state is intended. And thus have the sages (Chagigah 5b) said (Amos 4:13): “And He tells a man what his converse is” — Even superfluous converse between a man and his wife is recounted to a man at the time of judgment (and he is held accountable for it — unless he must predispose her to the act of mitzvah [i.e., cohabitation], as in the instance of Rav, who would converse and “play” (with her) and then live with her] — whence the sages derived: When a man engages in superfluous converse with his wife, he brings evil upon himself. [Rabbeinu Hakadosh, who codified the Mishnah, wrote: From the words of this sage, who said: “And do not overindulge in speech with the woman,” the sages taught that whenever a man engages in superfluous converse with his wife he brings evil upon himself. (I found it written that when a man relates to his wife: “This and this is what happened to me with that man,” she teaches him to stir up strife, as in the instance of Korach, who related to his wife that Moses had “lifted up the Levites” — her reply incited him to strife.) Or, when he tells her that his friends demeaned and humiliated him, she, too, scorns him in her heart, and he thereby brings evil upon himself], and, [by preoccupying himself with idle talk,] he neglects Torah study, and, in the end, inherits Gehinnom.]
Sayings of the Jewish Fathers (Pirqe Aboth) translated by Charles Taylor
Jose ben Jochanan of Jerusalem said, Let thy house be opened wide; and let the needy be thy household; and prolong not converse with woman. His own wife, they meant, much less his neighbour’s wife.) Hence the wise have said, Each time that the man prolongs converse with the woman he causes evil to himself, and desists from words of Thorah, and in the end he inherits Gehinnom.
Deutsch
Mischnajot mit deutscher Übersetzung und Erklärung
Jose, Sohn Jochanan’s, aus Jerusalem spricht: Es sei Dein Haus weithin geöffnet, es seien Arme die Kinder Deines Hauses, und sprich nicht viel mit dem Weibe. (Vom eigenen Weibe sagte man dies, um wieviel mehr gilt dies vom Weibe eines Andern. Daher sagten die Weisen: Jeder, der viel mit dem Weibe spricht, zieht sich Unheil zu, vernachlässigt die Worte der Tora, und ererbt am Ende die Hölle.
Mischnajot mit deutscher Übersetzung und Erklärung. Berlin 1887-1933 [de]
Source: talmud.de
Digitization: Sefaria License: [missing]
Talmud Bavli- Lazarus Goldschmidt (1929)
JOSE B. JOḤANAN AUS JERUŠALEM SPRACH: DEIN HAUS SEI WEIT GEÖFFNET; ES SEIEN DIE ARMEN DEINE HAUSGENOSSEN; SCHWATZE NICHT VIEL MIT EINER FRAU. DIES SAGTEN SIE VON DER EIGENEN FRAU, UND UM WIEVIEL MEHR GILT DIES VON DER FRAU SEINES NÄCHSTEN. HIERAUF BEZUGNEHMEND SAGTEN DIE WEISEN: WER VIEL MIT EINER FRAU SCHWATZT, BRINGT UNHEIL ÜBER SICH, VERNACHLÄSSIGT DIE WORTE DER TORA UND ERBT
Talmud Bavli. Lazarus Goldschmidt. 1929 [de]
Source: nli.org.il
Digitization: Sefaria License: Public Domain
Français
Maximes des Pères- Rabbi Rivon (2023)
Yossé, fils de Yohanan, de Jérusalem, disait: «Que ta maison soit largement ouverte et que les pauvres y soient accueillis comme les membres de ta propre maisonnée. Ne multiplie pas les commérages avec la femme. On voulait dire «avec ta femme»; à plus forte raison, avec la femme de ton prochain. Les Sages en ont dit: Qui converse trop avec une femme attire son propre malheur, néglige les paroles de la Tora et finit par hériter la géhenne.»
Español
Ritual de oraciones para todo el ano- Marcos Edery (1965)
Iosé Ben Iojanán de Jerusalem, dice: abre las puertas de tu casa y sé hospitalario para que los indigentes frecuenten tu casa como los miembros de tu familia. Elude las conversaciones necias con la mujer, con la tuya propia y con mayor razón con la de tu prójimo. Al respecto acotaron nuestros sabios: el que entabla conversaciones necias con la mujer, se acarrea el mal a sí mismo, descuida el estudio de la Torá y finalmente se hace pasible de castigo.
Português
Ética dos Pais- Bruno Manuel (2023)
Yose ben Yochanan, homem de Jerusalém, diz: “Que a tua casa seja aberta, que os pobres sejam membros de tua casa e não aumentes a conversa com a tua mulher.” Eles assim declararam com a sua esposa; ainda mais com a esposa de seu amigo. A partir disso, os sábios disseram: “Toda vez que um homem aumenta a conversa com a mulher, ele causa o mal a si próprio e negligencia as palavras da Torá; e, no seu fim, ele herda o Geihinam (nota do tradutor: Geihinam= Purgatório, o Judaísmo não acredita em Inferno permanente como no Cristianismo. O Judaísmo valoriza muito o papel da mulher como pilar da família e muitas mulheres foram grandes no estudo da Torá p.ex: as filhas de RaSHI, possivelmente o texto prende-se com a postura da mulher do sábio em questão assim como a mulher do seu amigo) .”
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