SHAMMAI SAID: MAKE YOUR STUDY OF THE TORAH A FIXED HABIT; SAY LITTLE AND DO MUCH; AND RECEIVE ALL MEN WITH A CHEERFUL COUNTENANCE.

MAKE YOUR STUDY OF THE TORAH A FIXED HABIT. What does this mean? It teaches that if a man hears a theme from a Sage in the House of Study, he should not treat it as something casual, but should regard it as a fixed norm. Moreover, what a man learns he should perform and teach to others that they, too, may perform it; as it is stated, That ye may learn them, and observe to do them.1Deut. 5, 1. It similarly states of Ezra, For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it,2Ezra 7, 10. the verse continuing, And to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances.

SAY LITTLE AND DO MUCH. What does this mean? It teaches that the righteous say little and do much, whereas the wicked say much and do not even a little. Whence do we know that the righteous say little and do much? We find it so with Abraham our father who said to the angels, ‘You will eat with me to-day a morsel of bread’; as it is stated, And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and stay ye your heart.3Gen. 18, 5. But in the end, see how much Abraham prepared for the ministering angels—he went and prepared for them three oxen and nine measures of fine flour! Whence do we know that he prepared for them nine measures of fine flour? For it is stated, And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said: Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal.4ibid. 6. Now the word three signifies literally what it says; fine also implies three making six; and meal implies a further three, making nine in all. And whence do we know that he prepared for them three oxen? For it is stated, And Abraham ran unto the herd and fetched a calf tender [and good].5ibid. 7. Now the word herd implies one, calf implies another making two, and tender implies a third, thus making three in all. Some say that the word good implies a fourth. And he gave them unto the servant, and he hastened to dress them:6ibid. E.V., gave it … dress it. he gave them to his son Ishmael in order to train him in the performance of good deeds.The Holy One, blessed be He, likewise said little and did much; as it is stated, And He said unto Abram: Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance.7ibid. XV, 13f. The Heb. for judge is dan, a word of only two letters. [In His announcement] He only used a word of two letters, daleth and nun; eventually when the Holy One, blessed be He, inflicted punishment upon the enemies of Israel, He did so with seventy-two letters; as it is stated, Or hath God assayed to go and take Him a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an out-stretched arm, and by great terrors?8Deut. 4, 34. There are 75 letters in the Heb. text quoted, beginning with to go. The Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus, XXIII, §2 (Sonc. ed., p. 293) and Song of Songs 2, §2 (Sonc. ed., p. 95), suggests that the second nation, a word of three letters in Heb. (goï), should be omitted from the enumeration. The virtue of the number 72 lies in the fact that one of the sacred Names consists of 72 letters. Hence you learn that when He inflicted punishment upon Israel’s enemies He only did so with seventy-two letters.And whence do we know that the wicked say much and do not even a little? We find it so with Ephron who said to Abraham, A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, [what is that betwixt me and thee]?9Gen. 23, 15. This verse suggests that the land is of so little value that it is unworthy of their further discussion. Eventually when Abraham weighed out the silver for him, it is stated, And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver … [current money with the merchant].10ibid. 16. Ephron insisted upon the fullest value of the money although at first he regarded the transaction as of little significance.

AND RECEIVE ALL MEN WITH A CHEERFUL COUNTENANCE. What does this mean? It teaches that if a man presents the most precious gifts in the world to his fellow but gives them with a sullen countenance, Scripture regards him as having presented him with nothing. On the other hand, he who receives his fellow with a cheerful countenance, though he give him nothing, Scripture accounts it to him as though he had presented him with the most precious gifts in the world.