Shulchan Aruch 1:1 part i -- az like a namer

I -- Considering the namer, and its feature of being az


The Mishna in Avos (5:18) states:

ה,יח  [כ] יהודה בן תימא אומר, הוי עז כנמר, וקל כנשר, ורץ כצבי, וגיבור כארי--לעשות רצון אביך שבשמיים.  הוא היה אומר, עז פנים לגיהינם, ובוש פנים לגן עדן.  כן יהי רצון מלפניך ה' אלוהינו שתיבנה עירך בימינו, ותיתן חלקנו בתורתך, ועם עושי רצונך.

It is unclear what a namer is, and what this characteristic of az is. For now, I will translate namer as leopard and az as brazen, but we may well revisit this. Many meforshim explain Pirkei Avos, and we might expect many different explanations of this Mishna. We would still like to come to our own explanation.

This is important because Tur leads off siman 1 seif 1 with this quote. Tur, as we shall see, takes az to refer to azus panim, which is acceptable and indeed praiseworthy only when directed towards performing the will of your Father in Heaven. When mockers would otherwise stop you, instead be brazen.

Here is what gives me some pause. Az is a generic word meaning "fierce" or "bold". One can modify it with e.g., azus metzach or azus panim, but there are specifications within the general. The same Mishna states that this same Yehuda ben Teima said that az panim leGehinnom. This shows that he is willing to specify az panim. Conversely, we might say that this context informs us what we are to make of the plain az panim. Still, I prefer the former interpretation, that this is a more general az.

Indeed, Jastrow (page 1060) on the word az translates this phrase as "be strong (energetic) like a tiger... to do the will of thy Father in heaven", and seems to contrast this to az panim, as "insolent, impudent". This conforms to what I laid out above.

Further, putting Beis Yosef's interpretation on the side of the Tur aside, it seems to me that all these character traits are positive ones. Courage/boldness, lightness/loftiness, speed/alacrity, and strength. Yes, we can moralize all we want about kalus rosh not being a good thing, but from a literary perspective, these do seem like positive traits. If we take az to mean brazenness, then this would NOT be a positive character trait.

It would be helpful if we knew what a namer is. Certain animals have obvious character traits, and certain traits are mismatches. You would not say "be as humble as a lion". If you encountered that, you would probably reevaluate either the word you take for "lion" or the word you take for "humble". Although Jastrow (above) translated this in the phrase as "tiger", on the word namer (page 914), he writes that it could mean "tiger" or "leopard". And that, on the basis of Shabbat 107b, referring to Jeremiah XII 23, it referred in Talmudic days to a leopard. This is Talmud as opposed to Mishna, I suppose.

That gemara in Shabbat 107b reads:

בעא מיניה לוי מרבי מנין לחבורה שאינה חוזרת דכתיב (ירמיהו יג, כג) היהפוך כושי עורו ונמר חברבורותיו מאי חברבורותיו אילימא דקאי ריקמי ריקמי האי ונמר חברבורותיו נמר גווניו מבעי ליה אלא ככושי מה עורו דכושי אינה חוזרת אף חבורה אינה חוזרת:

Levi asked Rabbi: How do we know that a wound¹²  is such as is permanent?¹³  — Because it is written, Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots [habarbarothaw]?¹⁴  What does 'habarbarothaw' mean: shall we say, that it is covered with spots? Then instead of 'and a leopard habarbarothaw,'it should read, 'a leopard gawwanaw [its colours]'? Rather it is parallel to Ethiopian, — just as the skin of an Ethiopian cannot turn, so is a [real] wound one that does not turn [i.e., heal].¹⁵

Rabbi would be the Tanna, Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi.

If we assume that namer is a leopard, then the following trait of leopards emerges:

In plain text, "the leopard ... is of small stature, but of great courage, so as not to be afraid to engage with the lion and the largest animals". This is an impressive feature, and one which could well be described as az. It is courageous, such that it attempts to engage with animals even though it might seem it is outside its abilities.

Let us keep this in mind when we consider the next gemara. While the Mishna is Avos surely gives way to multiple interpretations, in one instance the (stama de-)gemara itself cites the Mishna and applies it. In Pesachim 112a, we read:

ואפילו מן התמחוי וכו:

פשיטא לא נצרכא אלא אפילו לר"ע דאמר עשה שבתך חול ואל תצטרך לבריות הכא משום פרסומי ניסא (מודי) תנא דבי אליהו אע"פ שאמר ר"ע עשה שבתך חול ואל תצטרך לבריות אבל עושה הוא דבר מועט בתוך ביתו מאי נינהו אמר רב פפא כסא דהרסנא כדתנן ר' יהודה בן תימא אומר הוי עז כנמר וקל כנשר רץ כצבי וגבור כארי לעשות רצון אביך שבשמים

Thus, even a poor man should have something extra for Shabbat, which Rav Pappa defines as a kasa deharsena, a cup of fish-hash. And, to bolster this point, this Mishna from Yehuda ben Teima is cited. Likely to bolster the kasa deharsena, but perhaps for the poor man to buy four cups of wine, even provided for from the tamchui.

How does the Mishna of az kanamer bolster this? Well, Point by Point Summary puts it as follows:

(d) (Tana d'vei Eliyahu): Even though R. Akiva says that it is better to make one's Shabbos like Chol than to receive Tzedakah, one should do a small matter to honor Shabbos. 
(e) Question: What is this small matter? 
(f) Answer: It is Kisa d'Harsena (fish fried in its own oil with flour):

1. (Mishnah - R. Yehudah ben Teima): Make yourself brazen like a leopard, be swift like an eagle [or vulture], run like a deer and be vigorous like a lion to do Hashem's will. (It is brazen for one who is so poor to splurge for Kisa d'Harsena.)

Maybe. But this operates under the assumption that az is brazenness. Let us see Rashi on the daf:

הוי עז - התחזק במצוה יותר משיכולת בידך:

Hevei az -- strengthen yourself in the mitzvah more that the ability which is in your hands.

It would appear that Rashi gets his definition of az from the context, which is the poor man fulfilling more than it would seem he could naturally do. But now consider, once again, this outstanding feature of the leopard, that it is courageous in even contending with animals larger than itself. It would appear to be a perfect match!

One final thought regarding az. One other gemara gives a description of various animals as az. In Beitza 25b:

תנא משמיה דר"מ מפני מה נתנה תורה לישראל מפני שהן עזין תנא דבי ר' ישמעאל (דברים לג, ב) מימינו אש דת למו אמר הקב"ה ראויין הללו שתנתן להם דת אש איכא דאמרי דתיהם של אלו אש שאלמלא (לא) נתנה תורה לישראל אין כל אומה ולשון יכולין לעמוד בפניהם והיינו דאמר ר"ש בן לקיש ג' עזין הן ישראל באומות כלב בחיות תרנגול בעופות וי"א אף עז בבהמה דקה וי"א אף צלף באילנות:

Rashi writes there:

שהן עזים - ונתנה להם תורה שיעסקו בה והיא מתשת כחם ומכנעת לבם:

דתיהן של אלו - מנהגם של אלו אש שהם עזים כאש:

מימינו אש דת למו - מימינו נתן להם התורה מפני שאש דת למו והרבה מקראות חסרים כזה:

עזים - קשים להנצח אנדרי"ש בלע"ז:

צלף באילנות - לא ידעתי מהו עזות שלו:

Thus, many different things are considered az. Is it the same sort of azus? And if it is, should we apply the same definition to the gemara regarding nesher?

Next up, the Tur.