[1] It is fitting to raise a question regarding this teaching — what is the nature of the distinction that this tzaddik, the foundation of the world, drew between Torah, *avodah*, and acts of lovingkindness, given that Torah is a general category that encompasses them all? And if *avodah* refers to the sacrificial service, as Rambam explains, the difficulty remains: why did he not also mention the other mitzvot of the Torah?

[2] The Rambam's explanation — that "Torah" refers to wisdom, and "acts of lovingkindness" refers to the virtues of character — makes it clear that the world as a whole does not rest solely upon these. Moreover, the virtues of character include matters that go beyond acts of lovingkindness, such as a person's conduct toward himself. What appears to be the intent of this teaching is that this mishnah opens the tractate because it is the root of the Torah and all its divisions, and it was fitting that this teaching be stated by Shimon HaTzaddik, who was among the last remaining members of the Men of the Great Assembly. I have already written that he was a High Priest, a chassid, and God-fearing; he was also called Chananyah, as Josephus records, and his father was called Yehoshua, who came with Zerubavel to build the Temple — for he was the son of Yehoytzadak, who served as High Priest in the days of Tzidkiyahu, King of Yehudah, at the time the First Temple was destroyed. And that same Yehoytzadak was the father of Ezra the Scribe. This complete and righteous Shimon HaTzaddik served in the High Priesthood for forty years, as mentioned in tractate Yoma in the chapter Taraf b'Kanfei (Yoma 39a), and great miracles were wrought for him in the service of the Beit HaMikdash: the lot would come up in his right hand; the crimson thread would turn white; the western lamp would remain burning; and the fire on the western side of the altar would grow stronger. A blessing was also sent upon the omer offering, the two loaves, and the showbread, such that every kohen who ate even an olive's worth was satisfied — some ate and were satisfied, and some ate and even left over. He was the consummate figure at the end of the era of Ezra's court. In his time, Alexander of Macedonia came against Yerushalayim, having set out from his homeland of Macedonia to wage war against Daryavesh, King of Persia, his enemy, and to destroy all his allies. When he came upon Yerushalayim, there was great mourning among the Jews — fasting, weeping, and lamentation — lest he, with his might, his valor, and his great army, destroy the city and the Temple, for the people of Yehudah were subjects and allies of Daryavesh, King of Persia. They cried out to Hashem in their distress. When Alexander drew near to Yerushalayim, Shimon HaTzaddik went out to meet him, clothed in the eight priestly garments, accompanied by the elders of Yerushalayim, to entreat him. When Alexander saw the High Priest, he descended from his chariot and prostrated himself before him. He said to the kings and officers who were with him: "Do not be astonished at what I am doing, for know well that I constantly behold the image of this man before me in the battles in which I am victorious, and just this very night I saw his likeness before my eyes in a dream-vision of the night, and he commanded me in my dream to do thus." The High Priest then asked of him that he not destroy Yerushalayim, and that the people of Yehudah be under his protection and counted among his allies. King Alexander consented to do so. He came together with Shimon the righteous Kohen and with the elders of Yehudah into Yerushalayim, and he saw the House of Hashem and marveled greatly, and he blessed the God of that House. He then asked Shimon HaTzaddik that they fashion for him, as a memorial, a golden image in his likeness and form — offering to provide gold in abundance for the craftsmen and to pay their wages — and that it be placed between the Ulam and the Altar as a memorial to the children of Yisrael of his coming there. The righteous Kohen replied that this thing was forbidden by God — that no image whatsoever be made in His House — but that two other things, more distinguished, would be done to honor his memory: first, that all sons born to kohanim in that year would be named Alexandros, after him; and second, that from that day forward they would count the years from his arrival there — and this became the era used in legal documents. This occurred one thousand years after the Exodus from Egypt, in the year 3,448 from the Creation of the world. The matter pleased Alexander greatly. Alexander further asked Shimon HaTzaddik to inquire of the Urim VeTumim what would be the ultimate outcome of his wars with Daryavesh his enemy. He answered him that from the day Nevuchadnetzar destroyed the Beit HaMikdash, the Urim VeTumim had ceased to respond; nonetheless, he would pray to God, Who would make known to him what He wished to say. Afterward the righteous Kohen came to him and showed him the book of Daniel, reading aloud in his ears the vision Danieil had seen in the third year of Belshatzar — of the ram with the two horns and the he-goat who would trample it, kill it, and seize its land. Alexander rejoiced greatly at these words and went on his way. All of this was written by Yosef ben Gurion, though he refers to Shimon HaTzaddik by a different name, calling him Chananyah — for it was customary in the Second Temple period to call the great righteous men by multiple names reflecting different aspects of their character. Furthermore, it has been found in a letter written by Aristotle the philosopher, who was the teacher of Alexander and accompanied him, that he said he spoke there with Shimon HaTzaddik on matters of natural philosophy, and that when their discussion turned to divine wisdom, Shimon gave counsel of great depth and wondrous insight, and that Aristotle was astonished at the greatness of his wisdom in divine matters. In his letters, written on various subjects, Aristotle's words include the phrase: "and this is among the things the Shim'oni replied to me." Such is the matter of this great and complete man, and the account of his life.

[3] Regarding the interpretation of these words by Rabbeinu Yonah — that on account of three things the world as a whole was created: on account of the Torah, as it is written, "If not for My covenant day and night, I would not have established the laws of heaven and earth" (Yirmiyahu 33:25), and similarly the rest. There is one who explained that Shimon HaTzaddik stated these three things as corresponding to the three mentioned above: he spoke of Torah corresponding to "raise up many disciples"; he spoke of the Temple service corresponding to "make a fence for the Torah"; and corresponding to "be deliberate in judgment," he spoke of acts of lovingkindness.

[4] It appears to me that the commentators did not examine the language of the Mishnah with sufficient precision. What seems correct to me is this: if we interpret "and they said three things" as referring to the Prophets — as I explained above, that at the end of their era, when the tradition was transferred from them to the assembly of the Men of the Great Assembly, they said these things to guide them aright — then it is fitting to explain that Shimon HaTzaddik, being among the remnant of the Great Assembly, that is to say among its later members, likewise did the same. For he foresaw through his spirit and wisdom that the sages of Israel were destined to go into exile, that her kings and ministers would be among the nations, that Torah would be absent, and that the service of the Holy Temple would also be nullified. He likewise foresaw the matter of the lawless ones and the sinners of Israel who would be in exile. He therefore endeavored to warn them about all of this by offering a beautiful teaching and necessary moral instruction to the sages of the Mishnah who would come after him — just as the last of the Prophets had done for the Men of the Great Assembly who came after them. And just as the Prophets warned the Men of the Great Assembly regarding three matters, namely: "Be deliberate in judgment," etc., so too Shimon HaTzaddik, being among the last of the Men of the Great Assembly, warned the sages of the Mishnah who came after him regarding three other matters: "upon the Torah, upon the Temple service, and upon deeds of lovingkindness" — as if to say: Be vigilant in preserving the Torah, lest you fall into heresy, apostasy, and the denial of the Oral Torah. Be vigilant in the Temple service, lest enemies come and nullify it. Be vigilant in deeds of lovingkindness, lest the lawless ones rise up and slay one another by the sword, through slaughter and destruction. And his warning concerning these three matters was as one who gazes prophetically to the very end of all generations — for in all three of these areas Israel would ultimately stumble at the end of the Second Temple period. One may add further that he warned about these three matters with great wisdom. The meaning of this teaching is that the world in its entirety is divided into three parts among existing things in relation to spiritual existence: the first is the separate intellects, which are entirely free of matter, whose sole activity is perpetual intellection, without any corporeality or movement whatsoever; the second is the celestial, corporeal existence, which moves perpetually in accordance with the conception and desire of the separate intellect and for no other purpose; and the third is the perishable, corporeal world, which moves in all kinds of motion — but by the force of those above it. Corresponding to these three, and completing their structure, one finds in the human being — who is a microcosm — three types of activity. For the theoretical and intellectual cognitive faculty within him corresponds to the higher spiritual, intellectual world; its Torah-directed activity, through contemplation and knowledge of its principles and the truth of its secrets, is therefore analogous to the activity of the separate intellects, which is intellection. The practical intellect within him corresponds to the world of the celestial spheres, which moves through the soul's desire toward the higher Separate Being, blessed be He. Therefore, the activities of this practical intellect are the ordering of the mitzvot through which a person serves his Creator — such as sacrifices, prayers, the resting of festivals and appointed times, and the Shabbatot of Hashem, and in general all mitzvot between a person and the Omnipresent — for through these a person becomes likened to the celestial beings, His ministers who do His will; and it is regarding this that he said: "and upon the Temple service." The remaining part likewise belongs to the practical realm, pertaining to what is between a person and his fellow; its activity is deeds of lovingkindness, and each person fulfilling the needs of his fellow so that his fellow will in turn fulfill his needs — for this is an indispensable matter for completing the deficiency of human civilization, given that it is subject to generation and decay. For when these three matters are preserved in their fullness among people, the world will stand firmly established, like a building and a strong tower resting upon its pillars. Nor is it far-fetched to say that the world stands upon the human being, who is called a microcosm — for the world's perfection is encompassed within these three. Either through Torah, which is study, contemplation, and the rabbinic commandments; or through practice, which comprises the practical mitzvot, divided between the mitzvot between a person and the Omnipresent — which he called "service" — and the mitzvot between a person and his fellow — which he called "deeds of lovingkindness." From this perspective, this division is both necessary and comprehensive in its scope.

[5] Indeed, if we interpret the statement "they said three things: be deliberate in judgment" etc. as referring to the Men of the Great Assembly as a whole — for it was they, collectively, who said this — then we should properly understand "Shimon the Righteous was among the remnants of the Great Assembly; he used to say" etc. as meaning that this perfect sage, although he was among the remnants of the Great Assembly and was included within their first statement, nonetheless individually used to say and enjoin three different things: "upon the Torah, upon the avodah, and upon acts of lovingkindness." For his mind was not fully settled with the statement of the Assembly, since they had cautioned regarding the Torah in terms of deliberateness in judgment and multiplying disciples, yet had not cautioned regarding other matters that are equally encompassed within and essential to the completeness of the Torah — such as, for instance, constant meditation and study of it. Therefore he said that the world stands upon the Torah, meaning upon constant reflection and inquiry into it. Furthermore, with respect to what lies between man and his Creator, the earlier sages said only "make a fence for the Torah," which is a statement specific to negative commandments. Therefore this perfect sage cautioned regarding the avodah — which corresponds to positive commandments. Moreover, the earlier sages gave no instruction at all regarding what lies between man and his fellow, and Shimon added "acts of lovingkindness." He declared that the world stands upon these three, for together they encompass the entirety of Torah perfection — both in contemplation and in practice. And these three correspond to the three parts of the world, as I have noted. The Torah has already commanded us regarding all three: concerning the Torah, as it is said (Devarim 32:46–47): "Set your hearts to all the words that I testify among you this day… for it is not an empty thing for you, for it is your life, and through this matter you shall lengthen your days upon the land" etc. Concerning the avodah, it is said (ibid. 6:13): "Hashem your God shall you fear, and Him shall you serve" etc.; and (Shemot 23:25): "And you shall serve Hashem your God, and He shall bless your bread and your water, and I shall remove illness from your midst." And concerning acts of lovingkindness, it is said (Vayikra 19:18): "You shall not take revenge nor bear a grudge against the children of your people, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself — I am Hashem." And it is said (Devarim 15:11): "You shall surely open your hand to your brother, to your poor, and to your destitute in your land."