Translation:Mishnah/Seder Nezikin/Tractate Avot/Chapter 5/21

Introduction

Mishnah 21 continues sayings of Yehudah ben Teima.

Hebrew Text

הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר:
בֶּן חָמֵשׁ שָׁנִים לַמִּקְרָא,
בֶּן עֶשֶׂר לַמִּשְׁנָה,
בֶּן שְׁלשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה לַמִּצְוֹת,
בֶּן חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה לַתַּלְמוּד,
בֶּן שְׁמוֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה לַחֻפָּה,
בּן עֶשְׂרִים לִרְדּוֹף,
בֶּן שְׁלשִׁים לַכֹּחַ,
בֶּן אַרְבָּעִים לַבִּינָה,
בֶּן חֲמִשִּׁים לָעֵצָה,
בֶּן שִׁשִּׁים לַזִקְנָה,
בֶּן שִׁבְעִים לַשֵּׂיבָה,
בֶּן שְׁמוֹנִים לַגְּבוּרָה,
בֶּן תִּשְׁעִים לָשׁוּחַ,
בֶּן מֵאָה כְּאִלּוּ מֵת וְעָבַר וּבָטֵל מִן הָעוֹלָם.

English Translation

He [Yehudah ben Teima] used to say:
Five years [is the age] for [the study of] Scripture,
Ten [is the age] for [the study of] Mishnah,
Thirteen [is the age] for [observing] commandments,
Fifteen [is the age] for [the study of] Talmud,
Eighteen [is the age] for the [wedding] canopy,
Twenty [is the age] for pursuing [a livelihood],
Thirty [is the age] for [full] strength,
Forty [is the age] for understanding,
Fifty [is the age] for [giving] counsel,
Sixty [is the age] for mature age,
Seventy [is the age] for a hoary head,
Eighty [is a sign of superadded] strength,
Ninety [is the age] for [a] bending [stature],
A hundred, is [the age at which one is] as if dead, passed away, and ceased from the world.

Explanation

For commentary on Avot 5:21, see, for example:

• Rabbi Menachem Schneerson
• Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld