you don't know the respective rewards for the commandments." (2:1) Do not judge another person "Judge every person favorably" (1:6) "Do not judge your fellow until you have stood in his place." (2:4) Be fair and deliberate in legal decision "[When judging,] do not act as an advocate. When litigants stand before you, regard them [both] as guilty. And when they leave you, regard them as meritorious, provided that they have accepted your judgment." (1:8) "Be thorough in examining witnesses, and watch what you say, so they do not learn from you how to lie." (1:9) "On three things the world continues to exist: On justice, truth, and peace." (1:18) The time for action is now "If not now, when?" (1:14) "The main thing is not study, but doing." (1:17) "Do not say 'I will study when I have the time', for perhaps you will never have time." (2:5) "The day is short, the labor vast, the workers idle, the reward great, and the Employer is insistent." (2:20), attributed to Rabbi Tarfon "It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you at liberty to desist from it" (2:21), attributed to Rabbi Tarfon Patience "An ignoramus cannot be sin-fearing, and a boor cannot be pious. A shy person cannot learn, and an impatient person cannot teach." (2:6) "Do not be quick to anger." (2:15) The punishment matches the sin "He saw a skull floating on the water, and said to it, 'Because you drowned others, they drowned you. And they will also eventually be drowned because they drowned you.'" (2:7) Commentaries and translations Mishnaic tractates, composed in Mishnaic Hebrew, are usually accompanied by commentaries in Aramaic known as gemara ("the teaching"). Unlike the majority of Mishnaic tractates, Avot has no corresponding gemara. Some have said this is because the concepts in it can never be dealt with completely, being the "fifth part of the Shulchan Aruch" (being intrinsically "derekh eretz": wise practices). Although Avot does not have an accompanying gemara, one of the minor tractates of the Talmud, the Avot of Rabbi Natan, is an expansion of the Mishnaic tractate containing numerous additional ethical teachings and legends. The number of medieval and modern commentaries on the Tractate of Avot is large, and probably not known accurately. Among the best-known commentaries are the following: Samson Raphael Hirsch, Commentary on Pirkei Avot Yonah Gerondi on Avot Maimonides, on