Skip to content
Video class October 9, 2026 39 min

What a Thief Can Teach You About Wisdom

Send on WhatsApp Watch on YouTube Subscribe

Welcome to Ethics of Our Fathers: Pirkei Avot, Chapter 4, Mishnah 1

Who is truly wise? According to Ben Zoma, it isn’t the smartest person in the room. It’s the one willing to learn from everyone in it.

Chapter 4 of Pirkei Avot opens with four questions from Ben Zoma: Who is wise? Who is strong? Who is rich? Who is honored? Each one overturns the usual answer. The wise person learns from every person. The strong person conquers his own inclination. The rich person is happy with his lot. The honored person honors others.

Rabbi Greenberg begins with Ben Zoma himself: a brilliant sage who died young, whose teaching about remembering the Exodus “even at night” we recite at every Seder, and one of the four who entered the Pardes. He then focuses on the first question, showing why learning from everyone, including the simple, the critical, a thief, and even those far greater than us, is a sign of security rather than weakness, a key to our relationship with God, and the greatest gift we can give another person.

🔎 In this video we explore:

  • Who was Ben Zoma, and why the Pardes left him changed
  • The two movements of a spiritual life: rising up, then coming back down
  • Ben Zoma’s four redefinitions, and why they map onto four stages of life
  • Why the Talmud honors every elder, even one who seems to know nothing
  • Learning from your critics: how the Rebbe responded to being called “inactive”
  • Seven things Reb Zusha learned from a thief
  • The cards hidden in the guard’s pocket: a lesson from the Soviet gulag
  • “Let us make man”: why even God consults
  • Why the Rebbe taught to learn even from those far greater than you

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Welcome and dedication 00:59 Opening note: Paradigm Shift to the Fourth Power 01:22 Who was Ben Zoma? Why he’s called by his father’s name 02:50 Ben Zoma at the Seder: mention the Exodus even at night 04:01 The four sages who entered the Pardes 05:58 Spiritual “drugs”: why the Pardes was dangerous 07:04 Nadav, Avihu and the soul’s longing to leave the body 08:21 The Alter Rebbe, the Malach and a bagel with butter 08:52 Two movements: rising up and coming back down 10:13 Ben Zoma’s four questions: wise, strong, rich, honored 11:11 Four stages of life 13:25 Who is wise? One who learns from every person 14:26 Who is strong? One who conquers his inclination 15:46 Who is rich? One who is happy with his lot 16:36 Who is honored? One who honors others 16:59 Learning from everyone: why we honor every elder 18:18 Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis: “the University of Bergen-Belsen” 19:08 Learning from your critics: the Rebbe and the “inactive” claim 21:02 Reb Zusha: seven things to learn from a thief 22:36 Reb Mendel Futerfas and the cards in the guard’s pocket 24:45 The Baal Shem Tov: learn from every experience 25:53 Q&A: the lesson of a distracting noise 26:55 Why learning from others is a sign of security 28:17 Even God consults: “Let us make man” 29:22 Self-esteem and humility are not opposites 30:44 Ego, humility and our relationship with God 31:45 The greatest gift: validating another person 33:02 The Rebbe: learn even from those greater than you 36:35 Three Talmudic definitions of the wise person 38:08 Coming up next, and Q&A

🙏 If this shiur gave you a new way to think about wisdom, hit like, subscribe, and tell us in the comments: who is someone unexpected you’ve learned something important from?

📚 Sources discussed: Pirkei Avot 4:1 (Ben Zoma); Mishnah Berachot 1:5 and the Haggadah (mentioning the Exodus at night); Talmud, Chagigah 14b (the four who entered the Pardes); Vayikra 10 (Nadav and Avihu); Tehillim 119:99; Mishlei 16:32; Tehillim 128:2; Shmuel I 2:30; Talmud, Kiddushin 33a (honoring the elderly); Talmud, Sotah 5a (“I and he cannot dwell together”); Pirkei Avot 1:6 (acquire a friend); Bereishit 1:26 with Rashi (“Let us make man”); Talmud, Tamid 32a (Alexander the Great and the sages); the Maharal on Torah, Avodah and Gemilut Chasadim; the Baal Shem Tov; Reb Zusha of Anipoli; the Alter Rebbe and the Malach; Reb Mendel Futerfas; the Lubavitcher Rebbe; Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis; the book Paradigm Shift to the Fourth Power

#PirkeiAvot #EthicsOfOurFathers #BenZoma #WhoIsWise #JewishWisdom #JewishEthics #Chassidus #ParshatBereishit #TorahStudy #RabbiGreenberg

Join our vibrant Torah learning community: 🌐 Website: https://www.rabbigreenberg.com 📚 “Jewish Wisdom for Modern Life” - Latest book: https://a.co/d/6Sz88At ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/RabbiHeschelGreenberg 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rabbi_greenberg 🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/Rabbi_Greenberg 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rabbihgreenberg 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rabbi_greenberg 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabbihgreenberg