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1)

(a) The Tana Kama of our Mishnah forbids a bachelor - or a woman to teach in Cheder.

(b) Rebbi Yehudah forbids a bachelor to shepherd animals - or two bachelors to sleep together (see Tosfos DH 've'Lo Yir'eh').

(c) The Chachamim - permit in both cases, because 'Yisrael are not suspect on homosexuality or on bestiality'.

(a) The Tana forbids ...

1. ... a bachelor to teach in Cheder - because of the likelihood that he will be Misyached with the mothers who come to pick up their children.
2. ... a woman - because of the likelihood that she will be Misyached with the fathers who come to pick up their children.

(b) Rebbi Elazar adds to the list someone who has no wife. Had he meant someone who has no wife at all, the difference between him and the Tana Kama (who has already forbidden a bachelor to teach) would have been - a man who was once married but whose wife is no longer alive (or if he is divorced), whom the Tana Kama would preclude from the prohibition but not Rebbi Elazar.

(c) Rebbi Elazar really refers - even to a man who has a wife but who is currently not living with her (the Tana Kama includes only a man who no wife at all in the prohibition, whereas Rebbi Elazar includes all three men).

(a) When the Tana of the following Mishnah says 'Kol she'Asakav im ha'Nashim, Lo Yisyached im ha'Nashim', he means - that someone whose occupation is mainly for the benefit of women, and whom the women need, should not be Misyached with women.

(b) The reason for this is - because (in addition to the suspicion that his familiarity with them might cause the sort of lightheadedness that leads to immorality) the women will cover up for him should he fall prey to his Yeitzer ha'Ra.

(c) Considering what we learned earlier, that a man may not even be Misyached with two women, this Mishnah is coming to teach us - that he may not even be Misyached with three or more women (which other men may). See also Tosfos DH 'Lo Yisyached'.

(d) A person should not teach his son - a trade that serves mainly women clients.

(a) Rebbi Meir advises that one teaches one's son a trade which is 'Nekiyah ve'Kalah' - clean from theft and cheap to run (alternatively easy to handle, leaving one with time to learn, and not sapping one's strength).

(b) This is not sufficient however. One also needs to Daven for success in one's endeavors to earn a Parnasah, to the One to whom wealth and property belong - because at the end of the day, wealth and poverty lie, not in one trade or profession, but in one's merits (see also Tosfos DH 'Ela').

(c) Rebbi Shimon ben Elazar proves from wild animals and birds - that one's sustenance depends on merit, and not on one's profession, for who has seen a wild animal or bird with a profession, yet Hashem sustains them all without difficulty (even though they were only created to serve man), so He should certainly sustain man without difficulty, seeing as we were created to serve Hashem?

(d) We often encounter great difficulty in our efforts to sustain ourselves - because, due to our evil deeds, we have forfeited our merits (and even our Mazel).

(a) Aba Gurion Ish Tzadyan quoting Aba Guria says - that one should not teach one's son to become a donkey-driver, a camel-driver, a potter, a sailor, a shepherd or a store-keeper, because they all involve theft (stealing wood and fruit from their hosts' fields whenever they stopover on a long journey, breaking their conditions of rental, allowing their animals to stray into other people's fields or cheating [e.g. overcharging]).

(b) Rebbi Yehudah quoting Aba Guria disagrees. According to him, the majority of ...

1. ... donkey-drivers - are Resha'im, because they are guilty of theft (as we just explained).
2. ... camel-drivers - are righteous, because they travel long distances, encounter wild animals and robbers, and their fear causes them to become humble and to direct their hearts towards Hashem.
3. ... sailors - are pious, because they traverse even more dangerous areas than camel-drivers, and come across even greater dangers, leaving them with an even deeper humility and faith in Hashem than them.

(c) Rebbi Yehudah says that the best of the ...

1. ... doctors - deserves to go to Gehinom (because he sees no reason to humble himself before Hashem. He is never afraid of illness and he eats healthy food, and sometimes he even declines to cure a sick man because he cannot pay).
2. ... butchers - is a partner with Amalek (because sometimes he has a Safek T'reifah, which he sells to a Jew as if it was Kasher, in order not to lose money on the sale).

(d) Rebbi Nehora'i would choose for his son - the profession of Torah, because of the numerous advantages that Torah has over other professions, as we shall now see.

(a) The advantages of the profession of Torah-study over other studies ...

1. ... in the two worlds are - that after eating from the reward of one's Torah in this world, the principle remains intact for the World to Come.
2. ... when one is sick, old or in suffering is - that as far as other professions are concerned, they cannot help him in his hour of need, whereas his Torah stands him in good stead, and supports him even then, when he is unable to support himself.

(b) We learn from the Pasuk ...

1. ... "ve'Kovei Hashem Yachlifu Ko'ach" - that Torah invigorates a person in his youth.
2. ... "Od Yenuvun be'Seivah" - that it grants him renewed strength when he becomes old.

(c) We learn this - from Avraham Avinu, who kept the entire Torah even before it was given (as the Torah indicates in the Pasuk in Toldos "Eikev Asher Shama Avraham be'Koli, Va'yishmor Mishmarti, Mitzvosai, Chukosai ve'Sorosai"), and in his old age Hashem blessed him with everything, as the Torah writes in Chayei Sarah "ve'Avraham Zakein, va'Hashem Beirach es Avraham ba'Kol".

(a) The Beraisa says that someone whose occupation is mainly with women - 'Suro Ra', meaning that his conduct is evil and that one is best served by having nothing to do with him.

(b) The list include goldsmiths (who make women's ornaments), teaselers (who comb women's clothes), cleaners of hand-mills (used mainly by women), peddlers, weavers, barbers (whom the women need to cut their children's hair) and laundry-men. The last three on the list are - blood-letters, laundry-men and tanners.

(c) The Tana also invalidates them from being crowned king (and perhaps Kohen Gadol), not because they are Pasul, but - because their occupation lacks respectability.

(a) Chazal say ten things about a blood-letter. The fact that he walks with his nose in the air, that he has an air of arrogance and that he always leans backwards or sideways when he sits - all stem from his vanity.

(b) The source of his vanity is - the fact that he holds people's lives in his hands.

(c)

1. 'Eino Tzarah' means - that he is miserly, spending little because he obtains free meals from all his clients (who have to eat after blood-letting, as we learned in B'rachos).
2. ... 'Eino Ra'ah' means - that he begrudges people their good health, because sick people means business.

(d) The reason that he ...

1. ... eats a lot is - because, as we explained earlier, he obtains free meals from all his clients.
2. ... excretes little - because he eats (what in those days was considered to be good food), juicy meat and good white-bread, which produce little excrement.

(a) When the Tana says that the blood-letter is suspect on adultery, he is referring to the fact that the women need him, as we explained earlier. When he adds that they are also suspect on ...

1. ... theft, he means - that they sometimes eat food that the women steal from their husbands.
2. ... murder, he means - that sometimes, they remove too much blood, leaving the patient with less than a Revi'is, with which one cannot survive.

(b) bar Kapara's example of a profession that is Nekiyah ve'Kalah is - embroidery.

10)

(a) Every trade is needed. The Tana of the Beraisa says that someone who sees his parents working in ...

1. ... a reputable trade - is fortunate.
2. ... a lowly trade - is unfortunate.

(b) The Tana refers to 'his parents' here - because Chazal in Erchin, advise children to learn the trade of their parents (See Rashash).

(c) The Tana's example of ...

1. ... a reputable trade is - a spicer (because he emits a beautiful aroma).
2. ... a lowly trade is - a tanner (because he emits a foul smell).

(d) The Tana also refer to ...

1. ... someone whose children are sons as fortunate.
2. ... him as unfortunate - if all his children are daughters.

(a) Rebbi Meir learns that, for success in one's endeavors to earn a Parnasah, one needs to Daven to the One who to whom wealth and property belong - from the Pasuk in Chagai "Li ha'Kesef ve'Li ha'Zahav, Ne'um Hashem".

(b) Rebbi Shimon ben Elazar in our Mishnah stated that he never saw an animal in a profession. Had this been Hashem's will, the sort of work that might have been apt for ...

1. ... a deer would have been - drying figs in the field (see Rashash).
2. ... a lion would have been - a porter (due to its strength).
3. ... a fox would have been - a storekeeper (due to its wisdom).

On to Bava Kama