Pirkei Avot §avot_05_18: Whoever causes the multitudes to be righteous, sin will not occur on his acco...
Source: Pirkei Avot — Ethics of the Fathers (Mishnah, c. AD 200) (avot_05_18) · external_aligned
Whoever causes the multitudes to be righteous, sin will not occur on his account; And whoever causes the multitudes to sin, they do not give him the ability to repent. Moses was righteous and caused the multitudes to be righteous, [therefore] the righteousness of the multitudes is hung on him, as it is said, “He executed the Lord’s righteousness and His decisions with Israel” (Deut. 33:21). Jeroboam, sinned and caused the multitudes to sin, [therefore] the sin of the multitudes is hung on him, as it is said, “For the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he caused Israel to sin thereby” (I Kings 15:30).
Witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15)
- manuscript_tradition: Kaufmann Codex (Budapest, 11-13th cent) — earliest complete Mishnah
- manuscript_tradition: Parma Codex de Rossi 138 (Italy, 13th cent)
- critical_edition: Charles Taylor, Sayings of the Jewish Fathers (1877/1897)
- translation: Goldin, The Living Talmud (1957)
- republication: Sefaria — Pirkei Avot