Wise Counsel: Selected verses from the Book of ben Sira for a Seliḥot Service by Paltiel Birnbaum

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=32880

Date: 2020-07-11

Last Updated: 2025-04-01

Categories: Second Temple Period

Tags: 2nd century B.C.E., 36th century A.M., Cairo Geniza, Classical Antiquity, deuterocanonical works, Ecclesiasticus, Jews of Alexandria, wisdom, מוסר mussar

Excerpt: Selected verses from the book of ben Sira for a Seliḥot service . . .

Content:

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
	1:20 Reverence for the Lord is the root of wisdom, And the branches of wisdom are long life.
	1:30 Do not exalt yourself, or you may fall And bring disgrace upon yourself.
	3:3 He who provides for his father atones for his sins; He who honors his mother is like one who gathers treasure.
בני התחזק בכבוד אביך ואל תעזבהו כל ימי חייך׃	3:12 My child, help your father in his old age; Do not grieve him as long as he lives.
אש לוהטת יכבו מים כן צדקה תכפר חטאת׃	3:30 As water will quench a blazing fire, So kindliness will atone for sin.
בני אל תלעג לחיי עני ואל תדאיב נפש עני ומר נפׄש׃	4:1 My child, do not defraud the poor of their living; Do not make the eyes of the needy wait long.
דָוֶה[1] או “רֹוֶוה”  נפש חסירה אל תפוח ואל תתעלם מִמְּדֻכְדָּך֯ נפש׃	4:2 Do not pain a hungry heart; Do not anger a man in distress.
הט לעני אזנך והשיבהו שלום בענוה׃	4:8 Listen to what a poor man has to say, And give him a peaceful and gentle answer.
אל תאחר לשוב אליו ואל תתעבר מיום אל יום׃	5:7 Do not put off turning to the Lord; Do not postpone it from day to day.
אל תקרא בעל שתים ובלשונך אל תרגל רע׃	5:14 Do not be known as a whisperer; Do not set an ambush with your tongue.
	18:30 Do not follow your impulses, But refrain from your longings.
אל תשמח אל שמץ תענוג אשר פי שנים רישו׃	18:32 Do not spend a small earning for your pleasure, for that will bring a double poverty.[2] This is the text found in C V Recto (Beentjes: C IV Recto). Birnbaum’s 18:32 follows most English editions of Ecclesiasticus: “Do not indulge in too much luxury, and do not be tied to its expense.”
	21:2 Flee from sin as from a serpent, For it will bite you when you come near it.
	28:7 Do not be angry with your neighbor, And overlook men’s ignorance.
	28:2 Forgive your fellow man his wrongdoings, Then your sins will be forgiven when you pray.

---

Hebrew verses via The Book of ben Sira website. For example, ben Sira 18:32 is attested in C V Recto (Beentjes: C IV Recto). In Ben Sira 4:2, we have followed the reading in the Maagarim Database (Thanks Isaac!).

Source(s)

 

---

 

Notes

Notes

1	או “רֹוֶוה”
2	This is the text found in C V Recto (Beentjes: C IV Recto). Birnbaum’s 18:32 follows most English editions of Ecclesiasticus: “Do not indulge in too much luxury, and do not be tied to its expense.”

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Paltiel Birnbaum (translation)
  Bio: Paltiel Philip Birnbaum​ (1904–1988) was an American religious author and translator, best known for his translation and annotation of the prayerbook Ha-Siddur Ha-Shalem ([Complete] Daily Prayer Book), first published in 1949, and widely used in Orthodox and Conservative synagogues until the late 1980s. Birnbaum was born in Kielce, Poland and emigrated to the United States in 1923. He attended Howard College and received his Ph.D. from Dropsie College. He served for several years as the principal of a Jewish day school in Wilmington, Delaware, and directed Jewish schools in Birmingham, Alabama, and Camden, New Jersey. He was a regular columnist and book reviewer for the Hebrew-language weekly, Hadoar. He also served on the board of directors of the Histadrut Ivrit b'America, an American association for the promotion of Hebrew language and culture.
  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Birnbaum
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/paltiel-birnbaum
• 
  Name: Shimon ben Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira
  Bio: Ben Sira, or Ben Sirach (Hebrew: בן סירא‬), also known as Shimon ben Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira (fl. 2nd century BCE) was a Hellenistic Jewish scribe, sage, and allegorist from Jerusalem. He is the author of the Book of Sirach, also known as the Book of Ecclesiasticus. He wrote his work in Hebrew, possibly in Alexandria, Egypt ca. 180–175 BCE, where he is thought to have established a school.
  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Sira
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/shimon-ben-yeshua-ben-eliezer-ben-sira
• 
  Name: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
  Bio: Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)
  Website: https://aharon.varady.net
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-varady-transcription

Featured Image:

Title: wise counsel [from the book of ben Sira] (Paltiel Birnbaum Selihot) – cropped
Caption: wise counsel [from the book of ben Sira] (Paltiel Birnbaum Selihot) - cropped