After we went through all the different sets of ten, the Mishnah will now talk about lists of seven. The Mishnah says there are seven things found in an unrefined person and seven in a wise person. The Mishnah contrasts an unrefined person—somebody who hasn’t fully developed in wisdom or in the way he acts, his manners—with somebody who is wise, somebody who is a Hacham, in terms of his wisdom, his chokhmah (wisdom), his Torah knowledge, and also in how he treats people.
Number one: A wise person doesn’t speak in front of somebody who is greater than him in wisdom and Torah knowledge, and also in the number of students. He is quiet in front of that type of person, listening and trying to absorb, to take in, as opposed to putting himself front and center and trying to always be the person who drives the conversation.
Number two: He doesn’t interrupt the words of another person. If somebody else is in the middle of talking, he lets that person finish before he responds. Again, if he’s looking for knowledge, then he should internalize what that person is saying, as opposed to thinking about what he’s going to answer.
Number three: He doesn’t answer quickly. Even if he has the right answer, he holds himself back until he can fully develop his thoughts, and then he can answer any question that’s thrown at him carefully and make sure he responds appropriately.
Number four: He asks questions that are relevant, and he answers appropriately. A wise man makes sure that he is asking questions on the topic that’s being discussed, and if he is asked a question, he doesn’t go off topic but answers to the point.
Number five: He says the first thing first and the last thing, and he answers the first questions that were asked of him right away, and the later questions afterward. If someone throws two or three questions at him, he’s going to make sure that he answers them in an orderly fashion.
Number six: If it’s something that he never heard from his teacher, something for which he has no tradition, he answers, “I haven’t heard anything.” He may come up with his own ideas, but he’ll make sure to point out that they’re not coming from his teacher or from tradition, but that they’re his own sevarot (ideas). Sometimes people want to give their own ideas a little bit more weight, so they’ll imply that they heard it from a great rabbi. He won’t do that. He’ll make sure to contextualize everything with the fact that he didn’t hear it from anybody else, but came up with the idea himself.
And he admits the truth. He’s not interested in looking good or winning an argument. That doesn’t fit into his priorities. What he really cares about is the truth, and therefore, if he sees that he’s wrong, he’ll concede.
The opposite of these traits is found in a crude person. That type of person is the opposite of these seven traits that we spoke about. He speaks in front of somebody greater than him. He’ll interrupt them. He’ll answer very quickly. He’ll ask about topics that are not really being talked about right now. He’ll answer questions out of order. He’ll mislead people into accepting his idea, thinking that it’s coming from a great rabbi, from a great sage, and he won’t admit the truth when he is wrong.