משנה: מְקוֹם שֶׁנָּהֲגוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת מְלָאכָה בְּתִשְׁעָה בְאָב עוֹשִׂין. מְקוֹם שֶׁנָּהֲגוּ שֶׁלֹּא לַעֲשׂוֹת אֵין עוֹשִׂין. וּבְכָל־מָקוֹם תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים בְּטֵלִין. רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר יַעֲשׂוּ כָל־אָדָם עַצמָן כְתַלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים. MISHNAH: In a place where usually one works on the Ninth of Av, one works. In a place where usually one refrains one does not work, but everywhere the scholars are idle. Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel says, should everybody make himself a scholar?
הלכה: רִבִּי אָבוּן רִבִּי שִמְעוֹן בֶן לָקִישׁ בְּשֵׁם רִבִּי יוּדָן נְשִׂייָא. כְּמַתְמִיַהּ. יַעֲשׂוּ כָל־אָדָם עַצמָן תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים. כָּל־עַצְמָן לֹא גָזְרוּ חֲכָמִים בְּטֵילָה בְתִשְׁעָה בְאָב. HALAKHAH: Rebbi Abun, Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish in the name of Rebbi Yudan the Prince: With a question mark, “should everybody make himself a scholar?” The Sages themselves did not decree idleness132Since according to the anonymous majority, it is recommended that everybody be idle on the Ninth of Av, the day of mourning for the destruction of the Temple, the original intent of the Mishnah, that this be a matter of local custom, would be contradicted. Therefore he requires that scholars do not behave differently from anybody else.
R. Salomon Adani in his Mishnah Commentary מלאכת שלמה quotes a reading במתמיה “if he causes people to wonder” (cf. Note 61); in this version Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel only forbids idleness if it is noticed in public.
The Babli 54b–55a has a slightly different reading in Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel’s text and reads it as a straight declarative sentence..