kosher bookworm: alan jay gerber

Pirkei Avot as an intellectual challenge

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With Shavuot now behind us, we restart our learning of Pirkei Avot, beginning with the first chapter. Thus, it is most opportune to bring to your attention a new commentary by Rabbi Marc Angel, a former classmate of mine at Yeshiva University and the chair of IDEAS: The Institute For Jewish Ideas and Ideals. His commentary, "The Koren Pirkei Avot," features a translation by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and a publisher's preface by Matthew Miller. In this preface, Miller asks and answers the following question: 

"Why is Pirkei Avot so widely studied? Of all the books of the Mishna, it is the one that directly touches scholars and lay people alike. It requires little background, yet it offers the collected wisdom of our sages in a manner more accessible than any other book."

This brief observation by Miller informs us right at the start of the historical importance of this work.

Rabbi Angel, in his introduction, provides the following background to his commentary:

"Pirkei Avot, popularly translated as “Ethics of the Fathers,” is a collection of rabbinic teachings, mainly from the Tannaitic period. It is included at the end of the Talmudic tractates dealing with business law and torts [Nezikin]. The first chapter presents teachings of the early sages in chronological order; the next four chapters provide assorted teachings; the sixth chapter is a later addition to the original. This final chapter, transferred to Pirkei Avot from the eighth chapter of the tractate Kalla, was added due to the widespread custom of studying one chapter of Pirkei Avot on each of the six Sabbaths between the festivals of Pesach and Shavuot."

In a perceptive statement sent for publication with this week's essay, Rabbi Angel further extends to us his teaching as to the background and importance of Pirkei Avot to our faith.

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