Ethics of the Fathers Know From Where You Come

Tractate of the Mishnah

Pirkei Avot with Judeo-Persian [Bukharian] translation

Pirkei Avot (Hebrew: פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת; also transliterated as Pirkei Avoth or Pirkei Avos or Pirke Aboth), which translates to English every bit Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from Rabbinic Jewish tradition. Information technology is office of didactic Jewish ethical literature. Because of its contents, the name is sometimes given as Ethics of the Fathers. Pirkei Avot consists of the Mishnaic tractate of Avot, the second-to-final tractate in the club of Nezikin in the Mishnah, plus one additional chapter. Avot is unique in that information technology is the only tractate of the Mishnah dealing solely with ethical and moral principles; there is relatively petty halakha (laws) in Pirkei Avot.

Translation of the title [edit]

In the title Pirkei Avot, the give-and-take "pirkei" is Hebrew for "chapters of".

The word avot means "fathers", and thus Pirkei Avot is often rendered in English language as "Chapters of the Fathers", or (more loosely) "Ethics of the Fathers." This translation engenders an appealing and non entirely mistaken prototype of "patriarchal teachings".

Nevertheless, the term 'avot' is not usually used as an honorary designation for 'rabbis' or 'sages'; in rabbinical usage, it refers to the Patriarchs of the Bible. Rather, in the Mishnah, the give-and-take avot more often than not refers to fundamentals or primary categories. (Thus, the master categories of creative work forbidden on Shabbat are called avot melacha, and the principal categories of ritual impurity are referred to equally avot stomach'ah.) Using this meaning, Pirkei Avot would translate to "Capacity of Fundamental Principles".^{[1] [2]} Additionally, the possibility that the title was intentionally worded to support multiple renderings - both "fathers" and "fundamental principles" - cannot exist ruled out.

The recognition of ethical maxims as 'Fundamental Principles' may derive from the high regard in which the Torah, Mishnah, and Talmud hold such wisdom. "Beloved your neighbour as yourself," states the Bible (Leviticus xix:18), an injunction that Rabbi Akiva in Genesis Rabbah 24:7 famously calls a "bully principle" of the Torah. In Shabbat 31a, Hillel, when challenged past a prospective convert to explain the unabridged Torah while the latter stood on ane pes, answered: "That which is hateful to you, do non do to your fellow: This is the entire Torah, the rest is the explanation, go now and learn information technology." (This maxim is non included in Pirkei Avot.) The attribution of Biblical Wisdom books to Male monarch Solomon (east.thousand., Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Book of Wisdom) attests likewise to the fundamental importance that Jews of this period placed on transmitting the upstanding fashion of life.

Construction of the piece of work [edit]

The Mishnaic tractate Avot consists of 5 capacity. Information technology begins with an order of transmission of the Oral Tradition; Moses receives the Torah at Mount Sinai and and so transmits it through various generations (including Joshua, the Elders, and the Neviim, only notably not the Kohanim), whence information technology finally arrives at the Dandy Assembly, i.e., the early on generations of Sages (Avot i:one). Information technology contains sayings attributed to sages from Simon the Just (200 BCE) to shortly later Judah haNasi (200 CE), redactor of the Mishnah. These aphorisms concern proper ethical and social conduct, besides every bit the importance of Torah study.

The starting time 2 capacity go along in a general chronological order, with the second focusing on the students of Yochanan Ben Zakkai. Chapters Three and Four are thematic and comprise various attributed sayings in no explicit order. Chapter 5 departs from the system and content of the preceding four in that it consists mostly of bearding sayings structured effectually numerical lists, several of which have no directly connexion with ethics. The last four paragraphs of this affiliate return to the format of moral aphorisms attributed to specific rabbis.

In liturgical use, and in nigh printed editions of Avot, a 6th chapter, Kinyan Torah ("Conquering of Torah") is added; this is in fact the eighth (in the Vilna edition) chapter of tractate Kallah, one of the minor tractates. Information technology is added considering its content and style are somewhat similar to that of the original tractate Avot (although information technology focuses on Torah study more ethics), and to allow for 1 chapter to be recited on each Shabbat of the Omer period, this chapter being seen well-suited to Shabbat Shavuot, when the giving of the Torah is celebrated. (See below.) The term Pirkei Avot refers to the composite six-chapter piece of work (Avot plus Kinyan Torah).

Modern scholars^{[ who? ]} advise that Avot 5:21 ("He would say: A five-year-onetime proceeds to Bible [study], a 10-year-old to mishna [report]...") was not authored by Rabbi Yehudah ben Teimah (the writer of 5:20, and seemingly the referent of "He would say" in 5:21) but rather past Shmuel ha-Katan, and was non part of the Mishna tractate of Avot, but rather added later to Pirkei Avot.^[three] In Machzor Vitry, for example, this passage is printed later the words "Tractate Avot has concluded".^[4]

"The construction of the tractate differs greatly from the thematic structure of the other tractates and Avot sayings employ a highly stylized linguistic communication instead of the clear and straightforward mishnaic prose. In addition, the dissonant character of Avot is heightened past the biblical influences on its linguistic expressions, grammatical forms, and vocabulary."^[5]

Study of the piece of work [edit]

From at least the time of Saadia Gaon (10th century), information technology has been customary to study 1 affiliate a week on each Shabbat between Passover and Shavuot; today, the tractate is generally studied on each Shabbat of the summer, from Passover to Rosh Hashanah, the entire wheel repeating a few times with doubling of chapters at the end if there are not a perfect multiple of six weeks.^[half-dozen] The tractate is therefore included in many prayer books, following Shabbat afternoon prayers.

In the class of such study, it is common to preface each chapter with the Mishnaic proverb, "All Israel has a share in the world to come" (Sanhedrin 10:1), and to conclude each chapter with the proverb, "The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to bestow merit upon State of israel; therefore he gave them Torah and mitzvot in abundance" (Makkoth 3:16).

Notable sayings [edit]

The tractate includes several of the most frequently-quoted rabbinic sayings on a variety of topics, including:

Bear witness kindness to others [edit]

• "The earth stands on three things: On Torah, on works ("avodah" can mean labor, or prayer or sacrificial offerings), and on kindness to others" (one:2)
• "Your house should be open wide, and you should treat the poor as members of your household." (ane:v)
• "Meet every person with graciousness." (1:15)
• "He [Yohanan ben Zakkai] said to [his disciples]: 'Go and see what is the right way that a man should seek for himself.' Rabbi Eliezer said: 'A good heart'. Rabbi Yehoshua said: 'A proficient friend'. Rabbi Yose said: 'A skillful neighbour'. Rabbi Shimon said: '1 who sees consequences.' Rabbi Elazar said: 'A good heart'. He [Yohanan] said to them, 'I prefer the words of Elazar ben Arach to yours, because his words include yours as well.'" (ii:13)

Respect the other person'southward rights [edit]

• "What is the right path a man should cull? Whatsoever is honorable to himself, and honorable in the eyes of others." (2:one)
• "Let your friend'south honor be more than dearest to you than your own." (2:xv)
• "The evil middle, the evil inclination, and hatred of [God'southward] creatures bulldoze a person out of the world." (2:xvi)
• "Allow your friend's coin be more dear to you than your ain." (2:17)

Strive for greatness [edit]

• "If I am not for myself, who will exist for me? And being for myself, what am 'I'? And if not now, when?" (1:14) This maxim is written in simple and terse Hebrew and is attributed to the sage Hillel, who was famous for succinct expression.
• "What is the right path a man should choose? Any is honorable to himself, and honorable in the eyes of others." (2:1)
• "In a place where there are no worthy men, strive to be worthy." (2:5)
• "He who acquires a good name, has acquired himself something indeed." (2:8)
• "Do not regard yourself as an evil person." (2:18)

Respect God [edit]

• "Do His will as if it were your own, so that He will do His will equally if it were yours. Nullify your own will before His so that He will nullify the will of others before you." (ii:4)

Seek peace [edit]

• "Be among the students of Aaron: Beloved peace and pursue peace. Love people and bring them shut to Torah." (one:12)
• "The more clemency, the more peace" (2:eight)

Accept precaution to avoid transgressions [edit]

• "Make a argue for the Torah" (one:1)
• "Keep far from an evil neighbour, practice not befriend a wicked person, and do not despair of divine retribution" (1:7)
• "Evaluate the loss of not fulfilling a commandment confronting its reward, and the reward of committing a transgression confronting its loss. Consider 3 things, and yous will not come to sin: Know what is to a higher place yous: a seeing eye, a hearing ear, and all of your deeds written down in a volume." (2:1)

Be apprehensive [edit]

• "Love work, and do non admire official positions, and practice not become too acquainted with the governing ability." (1:10)
• "One who seeks to make his proper noun great, destroys it" (ane:xiii)
• "Anyone who works for the community, allow your piece of work with them be for the sake of Heaven... And equally for you lot all, I will make your advantage great as though you had accomplished all the work." (2:2)
• "Exist wary regarding the ruling power, because they simply befriend a person for their ain purposes; they announced as friends when it suits them, merely they practice non stand past a man in his time of demand." (2:3)
• "Do not dissever yourself from the community, and do not be sure of yourself until your day of death." (2:4)
• "The more flesh, the more than worms. The more possessions, the more worry. The more wives, the more than witchcraft. The more maidservants, the more licentiousness. The more manservants, the more theft." (2:8)
• "If you have learned much Torah, do non flatter yourself about it, because it was for this purpose you lot were created." (2:viii)
• "Let all your deeds be for the sake of Sky." (2:12)

Exist intent in prayer [edit]

• "Exist conscientious when reciting the Shema and regarding prayer. Do not pray as though by rote, but plead for mercy and grace before God." (two:18)

Combine Torah learning with labor [edit]

• "Torah learning is best combined with an occupation, considering the effort of both will proceed one from sin. Torah study solitary without work will in the end be nullified and atomic number 82 to sin." (2:2) (See Torah im Derech Eretz.)
• "Reduce your business activities and occupy yourself with the Torah instead, and exist of a humble spirit before anybody." (4:10)
• "If at that place is no Torah study, in that location is no worldly interest (derech eretz); if in that location is no worldly interest, at that place is no Torah study... If in that location is no flour, there is no Torah; if in that location is no Torah, there is no flour." (three:21)

Practise not exploit your learning [edit]

• "One who exploits the crown (of scholarship) volition laissez passer away" (1:13)

Exist careful with voice communication [edit]

• "All my life I was raised amongst the Sages, and I never found anything better for a person than silence... ane who talks too much causes sin." (1:17)
• "Exercise not speak (excessively) much with women. This regards a man'southward ain wife, how much more so regarding some other homo's married woman!" (1:5)
• "Sages, you lot should exist careful in what y'all say, lest you be punished with exile and exist sent to a place of evil waters, and your pupils who follow y'all volition dice, and the name of Heaven will be disgraced." (ane:11)
• "Say little and practise much." (i:15)
• "Exercise non say something that cannot be understood, thinking it will be understood later on." (2:5)

Practice not seek rewards [edit]

• "Do non be like slaves who serve the master in lodge to obtain a reward. Rather, be like slaves who serve the primary not to receive a reward. And allow the peace of Sky be upon you." (1:3)
• "Exist as conscientious in observance of a small commandment every bit in a major commandment, because you lot don't know the respective rewards for the commandments." (two:1)

Do not judge another person [edit]

• "Judge every person favorably" (1:six)
• "Do non judge your beau until you have stood in his identify." (2:4)

Exist off-white and deliberate in legal decision [edit]

• "[When judging,] practice not deed as an advocate. When litigants stand up before you, regard them [both] every bit guilty. And when they get out you, regard them every bit meritorious, provided that they have accustomed your judgment." (one:8)
• "Exist thorough in examining witnesses, and scout what you lot say, then they do not larn from you how to lie." (1:9)
• "On three things the world continues to be: On justice, truth, and peace." (1:18)

The time for action is now [edit]

• "If not now, when?" (one:14)
• "The chief thing is not study, but doing." (ane:17)
• "Do not say 'I will study when I accept the fourth dimension', for perhaps you lot volition never have fourth dimension." (2:v)
• "The day is curt, the labor vast, the workers idle, the reward great, and the Employer is insistent." (2:20), attributed to Rabbi Tarfon
• "Information technology is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are y'all at freedom to desist from it" (2:21), attributed to Rabbi Tarfon

Patience [edit]

• "A boor cannot exist sin-fearing, and an ignoramus cannot be pious. A shy person cannot learn, and an impatient person cannot teach." (2:6)
• "Do not be quick to anger." (2:xv)

The penalisation matches the sin [edit]

• "He saw a skull floating on the water, and said to information technology, 'Because you lot drowned others, they drowned you. And they will besides eventually be drowned because they drowned you.'" (ii:7)

Commentaries and translations [edit]

First page of a medieval manuscript of Maimonides's commentary on Pirkei Avot, The Eight Chapters.

Mishnaic tractates, equanimous in Mishnaic Hebrew, are usually accompanied by commentaries in Aramaic known as gemara ("the teaching"). Different the majority of Mishnaic tractates, Avot has no corresponding gemara. Some^{[ who? ]} have said this is because the concepts in it can never exist dealt with completely, being the "5th part of the Shulchan Aruch" (being intrinsically "derekh eretz": wise practices).

Although Avot does non have an accompanying gemara, one of the minor tractates of the Talmud, the Avot of Rabbi Natan, is an expansion of the Mishnaic tractate containing numerous boosted upstanding teachings and legends.

The number of medieval and modern commentaries on the Tractate of Avot is large, and probably not known accurately. Among the best-known commentaries are the post-obit:

• Samson Raphael Hirsch, Commentary on Pirkei Avot
• Yonah Gerondi on Avot
• Maimonides, on Avot, introduction known as The Eight Chapters ^[7]

A comprehensive bibliography of Hebrew commentaries on Pirke Avot has been published, including over 1500 detailed entries. The appendix lists over 500 additional books that contain a short segment on Avot, and over 400 published references on Avot in general or individual mishnayot.^[8]

Translations [edit]

The Russian-American poet and translator Yehoash published his Yiddish translation of Pirkei Avot in 1912 under the championship Di Lehren fun di Foters. This translation was subsequently included in a trilingual (Hebrew-Yiddish-English) edition that was published in 1921.^[9]

A Chinese translation of Pirkei Avot by Prof. Ping Zhang from Tel Aviv Academy was published in 1996 by CASS Press, together with footnotes and an introduction of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. The first edition, of 1500 copies, sold out immediately.^[10] A revised version of Zhang's translation, with some influence from the Chinese Cosmic Bible, was published in 2001 nether the championship "猶太聖傳·民刑卷·先賢篇" ('Jewish sacred teachings, records, and ethics articles'). It is available online.^[11]

References [edit]

1. ^ Rabbi Julian Sinclair in The Jewish Chronicle
2. ^ Howard Witkin (5 January 2002). "Unlocking Ancient Wisdom - Pirkei Avot i:1". Aish.com . Retrieved 28 Baronial 2017.
3. ^ Tosafot Yom Tov to Avot 5:21 - הוא היה אומר בן חמש וכו' ונ"א ל"ג. וכתב במד"ש בשם הרר"י בר שלמה ז"ל שאין אלו דברי ר' יהודה בן תימא. וגם אינה מסדר מסכתא זו. אלא שחכמים הסמיכום והוסיפום כאן. ודברי שמואל הקטן הם. ויש נוסחאות שכתוב כאן שמואל הקטן אומר בנפול אויבך אל תשמח וכו'. ע"כ.
4. ^ Machzor Vitry, Pirkei Avot 5:20 (Sefaria)
5. ^ Amram Tropper, Wisdom, Politics, and Historiography: Tractate Avot in the Context of the Graeco-Roman Nigh E (Oxford: Oxford Academy Press, 2004), 51.
6. ^ "What are Ethics of the Fathers?", chabad.org
7. ^ 8 Chapters
8. ^ Weiss, Steven J., "Pirke Avot: A Thesaurus / An Annotated Bibliography of Printed Hebrew Commentaries, 1485-2015". Jerusalem/Los Angeles (2016) (ווייס, יוסף שלמה, "אוצר פרקי אבות / ביבליוגרפיה של פרושים למסכת אבות שנדפסומשנת רמ"ה (1485) עד שנת תשע"ה (2015) עם הערות והארות". לוס אנג'לס–ירושלים (תשע"ו/2016 The book is generally in Hebrew with an introduction and multiple notes in English language.
9. ^ Congress for Jewish Culture, Leksikon fun der Nayer Yidisher Literatur (New York: Marsten Press, 1961), 236.
10. ^ Wald, Shalom. "Meeting the Chinese Giant", World Jewish Digest, August 2008.
11. ^ "PIRKEI AVOTH - WHY JEWS Do Not BELIEVE IN JESUS". aharonhasini.tripod.com.

Sources [edit]

• Erin Kopelow. Found Through Translation. Present Tense, result 6.

External links [edit]

Hebrew full text

• Hebrew Wikisource, with commentaries
• Pirkei Avoth, mechon-mamre.org
• Masechet Avot, daat.ac.il
• Pirkei Avot in hebrew

Translation

• Pirkei Avot – Ideals of the Fathers translation at Chabad.org
• Sayings of the Jewish Fathers, an 1897 English translation by Charles Taylor
• Pirkei Avot translated into english
• Hebrew-Yiddish-English edition (American Jewish Volume Company, 1921)

Transliteration

• Transliterated Pirkei Avot

Commentary

• Derech Chaim, Commentary of the Maharal
• Insights Into Pirkei Avos, Insights from Menachem Mendel Schneerson
• Pictorial Commentary for Children; Rabbi Dovid Goldschmidt
• Pirke Avot: Timeless Wisdom for Modern Life Comparison of the views of the Sages and their rivals in modern times.
• The Acquisition of Torah – affiliate half dozen of the Sayings of the Fathers Exegesis of Affiliate 6 of Pirkei Avot
• Devekut.com has a link ("Pirkei Avot") with an abstract of Rabbi Moshe Lieber's commentary on Pirkei Avot.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirkei_Avot

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