Commentary regarding Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers)
Pirkei Avot—Chapter 1, Mishnah 12 Hillel would say: Be of the disciples of Aaron — a lover of peace, a pursuer of peace, one who loves the creatures and draws them close to Torah. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. (Matthew 5:9) Everyone wants it; few are willing to …
Avtalyon would say: Scholars, be careful with your words. For you may be exiled to a place inhabited by evil elements [who will distort your words to suit their negative purposes]. The disciples who come after you will then drink of these evil waters1 and be destroyed, and the Name of Heaven will be desecrated. …
I’ve recently been working my way through The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan (The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan), as translated by Judah Goldin. It has been interesting to see even more parallels to the Apostolic Writings from this ancient text. For those interested, Abot de’Rabbi Natan (ARN) is a minor tractate of the Talmud …
The entire text of Pirkei Avot is now up. I’ve formatted it for [hopefully] easy reading, and begun to integrate links to my commentary to the various mishnayot upon which I’ve had a chance to comment. You can find it here: Pirkei Avot Text
Joshua the son of Perachia and Nitai the Arbelite received from them. Joshua the son of Perachia would say: Provide yourself with a teacher, acquire for yourself a friend, and judge every man on the scale of merit. This has to be one of my favorite sayings from Pirkei Avot. These three things are three …
