Pirkei Avot 1:18

Pirkei Avot 1:18

"Rabbi Shimon ben (son of) Gamliel said: On three things does the world endure: justice, truth and peace, as the verse states, 'Truth and judgments of peace judge in your gates' (Zechariah 8:16)."

This verse from Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel invites comparison with the verse in Pirkei Avot 1:2 from Shimon the Righteous, "The world stands on three things-on Torah, on service to G-d and on acts of kindness".  What are the differences between the two verses?  Can they be reconciled?

There are two differences between the two verses.  First, the verb in the earlier verse, "stands," implies that these are the purposes for which the world exists.  Without them, the world would be accidental and without justification.  The verb in the later verse, "endures," implies that these are the things that are necessary for the continuation of the world, not the purpose for which the world exists, but the conditions for its survival.

A comparison of the three things cited in each verse bears out this theme.  The three things cited in the earlier verse upon which the world "stands," Torah, service of G-d and acts of kindness, are things that give meaning to existence.  The ultimate wisdom about life found in Torah, making ourselves instruments of G-d by service to Him through prayer or action and making ourselves instruments of his purpose through acts of kindness toward others provide purpose to our existence.  They make the difference between existence as accident and purposeful existence.  The three things cited in the later verse, upon which the world "endures," justice, truth and peace, are prerequisites for the existence of civilized society.  Without them, there is fear and instability.  However without them people can still find purpose for existence on an individual level.  There can be study of Torah, prayer or service to G-d through action and acts of kindness that give meaning to existence even in an unjust or unstable society, although ultimately the lack of justice, truth and peace makes it difficult to find any ultimate purpose for existence, as it did in the Shoah, when the lack of justice, truth and peace led to a sense of despair that made it impossible for many to see any purpose in life at all. 

Perfect justice, truth and peace have never existed in history, although they have existed to some degree in most times and places, so that it has been possible to find purpose for existence on an individual level through Torah, service of G-d and acts of kindness.  Both sets of prerequisites require the active involvement of men and women in pursuing G-d's purposes, whether at the public level, by pursuing justice, truth and peace, or at the individual level, by studying Torah, praying or serving G-d through action or performing acts of kindness.  Both enable people to find and preserve the purpose for existence, one at a societal level and the other at an individual level.

Pirkei Avot 1:17

"Shimon his son [the son of Rabban Gamliel of the previous mishna] said: All my life I have been raised among the Sages, and I have not found anything better for oneself than silence. Study is not the primary thing but action. Whoever talks excessively brings about sin."

After all the mishnayos praising study of Torah, it must seem jarring to read one that says that silence is the best thing for oneself, and study is not the primary thing, but action is.  How can this be?  How can we make sense of this?

This mishna teaches us that the purpose of study of Torah is to guide our actions, to G-d and to man.  When we talk excessively, we are publishing the noise from our minds.  When we are silent, we could be thinking about the teachings of Torah and how they apply to action in the world surrounding us.  Applying the teachings of Torah to the people and things around us takes concentration.  It is the art of listening, which is really the art of hearing what is going on around us and the people around us, and applying what we have learned in our study to them.  When we chatter, we can't listen and think about how we should act toward G-d and toward others.  Toward G-d we owe appreciation for the miracles of daily life: our awakening in the morning, our functioning during the day, and our ability to rejuvenate ourselves at night.  Toward others we owe the appreciation of their magnificent humanity, vision, striving and creation as other beings like ourselves.  When we chatter, we shut that out.  When we are silent, we can let it in, and then act with awareness of that appreciation.

Pirkei Avot 1:16

Pirkei Avot 1:16

"Rabban Gamliel said, make for yourself a rabbi, remove yourself from doubt, and do not give extra tithes due to estimation."

At first blush, this seems like advice to be precise in one's observance: get a rabbi to make sure you get it right.

At one level, that explanation seems reasonable.  But if that were the point of the mishna, what would be the point of telling us not to give extra tithes?  If the point were simply to make sure that we perform the mitzvot, then giving extra tithes would be harmless.  The way to make sense of the mishna is to see it as offering the opposite message: by reaching out for help in our observance, we can liberate ourselves from obessive observance.  There is no extra credit for giving extra tithes. There is no merit to obsessive observance.  G-d does not want us to becomes slaves to scrupulosity.  Certainly, we are to perform the mitzvot as best we can.  However by making ourselves a rabbi, we relieve ourselves from doubt, and free ourselves to live fully and with zest, not with religiosity.  As the previous mishna advises us, we need the mental energy to do much and to receive everyone with a cheerful face.

Pirkei Avot 1:15

Pirkei Avot, 1:15

"Shammai said: Make your Torah study fixed, say little and do much, and receive everyone with a cheerful countenance."

The juxtaposition of fixed Torah study and modesty, good deeds and the cheerful countenance with which we are to greet each other implies that the former leads to, and is fulfilled by the latter.  As Torah is the word of G-d, study of Torah leads to action in accordance with G-d's wishes, which is modesty in speech, good works and benevolence toward others.  The result of Torah study is not described as erudition or wisdom, but actions towards others.  This is reminiscent of the instruction of Hillel to the skeptic that the essence of Torah is not to do unto others what is hateful to oneself. Although Shammai and Hillel represented differing schools of Talmudic thought, they both viewed the result of Torah study in terms of benevolent actions toward others.  This does not diminish the value of study of Torah for its own sake; rather it enhances it, because it makes it manifest in one's actions in the world, in a constructive way toward others.  Such actions must therefore be seen as what intends of us, as the fulfillment of our best potential. 

It is also noteworthy that the mishna does not just say we should be modest, do good deeds and be benevolent to others, but rather it says that we should make a fixed practice of study of Torah, which will lead to such behavior.  If we do not study Torah, we will not understand the reason for such behavior.  The behavior becomes internalized only when we connect it to Torah.  Good deeds are the result of study of Torah, but Torah is also the necessary route to understanding the reason to act justly.

Pirkei Avot 1:14

"He [Hillel] used to say, if I am not for me who is for me, if I am for myself what am I, and if not now when."

The traditional interpretation of this mishna is that we are permitted, even comanded to look out for our own interests, but we must also look out for the interests of others.  However, the Mesorah Publications version of Pirkei Avot offers an astonishing interpretation of the first clause of this mishna: that it does not mean merely that one must look out for one's own well-being, but rather that one must be responsible for one's own spiritual development.  This a a much more profound interpretation than the common one, that one must care for others to care oneself.  The focus of all of Pirkei Avot is the importanct of spiritual development through Torah.  If the Mesorah interpretation is correct, then the second clause, that looks to others, must also be read to mean that we are responsible for kiruv, for outreach to others.  The last sentence requires that we not delay in our own spiritual development or the of others.  If we do not start today, we will be delayed in remaking ourselves and other in a more spiritual path.

Pirkei Avot 1:13

Pirkei Avot 1:13

"[Hillel] used to say, one who seeks a name loses his name, one who does not increase [his knowledge] decreases it (or: will perish), one who does not study deserves death, and one who makes use of the crown [of Torah] will pass away."

This mishna contrasts the value of seeking recognition by others with the value of learning Torah for its own sake.  Interestingly, it is not a criticism of the rewards of the secular world, as one might suspect from a Torah sage.  It is much more profound than that.  Even one who makes use of the crown of Torah will pass away.  It is the placing of value on recognition by others, whether in the secular or religious world, that causes one to lose his name, perish, deserve death and pass away.  Why would seeking recognition deserve death?  All people seek to be recognized by others.  The standard of studying Torah for its own sake, to the exclusion of seeking recognition, seems too high a standard for real men.  Yet the mishna does not spurn recognition or satisfaction; it condemns seeking a name or making use of the crown of Torah for the sake of one's ego.  One can still earn a name if one does not seek it.  One can be alive spiritually by studying Torah for its own sake, if one does not use it for an ulterior purpose.  This does not mean cutting oneself off from contact with others.  On the contrary, it was Hillel who said to the skeptic that the essence of Judaism was not to do to others what is hateful to ourselves; now go and study!  We are required to live justly with others, but Torah is the means by which we learn how to live justly with others, which incidentally then can earn us a reputation and spiritual life.

Pirkei Avot 1:12

Pirkei Avot 1:12

"Hillel and Shammai received the transmission from them [the previous generation of scholars, of Mishna 10]. Hillel said: Be of the students of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people and bringing them closer to Torah."

As so much of Pirkei Avot, this mishna resonates on two levels.  On one level, we have the advice of Hillel, to be like Aaron, loving and pursuing peace and loving people and bringing them closer to Torah.  This brings to mind the gentle, warm characteristic of Aaron, known as a peacemaker, and Hillel, who indulged the cynic who asked him to teach him Torah standing on one foot with the answer "do not do unto others what is hateful to you."  This is the approach that is in vogue today, to bring Jews back to Judaism by being warm and welcoming, in the wake of the demographic studies predicting our demise to intermarriage and secularism.

But the mishna alludes to another approach.  Why does it tell us that Shammai received the transmission from the same source as Hillel?  Shammai was known for a more literal interpretation of the Torah.  Hillel spoke to the skeptic, and sought to bring him into the fold.  Shammai spoke to those already in the fold, and sought to transmit the content of the transmission.  Hillel has fared better in the popular description of the two, but the pasuk reminds us that Shammai's approach came from the same source.

Pirkei Avot inclines to accessibility and to outreach, and thus repeats the teaching of Hillel, not Shammai.  But the quotation from Hillel alludes to the other perspective.  It urges us to be of the students of Aaron, yet the reader knows that Aaron, in his love of peace, allowed the Israelites to worship the golden calf, while his brother, Moses, immediately rejected the golden calf.  The end of the quotation from Hillel points to Shammai: "bringing [people] closer to Torah" moves from loving them to bringing them closer to the text, where love alone is not enough.  The purpose of loving them is to bring them closer to Torah, which they must study and take to heart.

Pirkei Avot 1:11

Pirkei Avot 1:11

"Avtalyon said: Sages, be careful with your words lest you deserve to be exiled and are exiled to a place of bad waters. The students who come after you will drink of these waters and die, and G-d's Name will be desecrated."

This is a puzzling mishna.  First we must unravel the metaphor: what is the "place of bad waters" to which the sages who "deserve to be exiled" because of their careless words are exiled?  Since it is a place where the students who drink of these waters will die, and G-d's Name will be desecrated, it sounds like a place where doctrines that desecrate G-d's Name are taught.  Although we can't tell what these teachings are, they are not teachings that are intentionally blasphemous; rather, it is a place to which sages are exiled when they are careless with their words.  It is a place where false teachings are passed off as part of the transmitted tradition, and where students die metaphorically because they receive teachings that are not true to what has been passed down from Sinai, through the generations of prophets and scholars.

There is a great sense here that the teachings of Torah have a very specific, intentional meaning.  Today we tend to see any interpretation of the text encouraged, as if Torah speaks to all in different ways, and what is to be taken from it is subjective.  This mishna says that there is a true sense of the text, and it must be imparted by careful sages.

There is also a sense that the reason that careless words are so harmful is not just the words themselves, but rather the effect that they have in "exiling" sages from the community of faithful transmitters of the tradition.  Separation from the community leaves the careless sages unmoored from the salutary effects of the community of sages who are more faithful to the tradition.  This concept resonates with the earlier verses that urge us to find a good teacher and to sit at the feet of sages.  The connectedness to other sages helps even the wise stay faithful to the true sense of the teachings, and avoid "bad waters".

"Shemaya and Avtalyon received the transmission from them [the previous generation of scholars, listed in Mishna 8]. Shemaya said: Love work, despise high position, and do not become too close to the authorities."

The central tenet of this mishna is the advice to "love work".  The Hebrew word used for work is "melacha," the kind of creative work which is prohibited on Shabbat.  In America there is a saying that some people live to work and others work to live, and it is usually used by people who count themselves among the latter, who think the former are obsessive.  This mishna, and I would argue, traditional Judaism, rejects the dichotomy.  This mishna suggests that we should love our creative work.  This is at odds with the idea that there is something obsessive about placing a high priority on one's work, and also with the idea that work is just a means toward the end of living.  Rather, the mishna suggests that there is something virtuous in work for it's own sake.  If we reflect on the fact that "melacha" is what is prohibited to be done on Shabbat, and why it is prohibited-to mimic the Creator's rest after creating the universe, we get an inkling of why we should love "melacha": it is our equivalent to the act of creating the universe.  Through our creative work, we imitate the act of the Creator in creating the universe in irreversibly reshaping the world.  This view ennobles us as little creators and shapers of the world, as opposed to the view in the saying that reduces us to atoms whose only value is our personal pleasure.

The two remaining admonitions in this mishna follow logically from the first, and explain it.  If our creative work is the source of our self-actualization, high position really distracts from it by placing emphasis on the recognition of those authorities who conferred the high position, presumably for their own selfish reasons.  Similarly, one who becomes too close to the authorities becomes corrupted by them, to the extent that he diverts his talents to pleasing the authorities, instead of maximizing the quality of his creative work.

Pirkei Avot 1:9

"Shimon ben (son of) Shatach said: Examine witnesses thoroughly and be careful with your words lest through them they learn to lie."

One one level this is advice to judges.  As such, it makes sense: to determined the truth, a judge must ask many questions, in a way that doesn't reveal the answers he suspects.

But it seems to me that this mishna is not just about advice to judges.  We are all judges of hundreds of questions, issues and challenges that arise daily, and the people we interact with daily are witnesses of events that are the basis for our decisions and our actions.  On this level, this mishna is about how to interact with others and how to live.  By the questions we ask, and the way we ask them, we learn about the world and those around us.  When we come to life with preconceived notions and fail to inquire earnestly about the problems and decisions we face, we live errantly.  To live seriously, we must be aware of those around us, and learn from them, and take our decisions in our daily lives as seriously as judges take their decisions.  There is a point to this: living justly every day, to the best of our ability, matters, perhaps as much as anything else.

Pirkei Avot 1:8

Yehuda ben (son of) Tabbai and Shimon ben Shatach received the transmission from them [the previous generation of scholars, listed in Mishna 6]. Yehuda ben Tabbai said: Do not act as an adviser among the judges. When the litigants are standing before you they should be in your eyes as guilty. When they are dismissed from before you they should be in your eyes as innocent, provided they have accepted the decision.

This mishna seems at first to be jarring.  Why should a judge view both litigants as guilty, when one of them might be innocent or righteous?  We are advised elsewhere in the Pirkei Avot to judge on the side of merit.  Why should we view both litigants as innocent after we may have proclaimed one to be guilty?  The mishna makes sense if we understand it as a description of the perspective of the Divine: above the fray, aware of the foibles of men and women in the actual world, yet loving them.  In our humanity, we all have our self-centered perspective that colors our view and our actions.  The "adviser," like a lawyer, advocates for one, but even that one is seeking his own personal benefit, because that is an essential attribute of humanity.  The Divine perspective, seeing that, knows that each person is "guilty" of being an atom, a small part of the universe, pursuing its own self-interest above all else.  We all distort the truth by seeing it from the only perspective from which we can.  The judge must see it from a higher, objective reality above the perspective of the litigants.  Yet once the judgment is rendered and the litigants accept it, they adopt the perspective of the judge: universal truth, not their own, personal perspective.  The awareness that there is a perspective above our personal perspective is the awareness of the Divine perspective, and thereby, the awareness of the Divine.  Judges can imitate it when they perform their function at the highest level, although they remain human.  We can perceive an aspect of the Divine when read and understand the meaning of this mishna.

Pirkei Avot 1:7

"Nittai of Arbel said, distance yourself from a bad neighbor, do not befriend a wicked person, and do not despair of punishment."

After all the previous passages advising us how to live rightly, in accordance with Torah, we come upon this passage that recognizes the problem of evil; people who not only do not attempt to live rightly, but choose, for whatever reason, to act badly.  Nittai recognizes that such people can be all around us: neighbors and people we encounter in daily life.  His advice to distance yourself from them can be contrasted with John Milton's opinion in Areopagitica: "I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary, but slinks out of the race, where that immortal garland is to run for, not without dust and heat.  Assuredly, we bring not innocence into the world, we bring impurity much rather; that which purifies us is trial, and trial is by what is contrary.  That virtue which is but a youngling in the contemplation of evil, and knows not the utmost that vice promises to her followers, and rejects it, is but a blank virtue, not a pure; her whiteness is but an excremental whiteness; which was the reason why our sage and serious poet Spenser...describing true temperance under the person of Guion, brings him in with his palmer through the cave of Mammon, and the bower of earthly bliss, that he might see and know, and yet abstain."  Nittai's advice also seems contrary to the calling to Jews to be "ohr l'goyim," a light to the nations. 

The opposition of these two views of virtue is truly one of the fundamental issues in the understanding of virtue.  One views virtue as a quality that is developed by study and imitation of the virtuous, because it is a priori derived from Torah.  The second views virtue as a quality which is developed through adversity, and therefore developed a posteriori from experience.  Undoubtedly, the first must be the quintessentially Jewish view, since the commandments of Torah are the only source of virtue, and as we are told in Netzavim, G-d rewards following the commandments and punishes violating them.  The other view bases virtue on the qualities of moral strength of the man; the Latin root of virtue is "vir," or man.  In the Jewish view, the vices of the wicked can be imparted to us if we have excessive contact with them, whereas in Milton's view, contact with the wicked provides "trial," which purifies us.  In the Jewish view, we can be "ohr l'goyim" only by nurturing our yetzer tov, our good inclination, by study and imitation of the virtuous, and then providing an example to others, and G-d provides further motivation to others by exacting retribution on the wicked.

Pirkei Avot 1:6

"Yehoshua ben (son of) Perachia and Nittai of Arbel received the transmission from them [the rabbis of Mishna 4]. Yehoshua ben Perachia said: Make for yourself a rabbi, acquire for yourself a friend, and judge every person favorably."

The underlying subject of this mishna is how to live.  What do making for yourself a rabbi, acquiring for yourself a friend and judging every person favorably have in common?  It is making right choices in everyday life.  A rabbi knows the law and the priorities among the mitzvot, and how they apply practically to everyday life, and a rabbi that we make for ourself will come to know us as well.  A friend can know us, and our strengths and weaknesses, and help us make decisions and sort out our priorities by helping us see ourselves and our choices from another perspective.  Judging others favorably acknowledges the difficulty of applying the mitzvot to the myriad of daily choices we are faced with, and the possibility that the other person may be trying to do so.

There are four premises implicit in this mishna:  first, that we are ethical beings, who ought to, and want to act ethically or in accordance with halacha; second, that it is not always obvious how to do so; living ethically or halachically requires knowledge and thoughtfulness; and third, that living ethically or halachically requires the assistance of others, who know the law, and who know us; and fourth, that others may be trying to live ethically or halachically as well.

There are further implications from these premises.  First, that anyone, Jew or gentile, can choose to live ethically or not.  The art of living ethically is difficult, and requires assistance of others, but is clearly meritorious.  Second, that ethical living for a Jew is defined by reference to Torah, which is why we are advised to take a rabbi for ourselves.  Third, that we act ethically or halachically by looking for the best in others.  What this means is to love others, for love is essentially favorable interpretation of the loved one.  Loving others inclines us to act ethically or halachically toward them.  Love is the meta-mitzvah in our relationships with other people, because it inclines us to perform other miztvot toward others.  Of course, halacha also contains mitzvot in our relationship to God, but God in his infinite wisdom commands us to treat others with love.

"Yossi ben (son of) Yochanan of Jerusalem said: Let your house be open wide, let the poor be members of your household, and do not chatter excessively with women. This was said regarding one's own wife, certainly with another's wife. Based on this the Sages have said, one who chatters excessively with women causes evil to himself, wastes time from Torah study, and will eventually inherit Gehenna."

This verse is an intellectual roller coaster.  The beginning wrenches us from the message of transmission of the Torah (sitting in the dust of the sages' feet and drinking in their words) to g'milut chasidim-acts of lovingkindness.  The implication is that the teachings of Torah, and perhaps the purpose of the teachings of Torah, are to lead to acts of lovingkindness.  The other implication is that the poor have wisdom and dignity, as do the sages.

But then suddenly, the topic turns to something that seems totally unrelated, and even archaic: "...and do not chatter excessively with women."  What possible connection does this have to the previous text?  And how jarring, in this world where there are women rabbis, who wear kippot and tallitot, in synagogues where men do not!  Are we to skip this section, and dismiss it as archaic?  I prefer not to, trusting in the timeless wisdom of the text, or at least curious enough about what the text has to say to examine it further, to try to squeeze the meaning from it.  The clues to the meaning of the text are in the words "chatter excessively," which appear twice, and the phrase "wastes time from Torah study."  The text is acknowledging the power of the charm that women have over men, that can distract men from the study of Torah and the pursuit of spiritual improvement.  It is not so much a statement about women, who are revered in the texts, as it is about the weakness of men.  The words "chatter excessively" imply relating to women on the basis of their attractiveness and charm, as opposed to the more spiritual bonds between men and women.  Even the work "excessively" allows for some leeway in relating to women on the basis of their charm, as long as it is not excessive.  The bottom line is that at the end of the day, we must return to Torah, and to the primacy of the spiritual over the physical.

Pirkei Avot, 1:4

"Yossi ben (son of) Yo'ezer of Ts'raidah and Yossi ben Yochanan of Jerusalem received [the transmission] from them. Yossi ben Yo'ezer used to say: Let your house be a meeting place for the sages, cleave to the dust of their feet, and drink thirstily their words."

With this mishna, we have now passed from transmission to reception of Torah.  The first mishna of the chapter was an instruction to the teachers; this is an instruction to the students.  This is not accidental.  The generation that learned from Moses, who were personally responsible for transmitting the law, lest it be forgotten for posterity, is now gone.  We are now left with the men who learned from the men of the Great Assembly, who are now more concerned with persuading us to receive the transmission, than with persuading those who received it to transmit it.  The emphasis of l'dor v'dor has changed from the need to transmit, to the need to receive what is transmitted.

On a literal level, the mishna addresses rules of our house; we are to welcome sages and learn from them.  But it is inescapable that the mishna also addresses our spiritual home, for it is not just in our house that we learn.  Rather, in our lives we must seek out and draw from those who are learned in Torah their habits and priorities.  The Torah, when earnestly studied over a period of time, changes the character of the student.  This changed character is contained metaphorically in "the dust of their feet" and in "their words".  It is this character, that is molded by deep study of Torah and that can be acquired from those learned in the Torah, that is to be earnestly sought out and emulated by the community of Israel at large.

Pirkei Avot 1:3

"Antignos of Socho received [the transmission] from Shimon the Righteous. He used to say: Do not be as servants who serve the Master to receive reward. Rather, be as servants who serve the Master not to receive reward. And let the fear of heaven be upon you."

The first sentence of Antigonus' teaching is easy to comprehend: We must not follow God's commands out of expectation of reward.  As we know, and as Rabbi Kushner has reminded us, good things don't always come to people who do good things.  In the words of the popular American saying, "goods deeds rarely (or never) go unpunished."  So why do good deeds?  The next sentence gives a murky answer: to be as servants who serve the Master not to receive reward.  Why would a servant serve a master with no expectation of reward?  There are two possibilities: fear of punishment for not serving, or love of the Master.  The final sentence suggests that it is both.  The key Hebrew word in the sentence, "Morah," is related to "Yara," fear, and to "Moreh," teacher.  It is not fear of a specific punishment for a specific transgression, because the text doesn't use the word "punishment," and the idea that all bad deeds are punished is as unsophisticated as the idea that all good deeds are rewarded.  Rather, it is the fear that negative consequences will come from a life of not aligning oneself with the dominant force in the universe, and at the same time the moral teacher of the universe.  We should not expect reward for serving God by following his commandments, but we should live with the belief that they come from the master and moral teacher of the universe.

Pirkei Avot, 1:2

"Shimon the Righteous was of the last survivors of the Men of the Great Assembly. He used to say, the world is based upon three things: on Torah, on service [of G-d], and on acts of kindness."

As one of the last survivors of the men of the Great Assembly, Shimon the Righteous must have felt the obligation to transmit the essence of Torah to the next generation in the most understandable fashion, so that it would continue.  The first two of the three things are not surprising: the Torah is the thing that Shimon was obligated to transmit, as one of the last survivors of the last group to whom it had been passed from Moses, who received it from God.  The Torah had to be the first thing that Shimon would say the world stood on.  It is also not surprising that service of God would be the second thing, for the service of God, through the performance of the Mitzvot, is what the Torah commands.  What is surprising is the third thing: acts of kindness.  It doesn't follow the pattern.  The logical next thing, after service of God, which is following the commandments of the Torah governing the relationship between man and God, would be following the commandments of the Torah governing the relationship between man and man.  Acts of kindness depart from the pattern of following the commandments of the Torah, in favor of a generalized human-centered observance.  Note that that third thing is not "service of man," which would parallel service of God; rather it is acts of kindness, which are defined by human feelings about what constitutes "kindness".  This is an example of an essential inclination of rabbinic Judaism, similar to the tendency of the oral tradition to favor leniency in interpretation of harsh Toraitic punishments, and dissimilar to the tendency of the Moslem tradition toward literal interpretation of harsh Koranic punishments.  It is also similar to the teaching of the Golden Rule (don't do to others what is hateful to you) and forshadows the tendency of liberal Judaism to view the essence of Judaism as tikkun olam, which is generally interpreted to mean doing good deeds for other people, both of which ignore the God-centered commandments.  Shimon the Righteous had it as one of three things upon which the world stands.  In modern liberal Judaism, the third leg has become longer than the first two.  This is not meant as an indictment of the inclination to human kindness as a direction of Jewish observance; rather, it is meant as an observation about how the tradition has developed.

Beginning a new project

With the new year, I have decided to start a project of reading consecutive verses in Pirkei Avot and giving my interpretation of them.  Although I was raised in the Reform movement, two of my children are Baal T'shuvah, and I feel post-denominational.  I am a member of Temple Judea, a Reform congregation in Palm Beach County, but my daughter and son in law are modern Orthodox, I have a son studying at Yeshiva Ohr Somayach in Jerusalem, and another son who has learned at Aish in Jerusalem, my parents were raised Conservative, and I sometimes learn with a local Orthodox rabbi.  I am intrigued by what happens when mature, newly energized modern Jews encounter Torah (in the broad sense, including the oral tradition) today in a way that is honest to themselves.  It strikes me that until recently, most non-Orthodox modern Jews have not taken Torah seriously, and most Orthodox Jews have not come to Torah from a modern perspective.  Today there is a powerful return to the tradition that offers the potential of new efforts to approach Torah from a modern perspective.  This is not new; Maimonides, Moses Mendelson and Mordecai Kaplan, among others, have brought immense knowledge of secular thought to Torah.  However I am not aware of much recent literature in which Jews raised in secular knowledge encounter Torah with serious attention.  That is the area where I would like to experiment.  I know that I will make mistakes, but that is inherent in the nature of the exercise: I am coming from a background which is more outside of Torah learning than inside it.  Others can write more authoritative interpretations; I hope to write a fresher one, insofar as it comes from an authentically modern, diaspora perspective.

It seems to me that the most promising place to start is Pirkei Avot.  I know of no more accessible text that is firmly embedded in the tradition.  Other tractates of Talmud seem to demand intense effort to understand, and often seem puzzling and unsatisfying.  By contrast, any page I turn to in Pirkei Avot seems relevant and rewarding.

So that is where I will start.  Hopefully the start will create a habit that will cause me to continue, and possibly, to continue to a siyum, a finish of a small portion of the body of what I understand as Torah.

Pirkei Avot, 1:1

"Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it Joshua. Joshua transmitted it to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly. They [the Men of the Great Assembly] said three things: Be deliberate in judgment, raise many students, and make a protective fence for the Torah."

The first sentence gives us the pedigree of the source of the advice which is to come: it came from the men of the Great Assembly, who received the Torah from the prophets, the elders, Joshua, Moses, and ultimately, from Sinai.  Yet the next sentence oddly does not claim that the advice to come is from Sinai; rather, it is from men who received the revelation at Sinai.  It is mediated by the human mind, but not just any human mind: it is the collective mind of the last group to have received the revelation at Sinai at the same time.  After them, the understanding of the revelation at Sinai is dispersed over the greatest Rabbis of different times, and the reader must know enough to figure out who they are.

When we read the advice, it is immediately clear that this is not advice for the average person.  Although the first instruction, to be deliberate in judgment, could be advice to any serious Jew, the second and third, to raise many students and make a protective fence for the Torah, are clearly for the next group to which the revelation at Sinai is to be transmitted.  The second instruction, to raise many students, is designed to maximize the dispersion of the revelation, and the third instruction, to make a protective fence for the Torah, is designed to preserve the purity of the revelation.  The two are in opposition: the more that the revelation is dispersed, the greater is the risk that it will be adulterated; the purer the message, the more difficult it will be to disseminate.  The mediating factor is the first instruction: to be deliberate in judgment, for by being deliberate in judgment, we can balance the instruction of maximizing dispersion with the instruction of maintaining the purity of what is transmitted.

The unspoken, overarching instruction is to pass on Torah to others.  The verse instructs some of us to transmit the revelation at Sinai to other Jews.  Those of us who respond are the next link in the chain, extending from Moses to the men of the Great Assembly, and now to us, and the purpose of the chain is to disseminate Torah.