I was asked the other day if Pirkei Avot, the mishnaic
tractate that touches more than any other on the daily lives of human beings,
has any special message for Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year and the
momentous time for reflection, self-assessment, repentance and renewal that
opens the autumn festive season.
Having given the request due consideration, I decided that
the special message from Avot was that there is no special message. Considerations such as how a person behaves
towards his fellow humans, his community, his God and even himself do not
depend on the calendar. No one date is more significant than any other.
The most important day in the life of a Jew, we learn from
Avot, is the day he happens to be living.
We learn that a person should not put off till tomorrow that which can
be learned today (2:5); the same applies to repentance, since death may come
tomorrow (2:15). Today is the day you
can’t stop work, as well as the day you will neither finish it or be paid (2:21).
While Jewish laws and customs vary with the seasons, the
advice of Avot does not. For example most
editions of the Rosh Hashanah machzor (prayer book) print the text of
special New Year greetings, but for Avot the important things about greeting
others never change. Greet each person with a happy face (1:15) and good cheer (3:16).
Be the first to greet others (4:20) and always return a greeting, even to a
stranger (6:9).
On Rosh Hashanah we remind ourselves that God is the King;
He is to judge us on the basis of our performance over the past year and our
prospects for the next year. Before Him all things are recorded (2:1). Avot
recommends that we remember this constantly if we want to keep out of trouble
(3:1) since judgment is only a handful of inevitable events in the cycle of
mortal life and death, an event from which there is nowhere to hide (4:29).
To conclude, while Rosh Hashanah and the New Year
festivities herald an opportunity to improve and reinvent ourselves, the
message of Avot is this: if you are a Pirkei Avot person, you are probably
heading in the right direction so, if you can, just carry on like you would any
other day with Avot as your moral compass. But do remember to check this compass for the coming year, to make sure it's in good working order.
