In case you missed them, here's a list of items posted on Avot Today in September 2020:
Tuesday 29 September 2020: Crowns in Avot: Putting the Record Straight. Putting the record straight regarding the mishnah about there being three crowns, surmounted by the crown of a good name.
Sunday 27 September 2020: Text and Tradition: their place in 'Acquisition of the Torah'. Why does the list of 48 ways of acquiring the Torah contain some things that seem too obvious to mention?
Tuesday 22 September 2020: Can we really be altruistic when we know there's a reward coming up? A reflection on learning Torah for its own sake -- can it really be done?
Thursday 17 September 2020: Judging others: a practical exercise. Thoughts on encountering a respected rabbi in the street without his Covid mask.
Wednesday 16 September 2020: Nice things for the righteous -- a privilege or a responsibility? The baraita at 6:8 lists all sorts of lovely things in store for tzaddikim. These may however be less lovely than one first imagines.
Monday 14 September 2020: "According to the effort ..." -- a word about mitzvot and their rewards: Avot 5:23 correlates the fulfilment of commandments with the input involved in keeping them. Is this always fair?
Sunday 13 September 2020: A special message for Rosh Hashanah -- there is no special message. The standards set by Pirkei Avot for one's personal behaviour do not depend on the time of year.
Thursday 10 September 2020: The folly of fools -- in search of Avot with an extra verse. Readers' assistance is sought in tracking down an edition of Avot that features an extra verse from Proverbs that is not usually cited.
Wednesday 9 September 2020: Beyond comprehension. Hillel teaches that one should not say something that can't be understood if it is meant to be comprehended. Where does this leave the ever-changing and puzzlingly complex regulations for dealing with Covid-19?
Thursday 3 September 2020: Things and people, honour and glory. Has a verse from Isaiah, cited in Avot 6:11, been routinely mistranslated?
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Avot Today blogposts for August 2020 here
Avot Today blogposts for July 2020 here
