The Shemonah Perakim: are they really a preface to Avot?

 Many scholars past and present have written introductions to Pirkei Avot. Some are majestic and inspirational, like that of Rabbi Yehudah Loewe (the Maharal) in his Derech Chaim. Others are quite prosaic, largely explaining that Avot is based on mussar and middot rather than on halachah, that it contains five chapters of mishnayot and a chapter of baraitot, and that it is (or was) read every Shabbat between the end of Pesach and Rosh Hashanah. 

Rambam has provided two introductions to Avot. The first is of the short, simple variety. It explains that, while most of the content of Avot is straightforward and easy to understand, it is hard to apply in practice. Also, it helps a person become a chasid (an almost untranslatable term that mainly suggests someone who seeks eagerly to do God's will even before he is commanded to do so). Finally, Avot has character-building or even character-changing qualities that demand a lengthy preface. This preface is effectively a second, lengthy and complex introduction that goes by the name of the Shemonah Perakim (the "Eight Chapters").

The Shemonah Perakim are always treated as Rambam's second introduction to Avot, which is not surprising given that Rambam himself calls it a preface to that tractate. I should like however to put on record my opinion that it is no such thing. If we were to ask anyone who read it, not knowing what it was supposed to be, what he or she thought it was, I very much doubt that anyone now or even in Rambam's time would imagine that it had anything to do with Avot at all. There is scarcely any reference or allusion to anything one finds in Avot. Instead, one finds the following things:

• A disquisition on the soul and its powers, together with the positive and negative qualities that may be found within it;
• An explanation of spiritual sickness and how it can be treated;
• How our thoughts can control and govern our souls;
• Contrasts between someone who is an actual chasid and someone who is able to control his desires;
• Man's shortcomings and the manner in which they affect his perceptions;
• The composition of human nature.

This content could serve just as well, if not better, as a preface to Hilchot De'ot in the Rambam's Mishneh Torah. It would be good to know if readers agree. The mismatch between Avot and the Shemonah Perakim might account for the reason why so few commentators on Avot feel the need to make any reference to it at all.

It is my intention to return to the Shemonah Perakim from time to time, making reference to elements of its content that do seem relevant to Pirkei Avot and, if possible, explaining why.