Monday 2 August 2021

Avot in Retrospect: a summary of last month's blogposts

In case you missed them, here's a list of items posted on Avot Today in July 2021:

Wednesday 28 July 2021:
 Does God expect us to listen? 
The ten tests inflicted on God by the Children of Israel (Avot 5:6) do not appear to include not listening to Him. Why? 

Tuesday 27 July 2021: Here comes the judge: According to Avot 4:9, one should avoid becoming a judge -- but judges are needed. How do we resolve this conundrum?

Thursday 22 July  2021: Your wife might follow you -- but the Torah won'tRabbi Nahorai's warning about being exiled only to a place of Torah (Avot 4:18) gets a neat twist from Rabbi Eliezer Papo.

Sunday 18 July 2021: Av, Avot and Anger. Some thoughts on the destructive force of anger, for Tisha be'Av -- one of the saddest days in the Jewish calendar.

Wednesday 14 July  2021: Torah learning and the Garden of Eden.  Avot 3:9 warns of the danger of stopping in the middle of one's learning in order to admire a beautiful tree. But is it to be taken literally?

Monday 12 July  2021: Hidden -- in full viewWhere does one find a hidden tzaddik? And does Pirkei Avot give us any clues?

Friday 8 July 2021:  Self-trust and self-delusion: Hillel (Avot 2:5) says that no-one should trust themselves till the day they die. So why do we trust ourselves?

Tuesday 6 July 2021: The unexpected testTests feature a good deal in Avot and ideally a person should not know he's being tested. Sometimes he does know -- but he doesn't know what the test is seeking to prove.

Friday 2 July 2021: With great respect -- how we view our rabbisIn modern times, the sort of respect a rabbi gets may be quite contingent on the sort of community he leads.

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AvotToday blogposts for June 2021 here
Avot Today blogposts for May 2021 here
Avot Today blogposts for April 2021 here
Avot Today blogposts for March 2021 here
Avot Today blogposts for February 2021 here
Avot Today blogposts for January 2021 here

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