A thought for the Winterval

2021 is at last getting an upgrade, its final numeral rising from 1 to 2. In one sense this transition is just the arbitrary replacement of one digit with another, but we humans tend to vest such changes with significance. Often this is because they represent a fresh start, the chance to put a segment of one's life behind one and start afresh. In many countries the year-end, combined with religious and secular festivities, provides an extended period for partying and relaxing -- but also for reflection, introspection and the making of resolutions that can serve as a basis for self-improvement over the coming year.

Rabbinical tradition marks this as down-time for Pirkei Avot, which is traditionally not studied in the winter months. Many have given the same explanation for resuming the study of Avot in the spring, after the festival of Pesach: this is the time of year when sap rises not only in the season's new plant growth but also in human beings. This means that lustful inclinations are stirred. The measured messages of Pirkei Avot are however taken to be the ideal antidote to the seasonal surge of the yetzer hara ("evil inclination"). Popular sages who have subscribed to this explanation include Rabbis Shmuel de Uçeda (Midrash Shmuel), Yitzchak Magriso (Me'am Lo'ez) and, in more recent times, Ovadyah Yosef.

The notion of spring being associated with an increased interest in the pursuit of pleasures of the flesh is not new; nor is it confined to Jewish tradition. In secular culture it has long been marked in song, in verse, in the performing arts and beyond. It is, in short, a fact of life, something that is the product of biological programming that cannot be amended -- though it can be controlled and constructively channelled by those who wish to do so.

Here's a point to ponder. In the olden days, the activities and urges of the springtime were, broadly speaking, confined to three months of the year. However, it is impossible to avoid the observation that spring now lasts a full 12 months of each year. In terms of human behaviour, we have an undoubted example of "climate change".

If, centuries ago, it was possible for anyone to absorb enough mussar (moral guidance) to last them a whole year by waiting till spring before studying Pirkei Avot, it is surely no longer so. But there is an obvious solution. Don't wait till Pesach before resuming the study of Pirkei Avot! Make a new year's resolution to start right now. And don't stop when you get to the autumn either since, it now appears, our sap is rising then too: autumn is the new spring.

To end on a cheerful note, I'd like to wish all readers of the Avot Today weblog a happy and prosperous (secular) new year! And don't forget to keep your Pirkei Avot by you. You never know when it's going to come in handy!