Abarbanel in brief

The headline of this post, "Abarbanel in brief", may seem somewhat strange to anyone who knows him. This is because Rabbi Don Yitzchak Abarbanel is no miniaturist. Like his commentary on the Torah, his thoughts on Pirkei Avot, Nachalat Avot, are quite fascinating -- but they are also extremely long. The Abarbanel's preferred modus operandi is to front-load his discussion of each mishnah and baraita with a list of questions, often quite numerous, and then to address them. Nachalat Avot is not however just a pirush on Avot; it is also a window on to the world of government, monarchy and civic responsibility, reflecting Don Yitzchak's many and varied experiences as an influential court Jew.

The book I have before me, Be'Orcha Nireh Or, is a kitzur Nachalat Avot -- a shortened version of the massive original. Privately published and distributed free, it is dedicated to the memory of R' Baruch Neriah ben Zilpah veRachamim, who is also honoured by the reproduction of several pages of photographs and personal notices at the end of the volume.

With around 250 pages of large, clear Hebrew print, this kitzur is much shorter than the original (my Nachalat Avot runs to over 400 pages of Rashi font small print). Thus Don Yitzvhak's 26-side essay on Avot 4:29, in which R' Elazar HaKapar closes the perek with a warning about the impossibility of escaping the duty to give an account of oneself to God) is whittled down to half that length, 

Without running heads to tell you where you are when you open the book, this kitzur can be a little slow to navigate. Even so, it is an extremely handy means by which a person can dip into the Abarbanel's scholarship.

I picked up my copy at Pomeranz. If you don't live in Jerusalem but want a copy, there's a contact email: aterettifferet@walla.com.