Not just what his Rebbe told him

I recently came across a copy of an unusual and idiosyncratic work on Pirkei Avot bearing the curious title Reflections on Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers): Not Just What My Rebbe Taught Me. The author of this work is Joseph G. Rosenstein, who impressively styles himself Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Rutgers University.

What's this book all about? According to the author's website, it differs from many other such books by:

     — writing in an informal, easily understood manner
     — comparing and contrasting different teachings that deal with the same topic.
     — relating the historic contexts of the teachings.
     — relating the teachings to contemporary events.
     — often challenging the assumptions of the ancient teachers.
     — pointing out when teachings may be faulty and when commentators misinterpret the teachings.
     — having separate chapters on major themes, such as life after death.

I would characterise the book somewhat differently. The author is in effect carrying on a dialogue with the ancient teachers and subsequent commentators which also incidentally describes or explains some of his own life experiences, thoughts and opinions. While it is difficult for anyone writing on Avot to exclude him- or herself from a discussion of its contents, I doubt that I have ever seen a book on the topic in which one encounters the author quite so often and I must admit that I sometimes found this presence quite obtrusive.

The book is certainly easy to read and understand. It addresses the modern educated reader; it also reflects the author's enthusiasm, sense of excitement and scholarship. As his description of the book above indicates, he is confident to challenge the wisdom of bygone ages and he states his case in trenchant terms. Readers will probably guess that he does not believe in the transmission of an oral Torah from God and down through the ages long before he states as much in a footnote on p 96 of this 400+ page work.

One unusual element of this book deserves a mention: the author makes a point of flagging and numbering each Ethical Principle as it appears in Avot. He finds a total of 69. I think this is helpful, since it is possible to read and engage with Pirkei Avot from one end to the other without identifying individual ethical principles and therefore without appreciating how many there are.