In case you missed them, here's a list of items posted to the Avot Today Facebook Group in JANUARY 2023:
30 January 2023: Pirkei Avot and the Museum of Cultural Curiosities. We look at some pertinent observations by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks and apply them to the current state of (lack of) interest in the Ethics of the Fathers.
27 January 2023: Questions, Answers and the Call of the Caterer. The question-and-answer methodology lies at the heart of Jewish learning, as Avot shows -- but it involves much more than looking for answers.
24 January 2023: Turn it over, turn it over! Here's a novel way to interpret a well-worn mishnah by Rabbi Tarfon that has been seized upon by all sorts of folk.
22 January 2023: 'Some Thoughts on Exile" Revisited. Looking back at our earlier post, we find a source that supports the concept of exile as a state of mind.
20 January 2023: Dealing With Anger. Pirkei Avot has a good deal to say about anger and the need to control it. We review the topic and pose some helpful practical questions.
18 January 2023: Most-Read Avot Today Posts of 2022. The Facebook metrics show that, whatever thoughts we might have on the subject, readers go for those Jewish ethical posts that most intrigue them.
16 January 2023: The Perils of Teaching and the Danger of Words. Picking up on a point made by R' Mordechai Schiffman in Psyched for Avot, we discuss the value--if there be any--in issuing generalised warnings to people to be careful.
12 January 2023: Some Thoughts on Exile. The concept of exile is something that the Jewish people have had to grapple with for millennia, and Pirkei Avot teaches about it too. But is exile only a physical state? Maybe it is also a state of mind?
10 January 2023: Mishnayot in the Media: Which Bits of Pirkei Avot Get the Most Cites? Avot Today monitored references to Avot that were picked up by Google Alert, to see which soundbites and snappy sayings are most frequently used in the online media.
8 January 2023: The Trouble With Tongs. Avot 5:8 speaks of the creation of "tongs made with tongs". Is this invention a boon for mankind, or proof that man was made to toil?
6 January 2023: Kriat Shema on Our (Death)beds. This shared post, composed by Nate Light, discusses -- among other matters -- Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus's famous proposition that a man should repent the day before he dies.
5 January 2023: You're Telling Me That This Is a Blessing? Hillel (Avot 2:5) makes it plain that one should not say things that can't be understood if the objective is for them to be comprehended. Does the patriarch Jaob breach this guidance in the blessings he gives his sons?
1 January 2023: Is It Ever Possible to Act With a Totally Pure Motive? This post by Shmuel Phillips delves deeply into this question, which was addressed in Avot by Antigonos Ish Socho at Avot 1:3.
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Avot Today blogposts for December 2022
Avot Today blogposts for November 2022
Avot Today blogposts for October 2022
Avot Today blogposts for September 2022
Avot Today blogposts for August 2022
Avot Today blogposts for July 2022
