Most-read Avot Today posts of 2022

I’ve been taking a look at the Avot Today Facebook Group’s generated figures for the most frequently accessed posts on Pirkei Avot over the previous calendar year. Around 130 substantive items were featured during the year, plus a small number of routine updates.

This is what readers most often dipped into (nb the hyperlinks all lead to this blog, which is easier to search and access than the Facebook Group pages -- at least on my laptop!):

Seniors and Juniors (2 September, on attitudes towards learning and the treatment of both senior and junior colleagues) 178

Are you voting for a golem? (31 October, on the necessary qualities of electoral candidates) 168

Do good, feel bad? (19 September, on one’s feelings about making charitable donations) 167

Focusing on prayer: a curious irony (28 December, on how much, if at all, one needs to concentrate on prayer) 156

Ask no questions? (20 November, on the importance of responding to questions, even if they may appear unfounded or unnecessary) 149

Don’t just sit and learn! For God’s sake get a job… (28 September, on a new slant given to an age-old argument) 148

The voice within (23 December, on how threats to faith can be generated from inside ourselves and not just by others) 138

A vanishing hatred (18 September, on how one of the earliest explanations of a mishnah in Avot seems to have lost its appeal) 134

Out of sight (29 November, on the significance of sight in the human learning process) 133

The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? (7 October, on the pluses and minuses attached to sticking to the truth) 128

All of these features were posted during the final four months of 2022. Their popularity relative to the earlier posts probably reflects the fact that this Group gained many members during that period. It is unclear whether the posts listed here were visited because readers were more interested in them or whether I simply posted them at times when more readers had the leisure to read them.