Now, here
are a few odds and ends that I’d like to draw to the attention of Pirkei Avot
devotees and enthusiasts.
Learning
is the best response.
Thousands of people around the world are now participating in The Dee Pirkei
Avot Project, established only a few weeks ago in memory of Lucy, Maya and Rena
Dee. Learning Avot is a great response to the tragic loss of these three women,
who were an inspiration to so many people in their lifetimes. If you’d like to
join the Project and receive each Friday a sheet with a mishnah from Avot and
some discussion points for the Shabbat table, email thedeepirkeiavotproject@gmail.com
to get your weekly Whatsapp link.
********
Something
to bear in mind. Another
ongoing Avot project, though of a very different type, is Psyched for Avot, a
weekly mishnah-by-mishnah discussion of the psychological dimensions of the
Ethics of the Fathers. This is masterminded by psychotherapist Rabbi Dr
Mordechai Schiffman. You can sign up for weekly emails that feature Psyched for
Avot and other content from the Psyched for Torah platform. For further details
visit www.psychedfortorah.com
********
Are wild
beasts ‘caused’ by desecration of God’s name? On Sunday, Avot Today’s Facebook Group hosted ‘Chillul
Hashem, Wild Beasts and an Ethical Battle Cry’, a post
by R’ Shmuel Phillips together with me (Jeremy Phillips). This piece, which
appeared on the popular Judaism
Reclaimed Facebook Group, has an interesting provenance, since it
started off as straight Pirkei Avot post but metamorphosed into one that incorporated
some perspectives on Avot into an article with a more Torah-related focus. The
original piece, ‘Setting Free the Menagerie: wild beasts and chillul Hashem’,
has now been posted in full on the Avot Today weblog. You can check it out here.
*******
Looking
for an online read?
English-speaking inhabitants of Jerusalem and visitors to that wonderful city
may well find themselves from time to time visiting the iconic Pomeranz
bookshop. If you can’t visit the shop, don’t despair. You are just one click
away from Reading With Pomeranz: the official Pomeranz Bookseller Newsletter,
Sefirat Ha’Omer edition. It’s short,
seriously colourful and contains a couple of pieces on Avot. To take a look, just
click here.
For comments and discussionof this post on Facebook, click here.
