Avot in retrospect: a summary of last month's blogposts

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In case you missed them, here's a list of items posted to the

Avot Today Facebook Group in MAY 2023: 

Monday 29 May 2023: For Torah's sake: our ancient sages promise great reward for those who learn Torah out of a genuine love of it and not for any ulterior motive. But what does this mean in practice?

Thursday 25 May 2023: Shavuot and Shabbat miscellany: Pirkei Avot for goths; latest from the Dee Project; news of Rabbi Berel Wein; can one learn even from people who are not properly Torah-accredited? Cheesecake in Avot.

Tuesday 23 May 2023: Zero tolerance. The notion that lineage is like a row of zeros, only adding up to anything if there's a number in front of them, has become a commonplace among pulpit rabbis. Its origin however appears to lie in a commentary on Avot.

Monday 22 May 2023: The will to exercise one's will power: the leopard and the lion are both candidates for similes relating to strength. Is there a shade of difference between them?

Friday 19 May 2023: Playing the Lawyer: Yehudah ben Tabbai warns against being partisan in legal disputes. Most people assume that he is addressing judges-- but the mishnah originally may have meant something quite different.

Tuesday 16 May 2023: A Tangible Silence: Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel praises silence as being good for the body. This is usually understood as referring to the need to minimise speech -- but the Sefat Emet takes a novel approach.

Sunday 14 May 2023: A Good Deed a Day...: Here's a list of proverbs, said to be from Pirkei Avot, which you will simply not find there.

Tuesday 9 May 2023: Let's Talk About Talking: Rabbi Chaim Volozhin's explanation of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai's instruction to his talmidim to "go out and see" launches an examination of why so many of us talk where we should not.

Monday 8 May 2023: What's Hot in Avot: some newsy snippets relating to Avot and ways of learning it.

Monday 8 May 2023: Setting Free the Menagerie: Wild Beasts and Chillul Hashem: A mishnah in the fifth perek lists "wild beasts" as a punishment for desecration of God's name. This post discusses some explanations and attempts at giving it a modern context.

Friday 5 May 2023: When Anger is All the Rage...: Rabbi Elazar HaKappar lists jealousy, lust and the quest for honour as the three things that "take a person from the world". But where is anger? Why has he omitted it from his list?

Wednesday 3 May 2023: Real Wealth? Sophie Tucker versus Abba and The Beatles: Is wealth a material concept or is there more to it. Avot has much to say on this question, as do many lyricists.

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Avot Today blogposts for April 2023
Avot Today blogposts for March 2023
Avot Today blogposts for February 2023
Avot Today blogposts for January 2023
Avot Today blogposts for December 2022
Avot Today blogposts for November 2022
Avot Today blogposts for October 2022