Avot Today: how did we do in 2023?

Now that we have eased ourselves into 2024, it’s time to take a brief look at the year we’ve left behind.

Avot Today comes in two formats: a Facebook Group and the Avot Today blog. All the posts on Pirkei Avot that appear on the blog are posted on the Facebook Group too, so you can keep up with them whichever way you want. The differences between them are that

·     Readers’ responses, comments and discussions are found on the Facebook Group;

·         The blog is a useful research resource. Its content can be searched by subject (there’s a lengthy index of topics in the right-hand column of the page) and by word (the word search box is in the top left-hand corner of the title bar).

The Facebook Group now has 302 members, and we are adding them at the rate of maybe five or six a month. The blog doesn’t have members as such, but our counter shows us that its posts have been visited more than 41,000 times since we started posting in mid-2000.

There’s a lot of material on Avot Today now. In 2023 we posted a total of 139 separate items: that’s more than ten per month. There are now well over 500 Avot-related items, most of which directly address the relevance of Avot in contemporary society and culture.

Here are the most popular Facebook Group posts on Avot Today last year:

1.       Was Shakespeare Jewish and is there Proof in Pirkei Avot? We look at current suggestions that Pirkei Avot provides clues as to the Bard’s religious affiliation—and dismiss them (290 views).

2.       Pirkei Avot and the Museum of Cultural Curiosities. Picking up on a quote from Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’ controversial The Dignity of Difference, we discuss contemporary reluctance to study Jewish ethics. Has Pirkei Avot gone out of fashion? (219 views).

3.       For Torah’s Sake. We are supposed to learn Torah lishmah, for its own sake. For those with the love of Torah and an aptitude for study, this is a pleasure rather than a challenge—but what, if any, is the entry-level standard by which one can measure Torah for Torah’s sake? (184 views).

4.       Beyond Understanding. Hilel teaches us not to say things that can’t be understood if the intention is that they should be. Where does that leave us with the recitation of Kinot on Tisha b’Av, some of which are nearly unintelligible?  (184 views).

5.       Rambam on Humility: Has this Message Timed Out? Everyone agrees with the position Avot takes on the importance of humility—but do modern notions of humility match the bizarre example Rambam gives? (178 visits).

6.       The Case of the Pious Prankster. What is the message of Avot for well-meaning and genuinely committed members of the Jewish community who enjoy playing the occasional practical joke on their friends? (163 views).

AND WHAT ABOUT 2024?

Of the 139 items posted to Avot Today last year, only four came from authors other than me. I’m sad about this because I believe that other voices and other opinions on Jewish moral and ethical issues should be heard in addition to my own. If you would like to write short pieces on Pirkei Avot for Avot Today, or if you are just waiting for a little encouragement or persuasion before you do so, please get in touch with me!

In similar vein, while readers’ comments are greatly appreciated, we would love to hear from a wider audience. We are very much dependent on a relatively small number of readers who take the time to share their thoughts and occasionally to correct or debunk my own. If you read something that makes you want to respond, don’t wait till that urge subsides. Act on it and let us know what’s on your mind.

Another way readers can help is by sharing more Avot Today posts. This helps to spread the word and to emphasise the importance of The Ethics of the Fathers in Jewish life and thought today.

Avot Today is not just for my amusement (even though I do enjoy running it). It’s for everyone who cares about how Jewish people behave in the real world today, a world in which Jewish values and ideals are increasingly under threat.  If you truly care about Jewish values, supporting Avot Today is one of many ways in which you can show it. Thanks!