Rosh Chodesh Nissan: the New Year for buying books?

With Pesach just around the corner, we are all preoccupied with our preparations for the immersive experience of celebrating our being rescued from slavery and brought out of Egypt. But the end of Pesach brings with it an event which, though less dramatic, has a greater potential for changing our lives forever—the start of the traditional summer season for learning Pirkei Avot, combining constructive introspection with much needed self-improvement.

Many people enhance their enjoyment of Pesach by purchasing a brand-new Haggadah each year, offering fresh insights into the age-old story of our redemption. But this pleasure is a fleeting one. Once Pesach is over and its novel pleasures have been fully exploited, the new Haggadah—like the unsuccessful candidates for the heart of Achashverosh—is consigned to the harem of a dusty shelf where it joins its predecessors and awaits the recall that so infrequently comes.

Pirkei Avot is different. Most people do not buy a fresh commentary each year. Nor, in many cases, do they make much use of such commentaries as they may have, preferring to rely on the version printed in their regular siddurim which they may recite, with varying degrees of interest and attention, at the end of the afternoon prayer service on Shabbat.

Some recent titles

For those who do propose to buy a new Pirkei Avot commentary this year, here are a few recent options you may wish to consider:

Alshich on Avos: Timeless Wisdom on Pirkei Avos, translated by Rabbis Avie Gold and Nahum Spirn and distributed by Feldheim. This is a reprint of the original 2014 version, which has been unavailable for a while. The Alshich did not actually write a commentary on Avot, but a compilation of his thoughts on the tractate was assembled under the title Yarim Moshe by R’ Yirmeyahu Schlanker back in 1764. Anyone who has tried learning Yarim Moshe will know that it is tough work. In particular, where it follows the once popular style of commencing a commentary with a list of questions that the author proceeds to answer, in the Yarim Moshe the number of answers often differs from that of the questions and it is often unclear which of the answers relates to which question.  This lucid and helpful translation does not translate Yarim Moshe in its entirety but selects mishnayot of particular interest and focuses on them. 

Etermal Ethics from Sinai by Rabbi Yaakov Hillel, published by Ahavat Shalom, is not for the faint-hearted. Volume 1, covering the first perek in considerable depth, came out in 2021 and it has now been joined by a companion volume on perek 2. This is nearly 700 pages of cask-strength mussar, focusing on human foibles and frailties before offering some plain advice, drawn straight from impeccable sources, on how to correct them and amend one’s ways. R’ Hillel’s motives are pure—to raise our game and perfect our precious souls—but these desirable outcomes can only be achieved if the reader is prepared to put in the requisite effort.

Living Beautifully, by Gila Ross, published by Mosaica. I recently noted this book on Avot Today and I’m more than halfway through it. Unlike the lofty peaks addressed by R’ Hillel, Mrs Ross’s territory is closer to the foothills of Torah middot, gently nudging the busy and probably female reader to take at least the first few steps towards living a life that is not only objectively better but which feels good at the same time.  Incidentally, while both this book and R’ Yisroel Miller’s The Wisdom of  Avos are published by the same publisher, their English translations of the mishnayot are a bit different: that of Mrs Ross is a little gentler.

A couple more books on Avot have emerged over the past year or two, which I have yet to lay my hands on. They are:

The Eternal Wisdom of Pirkei Avos, by R’ Yechiel Spero and published in 2023 by ArtScroll. According to the publisher’s blurb: “…In The Eternal Wisdom of Pirkei Avos master teacher and storyteller Rabbi Yechiel Spero shares with us an insight, a story, and a takeaway for every mishnah in Pirkei Avos. By combining the brilliant understanding of the Tannaim with stories as contemporary as today, Rabbi Spero offers us a powerful way to bring the messages of Pirkei Avos into our daily challenges and experiences, enhancing our relationships and bringing new, joyful meaning to our lives”.

Foundation of Faith: A Tapestry of Insights and Illuminations on Pirkei Avot Based on the Thought and Writings of Rabbi Norman Lamm, by R’ Mark Dratch, published by OU Press. According to the blurb this work is “an outstanding compilation of selections from Rabbi Lamm’s oeuvre, all related to the ethical, philosophical, and theological themes of Pirkei Avot. Inspiring and profound, the commentary is a scintillating demonstration of Rabbi Lamm’s invaluable message for contemporary Jewry. … It is in Torah that God is most immediately immanent and accessible, and the study of Torah is therefore not only a religious commandment per se, but the most exquisite and the most characteristically Jewish form of religious experience and communion. For the same reason, Torah is not only legislation, Halachah, but …teaching, a term that includes the full spectrum of spiritual edification: theological and ethical, mystical, and rhapsodic”.

A few oldies

If these new titles don’t appeal to you, it’s worth digging around in the second-hand bookshops to see what you can find there. Here are some old Pirkei Avot books that I have recently found in second-hand shops:

Ohel Binyamin, by R’ Binyamin Beinush Rabiner, published by Moreshet in Tel Aviv in 1946—two years before the founding of the State of Israel. The pages are brittle and discoloured with age, so I shall be reading this volume with extra care. Can readers help me with information about this author? All I know is that he was also the author of Ner Binyamin and that he was rabbi of Schimberg in Courland, Latvia.

Mei Marom, by R’ Yaakov Moshe Charlap, published posthumously in Jerusalem in 1975 by Midrash Gavo’ah LeTalmud Bet Zevul. R’ Yaakov’s shul is only a few minutes’ walk from my apartment and I understand that he was quite a controversial figure—a man of uncompromising orthodoxy but a close friend of R’ Avraham Yitzchak Kook and a staunch believer that the foundation of the State of Israel was the beginning of the Redemption. This book, which is said to be chelek sheni (“part two”) covers the first three perakim of Avot in great depth, the final three in much less.  But where is part one, I wonder, and what does it cover?

When a Jew Seeks Wisdom: The Sayings of the Fathers, by Seymour Rossel, published by Behrman House in 1975. This book may not be to everyone’s taste since the majority of members of the Avot Today Facebook group who are known to me are not members of North America’s Reform community.  In reliance on Ben Zoma’s teaching at Avot 4:1 (“Who is wise? The person who learns from everyone”) I shall be taking a good look at this title to see if it has anything to offer me. If it does, I shall share it.

Coming soon

And now something for the future…

Ruchi Koval, author of Soul Construction, is crowdfunding the publication by Mosaica Press of Soul Purpose—a daily reader based on Pirkei Avot. She writes:

“Each day has a small, bite-sized piece of wisdom, followed by a daily goal. To my mind, it is a very accessible and practical (and sometimes personal) way to understand this ancient and beautiful wisdom.”.

To support this project, which it is hoped will be out by the end of 2024, click here for details. 

For comments and discussion of this post on Facebook click here.

Living beautifully

In my book on Avot I commented on how little literature on the Ethics of the Fathers has been written by women. This situation has now been remedied.  I’ve now come across an entire book on Pirkei Avot by Gila Ross. Published last year by Mosaica Press, it’s called Living Beautifully and it’s a “how-to” book, subtitled “How to bring meaning, joy and love into your life based on the timeless wisdom of Pirkei Avos”.

According to Mosaica’s webpage for the book:

…[A]cclaimed educator and coach Gila Ross uses her 20-years of experience in education and coaching to help transform relationships and lives. Through Living Beautifully, Mrs Ross strives to share her deep passion for Jewish wisdom and living a meaningful life.

Living Beautifully navigates the complex terrains of life, providing the tools and principles to appreciate what is truly valuable, see obstacles as challenges, and guide readers toward a balanced life full of meaning, joy, and fulfillment. Drawing from the time-tested wisdom of Pirkei Avos, Mrs Ross shows readers how to live beautifully despite the pressures and complexity of modern life.

Living Beautifully will inspire readers to infuse their lives with meaning and happiness, while demonstrating how even the smallest actions can have a significant impact on our souls and the world.

The large and comfortably readable print, accessibility and chatty, informal style suggest that the publishers are promoting this very much as a women-for-women book, penned by an author who has contributed much to the education and welfare of others, living a richly meaningful Jewish life while fulfilling the taxing challenges of marriage to a rabbi and raising eight children.

Not being a woman, I am ill-equipped to appreciate this book’s finer qualities. My impression is that many female readers will find it awesome and inspiring, offering them a way to raise their game and achieve greater things in their careers, their relationships and in their personal growth. Others may feel a little depressed, wondering how they continue to struggle with things that others can handle with such apparent ease and grace, emerging smiling and made wise from each lesson life teaches them—including the painful ones.

But what does this book offer me, as a man and a Pirkei Avot enthusiast? Strangely, having recently reviewed R’ Yisroel Miller’s The Wisdom of Avos, I was struck by their essential similarity: both authors draw greatly on their personal experience, concentrating on the contemporary relevance of Avot rather than detailed analysis of the text and historical relevance. Each uses Avot as a springboard for their thoughts and perspectives. Neither avoids citing commentators from bygone generations, but this is done to enhance a discussion rather than to define or limit it. What’s more, neither book is overtly “preachy”. We know the author’s personal religious feelings and commitments but do not feel that we are being pushed into accepting them or being damned if we don’t. Gila Ross employs more in the way of homespun wisdom than does R’ Miller, which accounts in part for the fact that her book is of greater length.

I shall be referring to Living Beautifully from time to time when developing points from Avot, so watch this space!

For comments and discussions of this post on Facebook click here.

The Miller's tale

No, this is not a bawdy yarn penned by Geoffrey Chaucer. It’s a tale of how a perceptive rabbi has engaged with Pirkei Avot and how that tractate is reflected in his thoughts and experiences.

I’m talking here of The Wisdom of Avos, a slim hardback volume published by Mosaica in 2022 and which I mentioned in a post a week or two back. The miller in question is R’ Yisroel Miller, who served for many years as a community rabbi in Pittsburgh, then subsequently in Calgary. He will be known to many readers as the author of In Search of the Jewish Woman (1988), What’s Wrong with Being Human? (1993) and What’s Wrong with Being Happy? (1994).  I read What’s Wrong with Being Human? When it first came out and was much impressed by the accessibility and clarity of R’ Miller’s writing, so much so that I re-read it during the Covid pandemic. His essay “In search of our leader Moshe” moves me still.

So what does R’ Miller do with Avot?

This book is not an attempt to furnish omnibus coverage of the entire tractate. Indeed, it originates from notes on a series of shiurim on Avot that R’ Miller did not intend to publish, but which he was persuaded to do by one of his former congregants. Since its focus is on mishnayot that provide fertile ground for thought and demand discussion, it concentrates on the first four perakim; this is where we find commentary based on R' Miller's shiurim. The book also gently touches upon perakim 5 and 6. The book’s provenance as notes on shiurim accounts for the absence of footnotes and detailed references, as well as the presence of many real-life examples and telling anecdotes.

The author sets out his stall at the beginning, explaining what he describes as his “revolutionary old approach”. This consists of essentially four steps:

1.        If a mishnah seems self-evident, ask why someone might disagree with it.
   
   
2.        If it offers no new insight, ask if it is saying something more than a simple translation reveals.
3.        Since Avot has no gemara, take a look at what the Avot deRabbi Natan and comments scattered through the two Talmuds say.
4.        When a mishnah features several points, ask if it teaches more than the sum of its individual parts.

No, there is nothing surprising here. But it’s also surprising how easy it is to skip these steps and jump to one’s own conclusions.

I’ve been dipping in and out of this little book with great enjoyment. From time to time I shall be discussing some of the points R’ Miller makes. I look forward to sharing them with you.

For comments and discussion of this post on Facebook click here.

"You can't judge a book by looking at the cover"

You can't judge an apple by looking at a tree
You can't judge honey by looking at the bee
You can't judge a daughter by looking at the mother
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover

These lyrics, popularized by Bo Diddley, the Rolling Stones and many other performers, embody the teaching of Rabbi Meir at Avot 4:27:

אַל תִּסְתַּכֵּל בְּקַנְקַן, אֶלָּא בְּמַה שֶּׁיֶּשׁ בּוֹ, יֵשׁ קַנְקַן חָדָשׁ מָלֵא יָשָׁן, וְיָשָׁן שֶׁאֲפִילוּ חָדָשׁ אֵין בּ

Don’t look at the vessel, but at what’s inside it. There are new vessels that are filled with old wine, and old vessels that do not even contain new wine.

I recently had an opportunity to put this teaching into practice. Browsing the shelves of Jerusalem’s iconic Pomeranz bookshop, I came across a commentary on Pirkei Avot that had previously escaped my attention: Jewish Ethical Wisdom From Pirkei Avot by Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins (Mazo Publishers, 2020). Unable to resist the temptation, I bought it.

My initial feeling about this book was not positive, since I started with the preliminaries. The front cover reminded me that the Americans and the English may share many common cultural characteristics—but they take quite a different view of self-promotion. As a generalization, Americans are very much more confident in their promotion of goods and services while the English are diffident and hide behind a wall of understatement. Neither approach reflects the Maimonidean norm that lies between the stridently boastful and the unhelpfully uninformative, but this book definitely falls on the American side of this border.

The cover eye-catchingly declares that this book is “The Only Pirkei Avot Edition According to Topic Themes”.  While there are not many Avot books that take this line, this one is not actually unique in that regard--even though four of this book’s five distinguished endorsers also seem to think it is. Torah Dynamics: Pirkei Avot Looks at Life, by Samson Krupnick and Morris Mandel, published in 1991, arranges its discussion of Avot under 24 topic headings. Then there is Rabbi Dan Roth’s Relevance: Pirkei Avos for the Twentieth Century (2007), which tackles topics while running them in the order they appear in Avot. Both are currently available on the Feldheim website and I wonder how these two books could have escaped everyone’s attention.

Now for the author. Rabbi Elkins is clearly a prolific author: the brief bio that faces the  Contents page describes him as having written over 55 books, no mean achievement. One of these, Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul, made the New York Times bestseller list, and the cover itself proclaims Rabbi Elkins to be “Winner of the National Jewish Book Award”, which indeed he was in 1965 with Worlds lost and found; discoveries in Biblical archeology. Both these books are actually co-authored. The Englishman and the intellectual property lawyer in me are both uncomfortable with the absence of any mention here of co-authorship, but I imagine that this is something that troubles me more than it troubles others.

Anyway, once we get past these preliminaries, there’s still the book to consider. The first thing one can say about it is that it is highly accessible and easy to read. The text, including the footnotes, benefits from a large, clear font. It’s not a long work—just 160 pages inclusive of glossary and a short bibliography—and it spans over 30 focal topics. Most of these topics are covered in brief but one, Learning and Teaching, is disproportionately long, thus fairly reflecting the content of Avot itself.

Rabbi Elkins’ approach in general uses the mishnayot of Avot as a series of springboards from which to jump into issues that are of current interest or social relevance. He does so by drawing on quotations which span a wide variety of sources both religious and secular, which he deploys in order to elucidate points that are often based on his own experiences. Readers may not all feel happy at the choice of sources whose quotes appear, but this book is not addressed to readers who would rather take offence at the identity of a quoted source than give thought to the words quoted (cited authors Rabbis Louis Jacobs and Yitz Greenberg, both of whom have been known to raise the occasional hackle).

The content, length and drift of each essay make them collectively a handy reference point for anyone who finds him- or herself called upon to prepare a short and lively devar Torah. Also, with its tendency to prick consciences gently rather than destroying readers completely, as do some tomes on Avot, it’s probably a useful book to take with you to shul on the High Holy Days, to peruse when the going gets heavy and one’s concentration flags.

This work does not pretend to be a state-of-the-art scholarly treatise with doctoral pretensions, and that is a valuable selling point. While sages and scholars may write books of more lasting value, books written by congregational rabbis for ordinary people have a great advantage. A minister who is in daily contact with regular folk can usually be relied upon to have a firm grasp of their dreams and aspirations, their peeves and their foibles. Potential readers of books on Avot are not all striving to be saints or holy ascetics, but many of them would like to be better people if they could—and if someone could give them a few words of encouragement and advice. Books like this one, which talks of anger, doubt, friendship and responsibility, will always have a market and can do much good.

To conclude, I’m glad I didn’t judge this book by the cover and I’m sure that there are many people out there in the big wide world who will appreciate it.

For comments and discussion of this post on Facebook click here.

Hitting the mark, missing the point

I’ve just heard about a new book, Ethics of Our Fighters: Judaism and the moral challenges of warfare, by Rabbi Shlomo Brody. Neville Teller, reviewing it for the Jerusalem Post, has this to say about it:

Ethics of Our Fighters has as its background the Jewish reaction to being confronted with the moral challenges of warfare.

In Ethics of Our Fighters, Rabbi Shlomo Brody has produced a deeply considered analysis, based upon a profound understanding of the principles underlying Judaism and Jewish thought, regarding the ethical dilemmas posed by the sometimes unavoidable need to engage in warfare. Never was the title of a book more apt or more descriptive of its contents. 

Its conclusions, however, are far from confined to people engaged in defending Israel or the Jewish people. Like so much of the civilized world’s view of morality, emanating as it does from the Torah and associated Jewish thinking, they are universally applicable.

He then adds the following:

The title … is an adaptation of “Ethics of the Fathers,” the English title of Pirkei Avot, the famous collection of ethical principles uttered by the leading rabbis whose legal and related opinions appear in the Talmud. Pirkei Avot’s six chapters of ethical and moral pronouncements are included in the daily prayer book. Replete with the wisest of wise counsel as they are, Brody points out that Pirkei Avot has nonetheless nothing at all to say about the ethics of warfare or the moral and ethical principles that should be followed in times of conflict.

The reason is not difficult to deduce. For centuries after the Roman era, the scattered Jewish people simply did not engage in military matters. The long lacuna came to an end just over 100 years ago, when Jews were caught up in World War I and fought on both sides, according to the countries in which they lived. Then, starting in the 1920s, in their ancient homeland of Israel, known then as British Mandate Palestine, Jewish fighters found themselves in armed conflict with local Arabs who were intent on preventing the League of Nations mandated establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people.”

I am reluctant to accept that “Pirkei Avot has … nothing at all to say about the ethics of warfare or the moral and ethical principles that should be followed in times of conflict”. That misses the point. Pirkei Avot was not compiled as a warriors’ manual. But this does not mean that nothing our sages taught in that tractate is relevant to wartime, even today. That’s why I recently posted six pieces on Avot Today that dealt with what Avot had to say about dealing with death and bereavement, jumping to conclusions regarding apparent non-combatants, keeping one’s temper at times of stress, prayer at times of war and while in combat, celebrating victory, and postwar reconstruction.

Leaving quibbles about the author’s opinions aside, I’m intrigued by this book and its approach to Jewish ethical issues—and when I’ve got hold of a copy and read it for myself, I shall share my thoughts on it with Avot Today readers. If anyone reading this post has already seen the book, I do hope that they will share their thoughts on it too.

For comments and discussion of this post on Facebook, click here.

Escape from captivity

Last month I came across some information concerning yet another commentary on Avot that I had not previously encountered. Its source is Israel Mizrachi (Jewish Press, Features on the Jewish World, here):

Rabbi David Hazan (d. 1748) was a noted rabbi and kabbalist, author of several books and founder of a prominent Hebrew printing press in Izmir (Smyrna), Turkey. ... I was able to obtain one of the books he authored, titled David Bametzudah (translated as “David in the Fortress”), being a commentary on Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) and printed in Salonica, Greece in 1748. The title page tells of the interesting background to the writing of this work and the travails of the author that led to it.

In translation, this background praises the grace of God and continues as follows:

“While I was visiting the city of Vienna, being that it is their custom to require passports of every visitor, I had in my possession an authentic passport. An evil man spoke slander about someone with the name David and said before the government that he was a spy. Despite our father’s names being different they accused me of being a spy and locked me in a prison on the holiday of Pesach. Since I was of ill health, the Jewish community sent a doctor to request that I be sent to a hospital under surveillance. May God repay them for their kindness. They instructed the doctor to care for me and paid for all the expenses. I was there from Pesach until Shavuot. I requested from the community leaders to send me the Midrash Shmuel on Pirkei Avot and Ein Yaakov (on the Aggadic portions of the Talmud), and within a short time I had written this commentary on Pirkei Avot. The very day that I completed the writing of this work, I received a pardon and was released…”

According to the online entry in the Jewish Encyclopaedia, the author's full name is David ben Chaim ben Joseph Ḥazan. He lived in Jerusalem about the middle of the eighteenth century. In addition to this commentary on Avot he wrote Ḥozeh David (commentary on the Psalms, Amsterdam 1724), Ḳohelet ben David (on Ecclesiastes, Salonica, also apparently 1748); and Agan haSahar (on Proverbs, Salonica 1749).

I have not seen this work and have never even come across any reference to it in the works of others. I'm curious to know whether it is a yalkut upon a yalkut, taking extracts from Midrash Shmuel and refreshing them for contemporary readers, and whether it has a kabbalistic flavour. If any reader can enlighten me, I shall be grateful. 

Meanwhile, noting that Rabbi Hazan was pardoned and released from prison on the day he completed his work, I wonder whether it ever occurred to him that, had he written a shorter commentary, he might have been released sooner.

Abarbanel in brief

The headline of this post, "Abarbanel in brief", may seem somewhat strange to anyone who knows him. This is because Rabbi Don Yitzchak Abarbanel is no miniaturist. Like his commentary on the Torah, his thoughts on Pirkei Avot, Nachalat Avot, are quite fascinating -- but they are also extremely long. The Abarbanel's preferred modus operandi is to front-load his discussion of each mishnah and baraita with a list of questions, often quite numerous, and then to address them. Nachalat Avot is not however just a pirush on Avot; it is also a window on to the world of government, monarchy and civic responsibility, reflecting Don Yitzchak's many and varied experiences as an influential court Jew.

The book I have before me, Be'Orcha Nireh Or, is a kitzur Nachalat Avot -- a shortened version of the massive original. Privately published and distributed free, it is dedicated to the memory of R' Baruch Neriah ben Zilpah veRachamim, who is also honoured by the reproduction of several pages of photographs and personal notices at the end of the volume.

With around 250 pages of large, clear Hebrew print, this kitzur is much shorter than the original (my Nachalat Avot runs to over 400 pages of Rashi font small print). Thus Don Yitzvhak's 26-side essay on Avot 4:29, in which R' Elazar HaKapar closes the perek with a warning about the impossibility of escaping the duty to give an account of oneself to God) is whittled down to half that length, 

Without running heads to tell you where you are when you open the book, this kitzur can be a little slow to navigate. Even so, it is an extremely handy means by which a person can dip into the Abarbanel's scholarship.

I picked up my copy at Pomeranz. If you don't live in Jerusalem but want a copy, there's a contact email: aterettifferet@walla.com.

Kids' stuff

Many books on Pirkei Avot are tough going for the reader. They are often packed with mussar, designed to stir the conscience and to point to our shortfall in our behavioural standards. Children's books are an exception; they are designed to appeal to the young and growing child, both aesthetically and in terms of the accessibility of their content.

Genendel Krohn's Ma'aseh Avos was published by Feldheim last year and I missed its emergence, being submerged in the writing of my own book. Krohn is a writer of popular works that are addressed to a readership of kids who belong to the committed orthodox camp. As one might expect, this introduction to Avot teaches without being preachy and it illustrates principles drawn from that tractate in ways that children can easily identify with.

The author wisely does not attempt to cover Avot in full. She has selected three mishnayot or baraitot from each of the six perakim, illustrating them with memorable stories that will resonate particularly strongly with readers who can identify themselves or the main protagonists. In keeping with the spirit of Avot 6:6, Krohn even cites the source of each of her illustrative tales. Brightly coloured artwork by Tirtsa Pelleg literally completes the picture of a fun first book on Avot.

Ma'aseh Avos is published by Feldheim; it can be purchased in all good Jewish bookshops (inevitably I found my copy in Pomeranz's Jerusalem store) and on Amazon.

Only ten shekel

Last week I rescued a book on Pirkei Avot that contained two commentaries. I found it on a heap of publications that had been piled up in disorderly fashion in a Jerusalem street sale. It cost just 10 shekels.

This book was quite unfamiliar to me and I suspect that it was privately published with a small print run since it bears no information concerning the place and date of publication, or indeed of a publisher. I have never seen any reference to it in other commentaries and have never heard it mentioned as a source.

The first of the two commentaries is the Tiferet Tzion of Rabbi Yitzchak Ze’ev Yadler, author of the 18-volume Tiferet Tzion commentary on Midrash Rabbah and the Talmud. It comes with approbations from Rabbis Yisrael Moshe Dushinsky, Shabtai Shlomo Wigoder and Yitzchak Menachem Weinberg. Rabbi Yadler is the father of Rabbi Ben Tzion Yadler (1871-1962), a major figure in Jewish resettlement in Israel both before and after the founding of the state in 1948 and an early activist on behalf of education for girls.

The second commentary, the Kerem Chemed, is authored by Rabbi Yadler’s grandson, Rabbi Yehudah Rabinowitz. This commentary is shorter and focuses on a selection of mishnayot and baraitot.

If any reader knows anything about this book, can he or she please share it! I’d love to know more about its provenance and about its authors.

Sages and Dreamers

I have before me a copy of the recently-published Israeli edition of Elie Wiesel’s Sages and Dreamers: Biblical, Talmudic and Hasidic Portraits and Legends. This is actually a selection of essays culled from a series of lectures that Wiesel delivered to New York’s 92^nd Street Y between 1967 and 1991.

This book is not a commentary on Pirkei Avot but it does throw light on some of Avot’s major contributors. Lively biographical ske.tches cover the lives of Hillel, Shammai, Elisha ben Avuyah, ben Azzai and ben Zoma, not to mention Rabbis Chanina ben Dosa, Elazar ben Azaryah, Ishmael, Akiva, Chananyah ben Teradyon, Meir and Shimon bar Yochai.  Between them, these scholars contributed 28 teachings to Pirkei Avot, this being getting on for a quarter of the whole.

Wiesel’s approach is populist rather than scholarly, seeking to express through mishnah and midrash the personalities and ideals of the featured rabbis, as well as giving a flavour of their interaction with each other and with less exalted mortals. This being the text of a collection of lectures, it is unsurprising that there are neither footnotes nor textual references. However, anyone with a passing knowledge of the subject will soon spot how widely Wiesel has read and how deeply he has delved in seeking to bring out the individual essence of each.

I must confess that, while Wiesel writes with passion and great intelligence, and his discursive, often emotive style of narrative is widely appreciated both within Jewish circles and beyond, I struggle to enjoy it. This may be because I am a stern, cold academic at heart and remain more interested in making up my own mind about the Tannaim featured here than in buying into Wiesel’s assessment of them. I wonder if I am alone in feeling so, and am prepared to accept that I may well be.

This title is published by Whirlwind Press, Jerusalem (a subsidiary of Pomeranz Booksellers). You can order it here.

Pirkei Avot: A Users' Manual

This is my new book, Pirkei Avot: A Users' Manual. Published by Targum, its three volumes span some 1,600 pages of in-depth discussion and analysis of every mishnah and baraita in the Ethics of the Fathers, together with extensive references that span over 3,000 years of both divine and human thought. 

A clue to the function of this book can be found in its title. Mishnaic ethics aren't just there to be studied and revered: they are there for us to apply in our everyday lives. Pirkei Avot: A Users' Manual seeks to help the reader do just that -- to internalize its teachings and put them into practice on a daily basis.

You may be wondering why I have written this book. Aren't there plenty of commentaries and discussions of Pirkei Avot already? Maybe there are too many of them? Perhaps this is true, but every generation needs its own commentaries because we forever find ourselves facing challenges that were unknown to previous generations -- and our children will face challenges unknown to us. This book discusses issues involving the internet, smartphones and the social media, Covid, peer pressure and the demands made on domestic budgets by everyday life in modern society.

This book looks back into the context of the many teachings that Avot has preserved and passed through the ages. It draws on many classical Jewish commentaries as well as plenty of more recent ones. I have also looked at contemporary research, literature, music and film that reflects on or applies the moral principles of Avot. Here you will find not only Maimonides, Rashi, Abarbanel and the Maharal of Prague but also Fawlty Towers, Frank Sinatra, Les Miserables and Andy Warhol. 

Each teaching is given in Hebrew and English, sometimes with more than one translation. It is introduced and then analysed, then closes with a list of topics for open discussion or private contemplation. There are also many tables, to enable the reader to cross-refer teachings that relate to one another and also to show the true nature of what Avot does -- and does not -- contain.

You may be asking what credentials I have for writing this book. Ideally it should have been written by a respected rabbi with a background in Torah learning. I am not that person -- but I have been studying Pirkei Avot since 1988 and have worked hard to establish it as my moral compass in life. I've not always succeeded, but my experiences have taught me a great deal about Jewish ethics -- maybe more than I might have learned from solely reading books.

At the moment this book is only available from my local bookshop in Jerusalem, Pomeranz Books. Once copies have been distributed further afield, I'll let everyone know.

The images on the three covers all relate to teachings that can be found in the relevant volume. Enjoy the task of working out what image alludes to. 

Just published: Foundation of Faith

According to a recent OU press release, there's yet another book on Pirkei Avot. Intriguingly, its title is Foundations of Faith -- even though very little of the content of Avot can be said to address directly the issue of faith.

The press release, in relevant part, reads as follows:

Foundation of Faith, a commentary on Pirkei Avot based on the teachings of Rabbi Norman Lamm and edited by Rabbi Mark Dratch. Inspiring and profound, the commentary is a scintillating demonstration of Rabbi Lamm’s invaluable message for contemporary Jewry.

A gifted orator, teacher, scholar, and rabbinic leader, Rabbi Norman Lamm was renowned for a distinguished career that included the presidency of Yeshiva University, authorship of numerous books and articles on Jewish philosophy and other aspects of Jewish thought and studies, and a leadership role in the Jewish community which has left a lasting impact. As the spiritual leader of The Jewish Center in New York City for decades, Rabbi Lamm mesmerized his congregants with sermons legendary for their profound intellectual substance and soaring eloquence. With a rare combination of penetrating scholarship and eloquence of expression, he successfully presented a Torah view of contemporary Jewish life that still speaks movingly to all.

Published posthumously in memory of Rabbi Lamm and his wife Mindella, who passed away last year, as well as in memory of the untimely passing of their late daughter Sara, it was edited with care by Rabbi Mark Dratch. Love of Torah, veneration of tradition, positive engagement with the modern world and contemporary culture, and the importance of a life built on overarching Jewish values are just a few of the themes that animate this volume, all expressed with Rabbi Lamm’s characteristic mastery.

Rabbi Mark Dratch is the Executive Vice President of the Rabbinical Council of America. He served as a pulpit rabbi, founder of JSafe: The Jewish Institute Supporting an Abuse Free Environment, and Instructor of Jewish Studies and Philosophy at Yeshiva University.

This work will undoubtedly be warmly welcomed as a classic of Jewish thought and exegesis by the ever-growing number of people who appreciate Rabbi Lamm’s unique voice.

Only a couple of weeks ago I had a chance to hear Rabbi Mark Dratch speaking on Avot, when he gave a Shabbat afternoon Avot shiur at Beit Knesset Hanassi that focused on two mishnayot that aren't part of Avot at all but bookend its content whenever a perek is recited: Sanhedrin 10:1 and Makkot 3:16. He is clearly an Avot devotee so I for one shall be looking forward to seeing his treatment of Rabbi Lamm's understanding of this tractate.

Meiri on Avot: a new translation

Last week Beit Knesset Hanassi, Jerusalem, hosted a book launch both live and on Zoom. The book in question was Meiri on Pirkei Avos, an English translation of the relevant parts of Rabbi Menachem ben Shlomo Meiri's Beit HaBechirah commentary on the Talmud. Hebrew editions preface this commentary with a long and detailed historical introduction which, for technical reasons, was not included in this new work. However, from comments made at the launch, it seems that there is a reasonable prospect of publishing an English version of this introduction in a follow-up volume.   

This work, dedicated to the memory of Max and Jenny Weil, has a long history of its own, taking nearly ten years from start to finish. A Feldheim title, it started out with ArtScroll who later dropped the project on the ground that it would require too large a team of scholars to complete the work to the required standard. As it turns out, it seems that a prodigious amount of effort was expended by Rabbi Yehudah Bulman in seeing the work to its successful conclusion.

Rabbi Berel Wein, Rav of Beit Knesset Hanassi, a great admirer of the Meiri and himself the author of a large and accessible tome on Pirkei Avot, welcomed this new work and gave it his blessing. 

The book itself is some 650 pages in length. The text of the Meiri's comment is printed in large, clear Hebrew text which is fully and accurately pointed and punctuated, making it far easier to read than the minuscule print that is found in many editions. 

Further information about this work can be accessed on the Feldheim website here and Jerusalemites in search of a purchase can pick up their own copy from Pomeranz Books here. If you want to know a bit more about the Meiri, look here.

From the Garden of Unearthly Delights: two books

When I am in prowling mode, I wander through the streets in search of excitement. Being easily satisfied by even a small quantity of excitement, my prowling generally gets no further than the Pomeranz family bookshop ("The Gan Eden of Jewish Books"), where I feast my eyes and occasionally empty my pockets on the serried ranks of Jewish interest publications. If Gan Eden could ever (Heaven forfend!) be described as the Garden of Earthly Delights, Pomeranz's mini-paradise could be termed the Garden of Unearthly Delights, given the high spiritual and/or inspirational content of so many of the books on sale there.

My most recent visit found me drawn, as usual, to the shelf with books on Jewish ethics. There I found two with which I made not previously been acquainted.

The first, published in Jerusalem way back in 1983 by Gefen, is A Companion to Pirke Avot by the late Rabbi Benjamin Morgenstern. This book, the dust jacket states at the outset and in the author's Introduction, is not a commentary to Avot but a companion. In truth it is more of a work of history-cum-biography since its content is arranged around the personalities of no fewer than 22 rabbis. Only 19 of those discussed are actually contributors to Avot: Rabban Gamliel of Yavneh and Rabbi Natan HaBavli also feature and there is a short but welcome chapter on the mysterious and elusive Menachem -- Hillel's "partner" before Shammai's arrival on the scene. Rabbi Morgenstern's position is that the sayings of the Tannaim of Avot, many of which are "terse or even laconic", might be understood and more properly appreciated if they were learned within the context of events in which their author may have participated or been an observer. 

At 221 pages and with recommended references for further study, this book is a comfortable and informative read. In an ideal world it would have been a little longer, with room for discussion of Rabbi Elazar ben Arach (another candidate for the true identity of Rabbi Nehorai, whom the author exclusively identifies as Rabbi Meir) and a little speculation concerning the status of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi (was he, or was he not, a Tanna?) Frustratingly, we have to accept that there is so little biographical information about some of the rabbis of Avot that it would not have been feasible to find more than a brief paragraph to say about them. 

************************************

The second book I encountered, fresh off the printing press, is Dr Ari Ciment's Pirkei Dr Ari, published by Mosaica Press of Bet Shemesh. A much larger and indeed heavier work than that of Rabbi Morgenstern (at 576 pages) it is an agreeably easy read, with clear, well-spaced typography that facilitates the reader's effortless turning of pages.

This work too is not a conventional commentary on Pirkei Avot. Subtitled "Connecting Pirkei Avos to the Parashah", it leads the reader through not just each week's Torah reading but also to that of the main festivals. Each parashah opens with quotes from one or more mishnayot of Avot which are immediately followed by questions that are designed to focus the reader's thoughts on both the mishnah and the Torah reading. Most parshiyot are treated to more than one Avot-led discussion.

This methodology is somewhat reminiscent of that of Rabbenu Bachye ben Asher's prefixing each week's Torah analysis with a relevant verse from Mishlei (Proverbs), but works rather more easily for two reasons: (i) the mishnayot of Avot are generally more accessible and better known to contemporary readers than are the verses of Mishlei; (ii) the author helpfully concludes each essay with takeaway messages or answers to ensure that the reader never misses the point.

Dr Ciment, the author, is an expert on Jewish medical ethics, a topic that he has taught at Touro College. More importantly than that, he is a genuine enthusiast for life and for everything that a study of Torah combined with Avot can offer. This is not so much a Torah narrative or a commentary on Avot as a labour of love. His publishers, Mosaica, summarise this book thus:

The Torah is not meant as a history book but as a practical guide for us to live by. Pirkei Avos is the Mishnaic tractate that is a compilation of the ethical teachings passed down from Moshe Rabbeinu. This book highlights the connection between each parashah and Pirkei Avos, thereby uncovering practical takeaway messages. This is Pirkei Avos in the parashah — Pirkei Dr. Ari!

A graphic account of Jewish ethics

I have only just heard of The Illustrated Pirkei Avot, published back in 2017. This is the handiwork of a US-based artist, Jessica Tamar Deutsch, and it clearly found favour with the reviewer who wrote it up for the Jewish Book Council in the following terms:

While there are many com­men­taries to choose from, one of the most inter­est­ing and engag­ing is the recent­ly released Illus­trat­ed Pirkei Avot by Jes­si­ca Tamar Deutsch. Nav­i­gat­ing between the seri­ous and whim­si­cal with equal mea­sure, Deutsch has trans­mut­ed every word of Pirkei Avot from the stuff of parch­ment and crin­kled pages to a hand­some, sin­gu­lar col­lec­tion of sequen­tial art and imag­i­na­tion. (For good mea­sure, the entire trac­tate is repro­duced at the back of the book, just in case read­ers want to refer to the orig­i­nal while reading.)

The review continues in the same vein, adding that

Deutsch’s work is a new par­a­digm. It would be too much to say that this work breaks all the rules of nor­ma­tive Tal­mu­dic com­men­tary; that was prob­a­bly nev­er her inten­tion. To the con­trary, the acces­si­bil­i­ty stems from the book’s appeal to all ages in a wel­com­ing way. One could be a schol­ar or a neo­phyte when it comes to learn­ing Tal­mud and still learn some­thing from this work. At times Deutsch inserts a thought that is sep­a­rate from the art (i.e. the sto­ry of Hil­lel and the skull) that adds an ele­ment of reader/​author inter­ac­tion where it might not exist in oth­er commentaries.

I am not averse to the use of graphic art as a means of promoting the message of Avot, as is obvious from the launch of Avot Today's Instagram account. I do however wonder how a young and female artist would handle some of the more sensitive content of Avot, for example Hillel's pronouncement on women in the second perek ("...the more women, the more witchcraft; the more maidservants, the more immorality...", 2:8).

If any reader of this weblog is familiar with the book, can he or she please share any relevant thoughts on it and on the extent to which it succeeds in opening up the content of Pirkei Avot to an audience of people who respond more to images than to the printed word.

***********************************

The Illustrated Pirkei Avot is available from Print-O-Craft Press, Philadelphia Pa. Details here: https://printocraftpress.com/.../the-illustrated-pirkei.../

March in April: a new book on Avot

Published last week on Amazon is a new book on Pirkei Avot, authored by Martin March. It's Who Were the Fathers? A Guide to the Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) From a Historical Perspective. I've not yet had a chance to get my hands on it, but it's on sale via Amazon here. Details on the Amazon page run like this:

Martin March has written this book for those who wish to be exposed to one of those facets that most of the popular commentaries to Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) fail to explore in any detail, namely the historical settings against which the individual comments of its mishnayot were set, and the religious, political, and social circumstances that gave rise to those comments. In his book, the author has given us this much needed background as his notes on their biographies open a window onto their ideologies. It is replete with historical insights that will reveal new meaning to each mishnah and brings to life aspects of the fascinating, formative and turbulent period in which the Mishnaic Sages lived. Both the novice and the veteran student will find much in the work to benefit them, and aid them in a deeper understanding and greater appreciation of the times and the words of our fathers and teachers. This truly is a concise, accessible and compelling guide to the great sayings of our Sages, mishnah by mishnah.

Martin March was born in London, UK, and obtained his M.A. at Jews’ College, London. He has been an eternal Torah student and a popular teacher for over 65 years known, both in schools and synagogues, for the depth and lucidity of his Tanach shiurim, and for his critical analysis of our traditional texts and sources. He made aliya, with his wife, in 2015, and now lives in Jerusalem where he continues to give weekly shiurim.

I understand that there will be book launches in Jerusalem in the near future and I shall provide details as and when I get them, for any reader who might wish to attend.

"Love truth and peace": some Avot thoughts from a gentle rabbi

Another recent second-hand bookshop "find" is Derashot Uziel. This little book, published in Jerusalem in 1991, looks at first glance like a conventional commentary on Pirkei Avot but it is not. The first part of the book is a reprint of the Hebrew text of Avot together with the commentary of Rabbi Ovadyah of Bartenura (printed below the text of the mishnah rather than in the margin). There then follows a set of nine lectures, or derashot, written in an elegantly simple Hebrew by the author, Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Chai Uziel.  This gentleman was the first Sefardi Chief Rabbi of Israel and lived by the motto "Love truth and peace", something that his derashot certainly reflect. I've just started reading them in reverse order, starting with "Derech Yasharah" ("The Right Path," Avot 2:1) and so far I've not been at all disappointed.

A useful gift?

Passing the Pomeranz bookshop in Jerusalem the other day, I spotted this commentary on Pirkei Avot by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, a man whose massive scholarship is happily matched by his prodigious productivity and literary lucidity. Although it comes in at nearly 400 pages, it is not a challenging read: the usual high quality of Koren typography gives the text plenty of space and makes it easy on the eye. The text of all six chapters is accompanied by an accessible commentary plus biographical notes on rabbis whose teachings form the bulk of Avot. 

This book is handsome enough to be given full coffee-table treatment and may make an excellent present for anyone who enjoys engaging with Pirkei Avot without having to digest two millennia of detailed commentary and textual analysis in order to do so.  

Pirkei Avot with Commentary by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz here

Sample text of chapter 1 for free inspection here