Pirke Avot translations

Pirke Avot is mostly a collection of sayings from the rabbis of old. It it still widely studied because the sayings still have meaning and it is popular because it consists of many short, standalone aphorisms. We have several versions of the book in our library. Wisdom of the Jewish sages: a modern reading of Pirke avot, by Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro, is small enough to fit in your pocket and, even so, has more white space on each page than print. Rabbi Shapiro has translated and interpreted the ancient text in a way that is most meaningful to him and, he hopes, to other modern readers. He has removed some of the sexist language and, interestingly, translated Torah as Reality. It is worth reading in its own right, but even more interesting to compare to traditional translations and commentaries.
The other way to make Pirke Avot contemporary is to add enough commentary so that some of it will relate to you. Rav Lau on Pirkei Avos : a comprehensive commentary on Ethics of the Fathers does this. It is three volumes filled with commentaries and stories from Jewish tradition. Unlike Rabbi Shapiro, Rabbi Lau keeps the comment in Pirke Avot about not engaging in small talk with women, but then explains why it can be seen in a complementary way.
Try both versions and see which you prefer.

Love and Law

The first serious, modern Jewish book I ever read was Birth Control in Jewish Law: Marital Relations, Contraception, and Abortion as set forth in the Classic Texts of Jewish Law by Rabbi David M. Feldman (1968, 1995). I was very lucky. The book was well-written, the conclusions made sense and the author both described and then demonstrated how Jewish text study works. There were many new terms for me and I had trouble keeping track of them: He explained that Mishnah, G’mara, and Talmud were connected and that one was the sum of the other two, but I had trouble remembering which was which. (I now know that Mishnah + G’mara = Talmud.) I did not understand everything, but I felt that I had learned much and wanted to learn more, not necessarily about the topic, but about Jewish texts and how they are interpreted and used. Thank you, Rabbi Feldman; you changed my life.

I remember reading in the book about a married couple who were unable to have children. They agree to divorce because the husband has not fulfilled his mitzvah to be fruitful and multiply, but, first, during a farewell (drinking) party he asks his wife to take with her whatever is most precious in their household. He awakens to find himself at her father’s home. They stay married. [1] This is one of many Jewish texts, both halachic (legal) and aggadic (story) the author uses to show the value of marriage. But it is the story I remember, not the other, more legalistic examples. This is not to say that I didn’t enjoy the logic and prooftexts, just that stories resonate more.

A Couple of Sayings of the Fathers

During the counting of the Omer, from the second night of Passover until Shavuot seven weeks later, there is a custom of studying Pirke Avot, sometimes translated as Sayings of the Fathers.  Among the versions in our library is the translation and commentary by Rabbi Joseph Hertz, who was the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire and editor of the Hertz Chumash, which I grew up with. [Do two prepositions at the end of sentence cancel themselves out?] I like this book: it has Hebrew on one page and English on the facing page and lots of footnotes at the bottom of both. There are many wise, pithy sayings from  many famous and wise rabbis from the time of the Mishnah. It is not as intimidating as it sounds; it is easy to just browse and feel inspired.

Allow me to quote two verses:

Avot II: 5 – Hillel said, Separate not thyself from the congregation; trust not in thyself until the day of thy death; judge not thy fellow-man until thou art come into his place; and say not anything which cannot be understood at once, in the hope that it will be understood in the end; neither say, When I have leisure I will study; perchance thou wilt have no leisure. (p. 33)

Avot 1:9 – Simeon, the son of Shatach, said, Be very searching in the examination of witnesses, and be heedful of thy words, lest through them they learn to falsify. (p. 21)

Hillel has five pithy sayings in one verse; any one of them is worth thinking about and acting on.

The second verse sounds reasonable, but not as riveting−until you learn more about Simeon ben Shetach. The footnote explains that his son was executed after being falsely accused of a crime and suggests that more careful questioning might have revealed his innocence in time. The footnote also tells the story of his purchase of a camel from a non-Jew; when a jewel is found on the animal, R. Simeon has the gem returned to the original owner because he, Simeon, only paid for the camel. The Arab’s praise of the God of Simeon ben Shatach pleases Simeon more than wealth.

The footnote does not mention his part in the story, found in the Jerusalem Talmud (Hagigah 2:2), about the witches of Ashkelon. This story is also in Elijah’s Violin & Other Jewish Fairy Tales, edited by Howard Schwartz, and many other collections and the occasional picture book. It may also be recounted in Sefer Ha-Aggadah: The Book of Jewish Folklore and Legends, edited by Bialik and Rawnitzky (Dvir, 1988); I don’t have this book in front of me, but the longer version definitely tells the story. The story is fascinating and troubling and it is interesting to see how various authors have tried to make it suitable for children. And it connects to the false accusation against his son.

Best wishes for a Happy Pesach!