Pirkei Avot is a book of the Mishnah, the Oral Torah, which takes millenia of rabbinic wisdom and condenses it into a few pages. In this series I will be unpacking that deep wisdom for you and giving it over in roughly five minute, easy to digest, segments. I will give an introduction and then explain the meaning of the text, often including the commentary of the Rambam.
Below is the first installment. If you’re already signed up, you’ll get future episodes in the weekly e-mail from me. If you’re not yet signed up, go to the video page and fill in the form! My production notes are below for those who like to follow along with text. Hope you enjoy! (NOTE: If the video is not showing in your email reader, CLICK HERE to view it online)
Production Notes
Introduction to Pirkei Avot (Chapters of the Fathers), chapter 1, section 1.
AVOT 1.1: The tradition handed down, Judaism based on tradition, not intellectual argument or mystery.
‘Be Measured in Judgment’: RAMBAM take your time making decisions until you can really understand them deeply.
‘Keep many students’: meaning obvious
‘Make a fence for the Torah’: RAMBAM the rulings and laws that will keep a person far from transgression, as it says in the Torah ‘and you shall guard my guarding’ (u’shmartem mishmarti).