View source for Pirkei Avot

{{Short description|Tractate of the Mishnah}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Abot|Abbot}}
{{redirect|Sayings of the Fathers|the Orthodox Christian texts|Sayings of the Desert Fathers}}
[[File:Pirkei Avot.jpg|thumb|''Pirkei Avot'' with Bukharian [[Judeo-Persian]] translation]]

'''Pirkei Avot''' ({{langx|he|פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת|pirqē aḇoṯ|Chapters of the [Fore]fathers}}; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth'', also ''Abhoth''),<ref>[[Frederic Farrar|Farrar, F. W.]] (1891), [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/luke/6.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges] on Luke 6, accessed on 10 April 2025</ref> is a compilation of the [[Jewish philosophy|Jewish theological]] and [[Jewish ethics|ethical]] teachings and [[Maxim (saying)|maxims]] from [[Rabbinic Judaism|Rabbinic Jewish]] tradition. It is part of [[didactic]] [[Jewish]] [[Musar literature|ethical literature]]. Because of its contents, the name is sometimes given as '''Ethics of the Fathers'''. ''Pirkei Avot'' consists of the [[Mishnah|Mishnaic]] [[minor tractate]] of ''Avot'', the second-to-last tractate in the order of [[Nezikin]] in the [[Mishnah]], plus one additional chapter. ''Avot'' is unique in that it is the only tractate of the Mishnah dealing ''solely'' with ethical and moral principles; there is relatively little ''[[Halakha]]'' (Jewish law) in ''Pirkei Avot''.

==Translation of the title==
In the title ''Pirkei Avot'', the word "pirkei" is Hebrew for "chapters of".

The word ''avot'' means "fathers", and thus ''Pirkei Avot'' is often rendered in English as "Chapters of the Fathers", or (more loosely) "Ethics of the Fathers". This translation engenders an appealing and not entirely mistaken image of "patriarchal teachings". 

However, the term 'avot' is not usually used as an honorary designation for 'rabbis' or 'sages'; in rabbinical usage, it refers to the [[Patriarchs (Bible)|Patriarchs]] of the Bible. Rather, in the [[Mishnah]], the word ''avot'' generally refers to fundamentals or principal categories. (Thus, the principal categories of creative work forbidden on [[Shabbat]] are called ''avot melacha'', and the principal categories of ritual impurity are referred to as ''avot'' ''tum'ah''.) Using this meaning, ''Pirkei Avot'' would translate to "Chapters of Fundamental Principles".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090619085738/https://www.thejc.com/articles/2008502860/pirkei-avot Rabbi Julian Sinclair in ''The Jewish Chronicle'']</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aish.com/sp/pg/48884467.html |title=Unlocking Ancient Wisdom - Pirkei Avot 1:1 |website=Aish.com |date=5 January 2002  |author=Howard Witkin|access-date=28 August 2017}}</ref> Additionally, the possibility that the title was intentionally worded to support multiple renderings—both "fathers" and "fundamental principles"—cannot be ruled out.

The recognition of ethical maxims as 'Fundamental Principles' may derive from the high regard in which the [[Torah]], [[Mishnah]], and [[Talmud]] hold such wisdom. "Love your neighbor as yourself," states the Bible ({{sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Leviticus|chapter=19|verse=18}}), an injunction that [[Rabbi Akiva]] in [[Genesis Rabbah]] 24:7 famously calls a "great principle" of the Torah. In [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] 31a, [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]], when challenged by a prospective convert to explain the entire Torah while the latter stood on one foot, answered: "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: This is the entire Torah, the rest is the explanation, go now and learn it." (This maxim is not included in Pirkei Avot.) The attribution of Biblical Wisdom books to [[King Solomon]] (e.g., [[Ecclesiastes]], [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs]], [[Book of Wisdom]]) attests also to the central importance that Jews of this period placed on transmitting the ethical way of life.

==Structure of the work==
The Mishnaic tractate ''Avot'' consists of five chapters. It begins with an order of transmission of the Oral Tradition; [[Moses]] receives the [[Torah]] at [[Mount Sinai]] and then transmits it through various generations (including [[Joshua]], the Elders, and the [[Neviim]], but notably not the [[Kohanim]]), whence it finally arrives at the [[Great Assembly]], i.e., the early generations of Sages (Avot 1:1).  It contains sayings attributed to sages from [[Simon the Just]] (200 BCE) to shortly after [[Judah haNasi]] (200 CE), redactor of the Mishnah.  These aphorisms concern proper ethical and social conduct, as well as the importance of [[Torah study]].

The first two chapters proceed in a general chronological order, with the second focusing on the students of [[Yochanan Ben Zakkai]]. Chapters Three and Four are thematic and contain various attributed sayings in no explicit order. Chapter Five departs from the organization and content of the preceding four in that it consists mostly of anonymous sayings structured around numerical lists, several of which have no direct connection with ethics. The last four paragraphs of this chapter return to the format of moral aphorisms attributed to specific rabbis.

In liturgical use, and in most printed editions of ''Avot'', a sixth chapter, ''Kinyan Torah'' ("Acquisition of Torah") is added; this is in fact the eighth (in the Vilna edition) chapter of tractate ''Kallah'', one of the [[minor tractates]]. It is added because its content and style are somewhat similar to that of the original tractate Avot (although it focuses on Torah study more than ethics), and to allow for one chapter to be recited on each ''[[Shabbat]]'' of the [[Counting of the Omer|Omer]] period, this chapter being seen well-suited to ''Shabbat [[Shavuot]]'', when the giving of the Torah is celebrated. (See below.) The term ''Pirkei Avot'' refers to the composite six-chapter work (''Avot'' plus ''Kinyan Torah'').

Modern scholars{{Who|date=June 2021}} suggest that Avot 5:21 ("He would say: A five-year-old proceeds to Bible [study], a ten-year-old to mishna [study]...") was not authored by Rabbi Yehudah ben Teimah (the author of 5:20, and seemingly the referent of "He would say" in 5:21) but rather by [[Shmuel ha-Katan]], and was not part of the Mishna tractate of Avot, but rather added later to Pirkei Avot.<ref>[[Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller|Tosafot Yom Tov]] to Avot 5:21 - הוא היה אומר בן חמש וכו' ונ"א ל"ג. וכתב במד"ש בשם הרר"י בר שלמה ז"ל שאין אלו דברי ר' יהודה בן תימא. וגם אינה מסדר מסכתא זו. אלא שחכמים הסמיכום והוסיפום כאן. ודברי שמואל הקטן הם. ויש נוסחאות שכתוב כאן שמואל הקטן אומר בנפול אויבך אל תשמח וכו'. ע"כ.</ref> In [[Machzor Vitry]], for example, this passage is printed after the words "Tractate Avot has ended".<ref>[https://www.sefaria.org.il/Machzor_Vitry%2C_Pirkei_Avot.5.20.3?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en Machzor Vitry, Pirkei Avot 5:20] (Sefaria)</ref>

"The structure of the tractate differs greatly from the thematic structure of the other tractates and Avot sayings employ a highly stylized language instead of the clear and straightforward mishnaic prose. In addition, the anomalous character of Avot is heightened by the biblical influences on its linguistic expressions, grammatical forms, and vocabulary."<ref>Amram Tropper, ''Wisdom, Politics, and Historiography: Tractate Avot in the Context of the Graeco-Roman Near East'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 51.</ref>

==Study of the work==
From at least the time of [[Saadia Gaon]] (10th century), it has been customary to study one chapter a week on each [[Shabbat]] between [[Passover]] and [[Shavuot]]; today, the tractate is generally studied on each ''Shabbat'' of the summer, from Passover to [[Rosh Hashanah]], the entire cycle repeating a few times with doubling of chapters at the end if there are not a perfect multiple of six weeks.<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/680360/jewish/What-are-Ethics-of-our-Fathers.htm "What are Ethics of the Fathers?"], chabad.org</ref> The tractate is therefore included in many [[siddur|prayer books]], following Shabbat afternoon prayers.

In the course of such study, it is common to preface each chapter with the Mishnaic saying, "All Israel has a share in the world to come" ([[Sanhedrin]] 10:1), and to conclude each chapter with the saying, "The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to bestow merit upon Israel; therefore he gave them Torah and [[mitzvah|mitzvot]] in abundance" ([[Makkoth]] 3:16).

==Notable sayings==
The tractate includes several of the most frequently-quoted rabbinic sayings on a variety of topics, including:

===Show kindness to others===
* "The world stands on three things: On Torah, on works, and on kindness to others" (1:2; work here translates "avodah" in the Hebrew which can mean labor, service of God, prayer, or sacrificial offerings)
* "Your house should be open wide, and you should treat the poor as members of your household." (1:5)
* "Meet every person with graciousness." (1:15)
* "He [<nowiki/>[[Yohanan ben Zakkai]]] said to [his disciples]: 'Go and see what is the right way that a man should seek for himself.'  [[Eliezer ben Hurcanus|Rabbi Eliezer]] said: 'A good eye'.  [[Joshua ben Hananiah|Rabbi Yehoshua]] said: 'A good friend'.  Rabbi [[Yose HaKohen]] said: 'A good neighbor'.  Rabbi Shimon [ben Netanel] said: 'One who sees consequences.' [[Eleazar ben Arach|Rabbi Elazar]] said: 'A good heart'.  He [Yohanan] said to them, 'I prefer the words of Elazar ben Arach to yours, because his words include yours as well.'" (2:13)

===Respect of other persons===
* "What is the right path a man should choose? Whatever is honorable to himself, and honorable in the eyes of others." (2:1)
* "Let your friend's honor be as dear to you as your own." (2:10)
* "The evil eye, the evil inclination, and hatred of [God's] creatures drive a person out of the world." (2:16)
* "Let your friend's money be as dear to you as your own."  (2:17)

===Strive for greatness===
* "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And being for myself, what am 'I'?  And if not now, when?" (1:14) This saying is written in simple and terse Hebrew and is attributed to the sage [[Hillel the Elder|Hillel]], who was famous for succinct expression. 
* "What is the right path a man should choose? Whatever is honorable to himself, and honorable in the eyes of others." (2:1)
* "In a place where there are no worthy men, strive to be worthy." (2:5)
* "He who acquires a good name, has acquired himself something indeed." (2:8)
* "Do not regard yourself as an evil person." (2:18)

===Respect God===
* "Do His will as if it were your own, so that He will do your will as if it were His.  Nullify your own will before His so that He will nullify the will of others before you." (2:4)

===Seek peace===
* "Be amongst the students of [[Aaron]]: Love peace and pursue peace.  Love people and bring them close to Torah." (1:12)
* "The more charity, the more peace" (2:8)

===Take precaution to avoid transgressions===
* "Make a fence for the Torah" (1:1)
* "Keep far from an evil neighbor, do not befriend a wicked person, and do not despair of divine retribution" (1:7)
* "Evaluate the loss of fulfilling a commandment against its reward, and the reward of committing a transgression against its loss. Consider three things, and you will not come to sin: Know what is above you: a seeing eye, a hearing ear, and all of your deeds written down in a book." (2:1)

===Be humble===
* "Love work, and do not admire official positions, and do not become too acquainted with the governing power." (1:10)
* "One who seeks to make his name great, destroys it" (1:13)
* "Anyone who works for the community, let your work with them be for the sake of Heaven... And as for you all, I will make your reward great as though you had accomplished all the work." (2:2)
* "Be wary regarding the ruling power, because they only befriend a person for their own purposes; they appear as friends when it suits them, but they do not stand by a man in his time of need." (2:3)
* "Do not separate yourself from the community, and do not be sure of yourself until your day of death." (2:4)
* "The more flesh, the more worms.  The more possessions, the more worry.  The [[Polygamy|more wives]], the more witchcraft.  The more maidservants, the more licentiousness.  The more manservants, the more theft." (2:8)
* "If you have learned much Torah, do not flatter yourself about it, because it was for this purpose you were created." (2:8)
* "Let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven." (2:12)

===Be intent in prayer===
* "Be careful when reciting the [[Shema Yisrael|Shema]] and regarding [[Jewish prayer|prayer]].  Do not pray as though by rote, but plead for mercy and grace before God." (2:18)

===Combine Torah learning with labor===
* "Torah learning is best combined with an occupation, because the effort of both will keep one from sin. Torah study alone without work will in the end be nullified and lead to sin." (2:2) (See ''[[Torah im Derech Eretz#Earning a livelihood|Torah im Derech Eretz]]''.)
* "Reduce your business activities and occupy yourself with the Torah instead, and be of a humble spirit before everyone." (4:10)
* "If there is no Torah study, there is no worldly involvement (derech eretz); if there is no worldly involvement, there is no Torah study. ... If there is no flour, there is no Torah; if there is no Torah, there is no flour." (3:21)

===Do not exploit your learning===
* "One who exploits the crown (of scholarship) will pass away" (1:13)

===Be careful with speech===
* "All my life I was raised amongst the Sages, and I never found anything better for a person than silence... one who talks too much causes sin." (1:17)
* "Do not speak (excessively) much with women.  This regards a man's own wife, how much more so regarding another man's wife!" (1:5)
* "Sages, you should be careful in what you say, lest you be punished with exile and be sent to a place of evil waters, and your pupils who follow you will die, and the name of Heaven will be disgraced." (1:11)
* "Say little and do much." (1:15)
* "Do not say something that cannot be understood, thinking it will be understood later." (2:5)

===Do not seek rewards===
* "Do not be like slaves who serve the master in order to obtain a reward.  Rather, be like slaves who serve the master not to receive a reward. And let the fear of Heaven be upon you." (1:3)
* "Be as careful in observance of a minor commandment as in a major commandment, because you don't know the respective rewards for the commandments." (2:1)

===Do not judge another person===
* "Judge every person favorably" (1:6)
* "Do not judge your fellow until you have stood in his place." (2:4)

===Be fair and deliberate in legal decision===
* "[When judging,] do not act as an [[Amicus curiae|advocate]]. When litigants stand before you, regard them [both] as guilty. And when they leave you, regard them as meritorious, provided that they have accepted your judgment." (1:8)
* "Be thorough in examining witnesses, and watch what you say, so they do not learn from you how to lie." (1:9)
* "On three things the world continues to exist: On justice, truth, and peace." (1:18)

===The time for action is now===
* "If not now, when?" (1:14)
* "The main thing is not study, but doing." (1:17)
* "Do not say 'I will study when I have the time', for perhaps you will never have time." (2:5)
* "The day is short, the labor vast, the workers idle, the reward great, and the Employer is insistent." (2:20), attributed to [[Rabbi Tarfon]]
* "It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you at liberty to desist from it" (2:21), attributed to [[Rabbi Tarfon]]

===Patience===
* "An ignoramus cannot be sin-fearing, and a boor cannot be pious. A shy person cannot learn, and an impatient person cannot teach." (2:6)
* "Do not be quick to anger." (2:15)

===The punishment matches the sin===
* "He saw a skull floating on the water, and said to it, 'Because you drowned others, they drowned you. And they will also eventually be drowned because they drowned you.'" (2:7)

==Commentaries and translations==
[[File:Shemona perakim.jpg|thumb|200px|First page of a medieval manuscript of Maimonides's commentary on Pirkei Avot, ''The Eight Chapters''.]]
Mishnaic tractates, composed in [[Mishnaic Hebrew]], are usually accompanied by commentaries in [[Jewish Babylonian Aramaic|Aramaic]] known as [[gemara]] ("the teaching"). Unlike the majority of Mishnaic tractates, ''Avot'' has no corresponding ''gemara''. Some{{Who|date=August 2020}} have said this is because the concepts in it can never be dealt with completely, being the "fifth part of the [[Shulchan Aruch]]" (being intrinsically "[[Torah im Derech Eretz|derekh eretz]]": wise practices).

Although Avot does not have an accompanying gemara, one of the [[minor tractate]]s of the Talmud, the ''[[Avot of Rabbi Natan]]'', is an expansion of the Mishnaic tractate containing numerous additional ethical teachings and legends.

The number of medieval and modern commentaries on the Tractate of Avot is large, and probably not known accurately.  Among the best-known commentaries are the following:
* [[Samson Raphael Hirsch]], ''Commentary on Pirkei Avot''
* [[Yonah Gerondi]] on ''Avot''
* [[Maimonides]], on ''Avot'', the introduction is known as ''The Eight Chapters''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Eight_Chapters?lang=bi|title=Eight Chapters|website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref>

A comprehensive bibliography of Hebrew commentaries on Pirke Avot has been published, including over 1500 detailed entries. The appendix lists over 500 additional books that contain a short segment on Avot, and over 400 published references on Avot in general or individual mishnayot.<ref>Weiss, Steven J., "Pirke Avot: A Thesaurus / An Annotated Bibliography of Printed Hebrew Commentaries, 1485-2015". Jerusalem/Los Angeles (2016)
(ווייס, יוסף שלמה, "אוצר פרקי אבות / ביבליוגרפיה של פרושים למסכת אבות שנדפסומשנת רמ"ה (1485) עד שנת תשע"ה (2015) עם הערות והארות". לוס אנג'לס–ירושלים (תשע"ו/2016
The book is mostly in Hebrew with an introduction and multiple notes in English.</ref>

===Translations===

The Russian-American poet and translator [[Yehoash (poet)|Yehoash]] published his Yiddish translation of Pirkei Avot in 1912 under the title ''Di Lehren fun di Foters''. This translation was subsequently included in a trilingual (Hebrew-Yiddish-English) edition that was published in 1921.<ref>Congress for Jewish Culture, ''Leksikon fun der Nayer Yidisher Literatur'' (New York: Marsten Press, 1961), 236.</ref>
 
A [[Chinese language|Chinese]] translation of Pirkei Avot by Prof. Ping Zhang from [[Tel Aviv University]] was published in 1996 by CASS Press, together with footnotes and an introduction of Rabbi [[Adin Steinsaltz]]. The first edition, of 1500 copies, sold out immediately.<ref>Wald, Shalom. "Meeting the Chinese Giant", ''World Jewish Digest'', August 2008.</ref> A revised version of Zhang's translation, with some influence from the Chinese Catholic Bible, was published in 2001 under the title {{lang|zh|"猶太聖傳·民刑卷·先賢篇"}} ('Jewish sacred teachings, records, and ethics articles'). It is available online.<ref>{{cite web |title=PIRKEI AVOTH - WHY JEWS DO NOT BELIEVE IN JESUS |url=http://aharonhasini.tripod.com/htm/avot_tc.htm |publisher=aharonhasini.tripod.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712182019/http://aharonhasini.tripod.com/htm/avot_tc.htm |archive-date=12 July 2018 }}</ref>

==Intertextuality==

Scholars have noted similar themes and language shared between Pirkei Avot and earlier Jewish traditions found in the [[Gospels]], such as the parallel descriptions of "where two or three are gathered" used in the [[Gospel of Matthew]] for Jesus, and in Avot 3:2 for the [[Shekhinah]].<ref>{{citation |url=https://intertextual.bible/text/matthew-18.19-20-pirkei-avot-3.3 |title= intertextual.bible/text/matthew-18.19-20-pirkei-avot-3.3}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* Erin Kopelow. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150414160346/http://presentense.org/magazine/found-through-translation "Found Through Translation"]. ''Present Tense'', issue 6.

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{wikisource|Translation:Mishnah/Seder Nezikin/Tractate Avot|Tractate Avot}}
'''Hebrew full text'''
* [http://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%A0%D7%94_%D7%9E%D7%A1%D7%9B%D7%AA_%D7%90%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA ''Hebrew Wikisource''], with commentaries
* [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/b/h/h49.htm ''Pirkei Avoth''], mechon-mamre.org
* [https://www.daat.ac.il/daat/toshba/makor/avot/tohen-1.htm ''Masechet Avot''], daat.ac.il
* [https://tehillim-online.com/ethics-of-the-fathers/pirkei-avot-in-hebrew Pirkei Avot in Hebrew]

'''Translations'''
* [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=5708 ''Pirkei Avot'' – Ethics of the Fathers] translation at Chabad.org
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/sjf/ Sayings of the Jewish Fathers], an 1897 English translation by [[Charles Taylor (Hebraist)|Charles Taylor]]
* [https://tehillim-online.com/ethics-of-the-fathers/pirkei-avot-translated-into-english Pirkei Avot translated into english]
* [https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc211611/yehoash-halper-b-pirke-abot-sayings-of-the-fathers Hebrew-Yiddish-English edition] (American Jewish Book Company, 1921) 

'''Transliterations'''
*[https://tehillim-online.com/ethics-of-the-fathers/transliterated-pirkei-avot Transliterated Pirkei Avot]

'''Commentary'''
* [http://torah.org/learning/maharal/archives.html ''Derech Chaim''], Commentary of the [[Maharal]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050717060656/http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/ethics/foreword.htm Insights Into Pirkei Avos], Insights from [[Menachem Mendel Schneerson]]
* [http://www.pirchei.co.il/pictoral/avos/ Pictorial Commentary for Children; Rabbi Dovid Goldschmidt]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120307203806/http://www.jewishpub.org/product.php?id=444 Pirke Avot: Timeless Wisdom for Modern Life] Comparison of the views of the Sages and their rivals in modern times.
* [http://www.oztorah.com/2012/08/the-acquisition-of-torah-chapter-6-of-the-sayings-of-the-fathers/ The Acquisition of Torah – chapter 6 of the Sayings of the Fathers] Exegesis of Chapter 6 of Pirkei Avot
* [http://devekut.com Devekut.com] has a link ("Pirkei Avot") with an abstract of Rabbi Moshe Lieber's commentary on Pirkei Avot.
* [http://dafyomireview.com/avot.php ''Pirkei Avot''] with classic commentaries translated in english

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[[Category:Jewish ethics]]
[[Category:Sifrei Kodesh]]
[[Category:Pirkei Avot]]
[[Category:Tractates of the Talmud]]