It is likely that, of all our Jewish texts, only the Pesach Haggadah has been published more frequently than editions of Pirkei Avot.
But not by much.
Pirkei Avot is a compilation of six relatively short chapters of rabbinic insights relating to ethical conduct and ideal behaviour. It has been described, not inaccurately, as part of the canon of recognized Jewish wisdom literature. Though there are no restrictions regarding its study at any time of the year, Pirkei Avot is traditionally read on Shabbat between Pesach and Shavuot. The pithy, bold, aphoristic nature of the writing, combined with the breadth of its subject matter, has invited commentary and elaboration down through the ages by many rabbis, scholars and other learned individuals who have shared their own insights into the elementary, foundational ideas in the book.
Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg acknowledges that he is adding to an already rich vein of scholarly literature on Pirkei Avot. But his purpose in “daring to offer yet one more edition of Ethics of the Fathers” reaches farther than giving his own interpretations of the substantive teachings by the 66 sages whose ideas comprise this marvellous little book.
Indeed, he does convey his own original interpretations of the rabbinic teachings. For example, in commenting upon the words “Render truth, justice and peace in your gates” (Chapter 1, Verse 18), he writes: “The key to a just and harmonious society lies in balance and limits. If an individual or group pursues one principle to the exclusion of the others, then there will be serious trouble. ‘Peace above all’ leads to appeasement and the loss of peace. Justice, when pursued relentlessly, while sweeping aside compromise or the established interests of others, may well lead to conflict, tyranny or worse. The wisdom of democracy is that it distributes power and puts limits on the pursuit of any one of these principles.”
Readers will have noticed that, even at this early stage in the text, Rabbi Greenberg teases out newer meanings from the teachings: principles that could function well as social public policy and should function well as moral guideposts for individual behaviour.
But he also offers a penetrating reflection on the revolutionary significance of the book as a teaching instrument in and of itself. Why was it compiled? What were the specific aspirations and hopes of its editor, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, and of his editorial team, in producing so precise a redaction of lifelong lessons? Who were these sages whose words appear in Pirkei Avot?
The rabbis of Pirkei Avot lived in the tumultuous period during and immediately after the destruction of the Second Temple and the horrific failed Bar Kochba revolt some 65 years later. When the Holy Temple was ransacked and destroyed, the surrounding populations concluded – and some perhaps rejoiced – that God had permanently abandoned the Jews. The curtain that had covered the Holy of Holies and now lay torn and trampled under the feet of the Roman soldiers symbolized the sundering of Jewish ritual existence and the trampling of Jewish national sovereignty.
How was it that the Jews did not surrender to their broken new reality or submit to the heresies touted by these different groups?
The rabbis intervened.
Beginning with the daredevil courage of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai and his followers, they altered the practice of the religion and thus saved it intact, if in an evolved form, for all generations, forever.
Rabbi Greenberg is clearly in thrall to the genius, bravery, far-sightedness, intellectual ingenuity, resilience and rock-hard embrace of hope and purpose by the sages who lived before, during and after the persecutions of the Jews in Judea by Hadrian in 135 CE.
Thus, his book is about understanding and appreciating the rabbis in Pirkei Avot as well as understanding and appreciating their rabbinic teachings. It is an erudite, thoughtful meditation on the rescue of Judaism from the collective theological, emotional and psychological shattering wrought by destruction and expulsion, or as he calls it, “the continuation and transformation of the Torah’s way that the sages achieved.”
“This book is about the accomplishments of the sages,” Rabbi Greenberg declares. “It places before the reader the values and spirit of rabbinic Judaism – in one of the finest distillations of its collective wisdom.
“The wisdom in Ethics of the Fathers, is not only valuable in its own right, it can also serve as a paradigm and guide, teaching us by analogy what we must do to present God’s actions in the world. Thus, it gives us more than its wisdom; it offers the sages as role models, showing us how they responded to God’s call to play a leading role in the Covenant. We must study the sages and walk in their traditional yet innovative ways if we are to respond adequately to God’s summons to humans to play an even more decisive role in this eternal partnership.”
Rabbi Greenberg has adopted a “historical-theological” approach in his work. In doing this, he joins an increasing number of modern Orthodox scholars, such as Rabbi Benjamin Lau in Jerusalem, to whom he refers on occasion. He examines the rabbis’ teachings and rulings in light of the historical context and circumstances that may have given rise to them.
This is not without a measure of courage on Rabbi Greenberg’s part. For in doing so, he departs from traditional investigations by Orthodox scholars who were always reluctant to apply contextual analysis to matters of faith and belief. Rabbi Greenberg’s reputation, however, as a thinker, champion of the Jewish People and as an exemplar of Jewish values and tradition, attests to the integrity of this new work.
The 22-page introduction, Divine Revelation and Human Wisdom in Pirkei Avot, is itself a masterful essay. It is a heartfelt, reasoned tribute to the rabbis who, at great risk to themselves, devised what would ultimately become normative Judaism.
Rabbi Greenberg’s book is aptly titled Sage Advice. It denotes a double blessing for the reader, who benefits from reading the wisdom of the ancient sages as well as that of Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg. It is an exciting addition to the large corpus of studies of Pirkei Avot.
