Pirke Avot: The Sayings of the Jewish Fathers
Pirke Avot: The Sayings of the Jewish Fathers
Translated by Joseph I. (Joseph Isaac), 1880- Gorfinkle
What if the secret to a good life could fit in a few sentences? Pirke Avot, the Ethics of the Fathers, distills centuries of Jewish wisdom into sharp, unforgettable maxims. Attributed to rabbis from the early centuries of the Common Era, these teachings address the questions that matter most: How should we treat each other? What do we owe to our community? What does it mean to be wise? The rabbis of Pirke Avot believed character is not born but built, one choice at a time. They teach that silence is its own kind of learning, that friendship shapes the soul, that no one is beyond redemption. There is no elaborate theology here, no myth or ritual instruction. Just plain, hard-won truth about how to live. These are the teachings Jews have returned to for two millennia, studying on summer Sabbaths and in cramped yeshivas, finding in their brevity something inexhaustible. For anyone seeking wisdom that cuts through noise.
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“Warm thyself by the fire of the wise, but beware of their glowing coals, lest thou be burnt, for their bite is the bite of the fox, and their sting is the scorpion's sting, and their hiss is the serpent's hiss, and all their words are like coals of fire.””
— Unknown
“Make your Torah study a permanent fixture of your life. Say little and do much. And receive every man with a pleasant countenance.””
— Unknown
“Which is the right path for man to choose for himself? Whatever is harmonious for the one who does it, and harmonious for mankind.””
— Unknown
“Be careful with the government, for they befriend a person only for their own needs. They appear to be friends when it is beneficial to them, but they do not stand by a person at the time of his distress.””
— Unknown
“Make that His will should be your will, so that He should make your will to be as His will. Nullify your will before His will, so that He should nullify the will of others before your will.””
— Unknown
“The day is short, the work is much, the workers are lazy, the reward is great, and the Master is pressing.””
— Unknown
“בן זומא אומר, איזה הוא חכם--הלמד מכל אדם, שנאמר "מכל מלמדיי, השכלתי" (תהילים קיט,צט)מסכת אבות פרק ד,אBen Zoma would say: Who is wise? One who learns from every man. As it is written: “From all my teachers I have grown wise, for Your testimonials are my meditation.Ethics of the Fathers, Pirke Avot, 4:1””
— Unknown
“Consider three things, that thou mayest not come within the power of sin. Know what is above thee--a seeing eye, and a hearing ear, and all thy deeds written in a book." 2. Rabban Gamaliel, the son of Rabbi Judah, the””
— Unknown
