| “HAFOKH V’HAPEKH!” (I-?) –– Pirkei Avot Study and a Jewish Pastime Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) is a tractate in the Mishna, but it is often printed as a separate book. Dealing with ethical and moral principles, it gained importance and popularity centuries ago. When my husband was a little boy, he used to study it with his father, as have many sons with their fathers, students with their rabbis, and my Tuesday Morning Women’s Torah Study Group with its stack of commentaries. Wondering what wisdom will be revealed, the engaging way of study combined with the practical experience of each engaged generation inevitably adds color and confusion. But for a tradition not obsessed with finding the one and only ‘right answer,’ that is acceptable. |
