Chapter One

Visible layers

פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת

PIRKEI AVOT

It is customary is to say a chapter of Pirkei Avot on each Shabbat between Pesach and Shavuot. This serves as a reminder for us to keep the Torah and its commandments properly in preparation for the festival of the giving of the Torah.1

In many communities it is customary to continue saying Pirkei Avot until Rosh Hashanah. In order to complete four cycles of Pirkei Avot by that time, we say two chapters on each of the last two or three weeks before Rosh Hashanah.

CHAPTER ONE

Hebrew

כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשׁ לָהֶם חֵלֶק לְעוֹלָם
הַבָּא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְעַמֵּךְ כֻּלָּם צַדִּיקִים,
לְעוֹלָם יִירְשׁוּ אָרֶץ, נֵצֶר מַטָּעַי
מַעֲשֵׂה יָדַי לְהִתְפָּאֵר.

Sephardi

Kol Yisrael yesh lahem chelek le'olam
haba, shene'emar: v'amecha kulam tzaddikim,
le'olam yirshu aretz, netzer mata'ai
ma'aseh yadai l'hitpa'eir.

English

All the Children of Israel have a portion in the World to Come. As it says in Isaiah regarding the Redemption of the Jewish Nation: Your people are all righteous, and they will all inherit the Land of Israel forever—they will never be exiled from it again. Everyone will recognize that they are the branch of My planting and the work of My hands, in which I, God, take pride.

Hebrew

א מֹשֶׁה קִבֵּל תּוֹרָה מִסִּינַי2
וּמְסָרָהּ לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ, וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ
לִזְקֵנִים, וּזְקֵנִים לִנְבִיאִים,
וּנְבִיאִים מְסָרוּהָ לְאַנְשֵׁי
כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. הֵם אָמְרוּ
שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים: הֱווּ
מְתוּנִים בַּדִּין, וְהַעֲמִידוּ
תַלְמִידִים הַרְבֵּה,3 וַעֲשׂוּ
סְיָג לַתּוֹרָה.

Sephardi

A Moshe kibel Torah miSinai2
umesarah liYehoshua, viYehoshua
lizkenim, uzkenim linevi'im,
unvi'im mesaruhah l'anshei
Keneset haGedolah. Hem amru
sheloshah devarim: hevu
metunim badin, veha'amidu
talmidim harbeh,3 va'asu
seyag laTorah.

English

1 Moses received the entire Torah—both the Written and the Oral Torah—from God at Mount Sinai.2 He passed it on by teaching it to Joshua, who became the leader of the Jewish Nation after Moses passed away. Joshua passed it on to the elder leaders of his generation. The last of the elders passed it on to the first of the prophets, Samuel, who passed it on to future prophets. The prophets passed it on to the Men of the Great Assembly—a group of sages who led the Jewish Nation after the prophets. The Men of the Great Assembly said the following three things: 1. Be patient and think carefully when making a judgment. 2. Teach and establish many students.3 3. Make a protective fence around the Torah, by establishing extra rules to prevent you from sinning.

Hebrew

ב שִׁמְעוֹן הַצַּדִּיק הָיָה מִשְּׁיָרֵי
כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר,
עַל שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד:
עַל הַתּוֹרָה, וְעַל הָעֲבוֹדָה, וְעַל
גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים.

Sephardi

2 Shimon haTzaddik hayah mishyarei
Keneset haGedolah. Hu hayah omer,
al sheloshah devarim ha-olam omed:
al haTorah, ve'al ha'avodah, ve'al
gemilut chasadim.

English

2 Shimon the Righteous was one of the last members of the Men of the Great Assembly. He would often say: The world stands on three things and was created in order to fulfill them: Learning Torah, serving God, and doing acts of kindness.

Hebrew

ג אַנְטִיגְנוֹס אִישׁ סוֹכוֹ קִבֵּל מִשִּׁמְעוֹן
הַצַּדִּיק. הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר: אַל תִּהְיוּ
כַּעֲבָדִים הַמְשַׁמְּשִׁין אֶת הָרַב עַל
מְנָת לְקַבֵּל פְּרָס, אֶלָּא הֱווּ כַּעֲבָדִים
הַמְשַׁמְּשִׁין אֶת הָרַב שֶׁלֹּא עַל מְנָת
לְקַבֵּל פְּרָס, וִיהִי מוֹרָא שָׁמַיִם עֲלֵיכֶם.

Sephardi

3 Antigonos ish Socho kibel miShimon
haTzaddik. Hu hayah omer: al tihyu
ka'avadim hameshamshim et harav al
m'nat lekabel pras, ela hevu ka'avadim
hameshamshim et harav shelo al m'nat
lekabel pras, vihi mora shamayim aleichem.

English

3 Antigonus of Socho received and learned Torah from Shimon the Righteous. He would often say: Do not serve God as servants who work for their master in order to receive a reward. Rather, be as servants who work for their master out of love, and not in order to receive a reward. And let the awe of Heaven be upon you.

Hebrew

ד יוֹסֵי בֶּן יוֹעֶזֶר אִישׁ צְרֵדָה וְיוֹסֵי
בֶּן יוֹחָנָן אִישׁ יְרוּשָׁלַיִם קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם.
יוֹסֵי בֶּן יוֹעֶזֶר אִישׁ צְרֵדָה אוֹמֵר:
יְהִי בֵיתְךָ בֵּית וַעַד לַחֲכָמִים, וֶהֱוֵי
מִתְאַבֵּק בַּעֲפַר רַגְלֵיהֶם,4 וֶהֱוֵי שׁוֹתֶה
בְצָמָא אֶת דִּבְרֵיהֶם.5

Sephardi

4 Yosei ben Yo'ezer ish Tzeredah v'Yosei
ben Yochanan ish Yerushalayim kiblu mehem.
Yosei ben Yo'ezer ish Tzeredah omer:
yehi beitcha beit va'ad lachachamim, vehevei
mitabeik ba'afar ragleihem,4 vehevei shoteh
b'tzama et divreihem.5

English

4 Yosei ben Yoezer of Tzredah and Yosei ben Yochanan of Jerusalem received and learned Torah from Antigonus and his court of law. Yosei ben Yoezer of Tzredah says: Let your house be a meeting place for Torah scholars. Sit in the dust of their feet wherever they go,4 and drink their words of Torah with thirst,5 listening closely to every word they say.

Commentary

1 Pirkei Avot is said after Minchah on Shabbat, because that is the time when Moses passed away. Pirkei Avot begins by describing how Moses received the Torah and gave it to Joshua before his passing.

2 The mishnah says that Moses received the Torah "from Sinai," not "at Sinai." This alludes to the fact that Moses learned two lessons from Mount Sinai itself: 1. To receive the Torah, you must be humble like Mount Sinai, which was the lowest mountain in the desert. 2. At the same time, you must still be a mountain—you must be proud enough to fight for what's right.

3 Literally, "much." Not only is it important to have many students, but it is also important to make sure that they spend much of their time learning.

4 One who wishes to learn from Torah scholars must be as humble as dust before them.

5 Learning from Torah scholars is referred to as "drinking." Just as drinking helps distribute nutrients throughout the body, learning Torah from Torah scholars will help distribute the lessons that you learn and apply them to all parts of your life.