Pirke Aboth - Book Report/Review Example

However, since this is not the main focus of this paper, we shall not discuss this in detail. Pirke Aboth, on the other hand, is part of the oral tradition of the Jewish nation handed down from generation to generation by the rabbis or sages (earlier in the Rabbinic era called as Pharisees). "It is a part of the Mishnah (oral laws reduced in written form and, in part, forms the Talmud) (Italics mine)More exactly, it is one "tractate" of the Mishnah. Unique among the Mishnah's 63 tractates, Pirke Aboth is entirely given over to Aggadah or the non-legal (and in this case specifically ethical) teaching.

Pirke Aboth is a digest of the ethics of rabbinic Judaism and through the centuries has been studied as such by generations of Jews. That is what makes it so important. The tractates of the Mishnah are divided into chapters, and subdivided into sections which scholars call mishnayot, but which we will just call "sections." Pirke Aboth has six chapters"2 (Halperin, 2002). Chapter (Ch) 1.1-11 establishes the origin and transmission of the oral tradition. Ch.1.12-18-2.16 is a list of sayings from Shammai and Hillel and from Johanan b.

Zakkai and his disciples. Ch. 3.1-4.22 is a list of sayings collected under the names of their authors but not in chronological order. Ch. 5.1-23, a series of anonymous sayings, except 20-23. The "sixth" chapter is not Mishnah, but Baraitha, and does not properly belong to the tractate. "It is a source distinct from the first five, and was added on to the text at an uncertain date. The themes of chapters 1-5 are extended through chapter 6"3 (Ibid).Chapter 1 until chapter 2: 18 establish the thread from whom the law came from.

Then from 2:19 until the end of the Chapter 5 the thread of transmission ended, and the rest of Pirke Aboth consists of a string of ethical sayings attributed to one or another of the second- and third-century rabbis.They are proverbs (wise sayings) that are paradoxical. This is paradoxical, not in that it contradicts itself, but in that it shakes up our natural (though often unspoken) assumptions about life. In Pirke Aboth, one of the sages specifies "who is wisemightyrichhonored" (4:1). The responses are not what one expects them to be.

They are actually the exact opposite of what should be. However, once it has been shown to us that the opposite is true, it all makes sense; and we see the world in a deeper and more humane way. The main purpose of Pirke Aboth is to provide a link from the past to the present and future generation Jews and serve as their guide "to see what is that good way to which a man should cleave. what is that evil way from that a man should keep away." (2:13a-14a). It provides a different perspective on life.

And teaches one to look deeper than what meets the eyes.If I where to rename Pirke Aboth, it would be "Wisdom Keys" for in it one finds wisdom and this wisdom is the key to a life well lived and death well prepared. It presents practical life saving hints that yield eternal returns. Work Cited:1. Halperin, David, PhD. "Judaism: A Course. Paths in Judaism.