On the long Sabbath afternoons of summer, it is customary to read in the synagogue a chapter of the Mishnah tractate popularly called The Sayings of the Fathers (Pirke Aboth). Dating back to Talmudic times and the academy of Sura, this custom established Aboth, or Fathers, in the Jewish consciousness like no other section of the Mishnah or, indeed, the Talmud. And the reason for this is not difficult to find. The Sayings of the Fathers is in many ways a unique part of the Mishnah, that compilation of the oral tradition set down in its final form sometime near the end of the 2nd century of the Common Era by Judah the Holy, usually known as Rabbi.

Primarily, this uniqueness resides in its non-Halachic (non-legalistic) character. While all of the other tractates of the Mishnah are concerned with the detailed exposition of scriptural and rabbinic commandments and prohibitions, Aboth is a fascinating collection of sayings and aphorisms throbbing with moral concern. By retaining the strict conciseness of expression characteristic of the legal portions of the Mishnah, Aboth succeeds in combining this quality with a living moral dynamism powerful in its tone. In its pages the rabbis of the Mishnah stand revealed as personalities of the highest religious and ethical sensitivity, dispelling in advance their representation as legalists of a “dead” morality.

The procedure of Aboth is, in one sense, haphazard. It does not attempt to give a systematic basis for the ethical life. Instead, it connects individual figures with sayings which it attributes to them. These sayings have the stamp of individuality about them, as if they were the insights resulting from lives lived in sanctity and the study of the Torah. But neither is their arrangement completely without order. In the first chapter especially, comprising the selection printed below, there is stressed the continuity of tradition. Rooted in the divine revelation of Sinai, the tradition passes through Moses to Joshua, from him to the elders, who in turn transmit it to the prophets until it comes to the Men of the Great Assembly who contribute the first of the sayings in Aboth. From there the tradition passes from teacher to pupil, each contributing his own insight and wisdom to the material at hand. The diversity and individuality of the sayings is thus located in a tradition which unifies their individual contributions and permits reference to their authors as “Fathers” of the nation. The widespread popularity of these sayings at all epochs in Jewish history and their inclusion as an integral part of the prayer book testifies to their relevance to the lives of many generations of pious Jews.

The following selection is from the translation of the Aboth by the late Joseph H. Hertz, Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, which Was published, together with his COMMENTARY and the Hebrew text, by Behrman House (New York, 1945).—Michael Wyschogrod

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All Israel have a portion in the world to come; as it is said, And thy people shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land [or ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

1. Moses received the Torah on Sinai, and handed it down to Joshua; Joshua to the elders; the elders to the prophets; and the prophets handed it down to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be deliberate in judgment; raise up many disciples; and make a fence round the Torah.
2. Simon the Just was one of the last survivors of the Great Assembly. He used to say, Upon three things the world is based: upon the Torah, upon Divine service, and upon the practice of charity.
3. Antigonos of Socho received the tradition from Simon the Just. He used to say, Be not like servants who minister to their master upon the condition of receiving a reward; but be like servants who minister to their master without the condition of receiving a reward; and let the fear of Heaven be upon you.
4. José, the son of Yoezer, of Zeredah, and José, the son of Yochanan, of Jerusalem, received the tradition from the preceding. José, the son of Yoezer, of Zeredah, said, Let thy house be a meeting house for the wise; sit amidst the dust of their feet; and drink in their words with thirst.
5. José, the son of Yochanan, of Jerusalem, said, Let thy house be open wide; let the poor be members of thy household and engage not in much gossip with women. This applies even to one’s own wife; how much more then to the wife of one’s neighbor. Hence the sages say, Whoso engages in much gossip with women brings evil upon himself, neglects the study of the Torah, and will in the end inherit Gehinnom.
6. Joshua, the son of Perachyah, and Nittai, the Arbelite, received the tradition from the preceding. Joshua, the son of Perachyah, said, Provide thyself a teacher; get thee a companion; and judge all men charitably.
7. Nittai, the Arbelite, said, Keep thee far from a bad neighbor; associate not with the wicked; and abandon not the belief in retribution.
8. Judah, the son of Tabbai, and Simeon, the son of Shatach, received the tradition from the preceding. Judah, the son of Tabbai, said, (In the judge’s office) act not the counsel’s part; when the parties to a suit are standing before thee, let them both be regarded by thee as wicked; but when they are departed from thy presence, regard them both as innocent, the verdict having been acquiesced in by them.
9. Simeon, the son of Shatach, said, Be very searching in the examination of witnesses, and be heedful of thy words, lest through them they learn to falsify.
10. Shemayah and Avtalyon received the tradition from the preceding. Shemayah said, Love work; hate lordship; and seek no intimacy with the ruling power.
11. Avtalyon said, Ye sages, be heedful of your words, lest ye incur the penalty of exile and be exiled to a place of evil waters, and the disciples who come after you drink thereof and die, and the Heavenly Name be profaned.
12. Hillel and Shammai received the tradition from the preceding. Hillel said, Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving thy fellow creatures, and drawing them near to the Torah.
13. He used to say, A name made great is a name destroyed; he who does not increase his knowledge, decreases it; and he who does not study, deserves to die; and he who makes a worldly use of the crown (of the Torah) shall pass away.
14. He used to say, If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?
15. Shammai said, Fix a period for thy study of the Torah; say little and do much; and receive all men with a cheerful countenance.
16. Rabban Gamaliel said, Provide thyself a teacher; be quit of doubt; and accustom not thyself to give tithes by a conjectural estimate.
17. Simeon, his son, said, All my days I have grown up among the wise, and I have found nought of better service than silence; not learning but doing is the chief thing; and whoso is profuse of words causes sin.
18. Rabban Simeon, the son of Gamaliel, said, By three things is the world preserved: by truth, by judgment, and by peace; as it is said, Judge ye the truth and the judgment of peace in your gates.

Rabbi Chananya, the son of Akashya, said, The Holy One, Messed he he, was pleased to make Israel worthy; wherefore he gave them a copious Torah and many commandments; as it is said, It pleased the Lord, for his righteousness’s sake, to magnify the Torah and make it honorable.

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