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Pirkei Avos Pirkei Avos

Preparation for Shavuos

By Rabbi Heschel GreenbergApril 20, 20175 min read

Refinement

One of the reasons for reciting Pirkei Avos between Passover and Shavuos is to provide us with a means to prepare for the giving of the Torah during the Festival of Shavuos. By learning the instructions contained in this tractate that is devoted to “ethics and [refinement] of character,”1 one becomes ready to receive the Torah anew during Shavuos.2 The process of refinement through Pirkei Avos parallels the ritual that is performed in the days between Passover and Shavuos, known as Sefiras Haomer-Counting the days from Passover to Shavuos. However, it is well known that Sefirah is not simply an exercise in counting days; in addition to it being a fulfillment of a Biblical command, it constitutes a process of self-refinement that is a prerequisite to the receiving of the Torah.3 By drawing this parallel between learning Avos and counting the days, we are highlighting the nature of the refinement process, for there are two approaches to the refinement of character. The first is through the teachings of the Torah that comes directly from Above. This includes all the teachings of the Written Torah that were transmitted directly from G-d.

The second approach is the refinement process that comes from “below,” from human initiative. And even where the initiative is driven by the words of the Oral Torah, of which the moral lessons of Pirkei Avos are a prime example, nevertheless, these lessons are part of the Oral Torah that came to us through the Tanaim. Relative to the Written Torah, the teachings of the Oral Torah are considered to have come from “below.”4 Not only is Avos a part of the Oral Torah— which is characterized by its human involvement—it subject matter is not standard Halacha, but “words of extra piety,”5 instructions that originate in rabbinic legislation and enactments that were superimposed on the Biblical commandments.

And the role of the rabbis in bringing about self-refinement is further underscored in a teaching found the very first Mishnah of Avos: “And make a fence around the Torah.” This demands that in addition to the direc- tives of the Torah that come from above, it is imperative that the Sages themselves should create innovated laws that serve as “fences,” or precautionary measures, for the protection of the Torah. This type of legislation can be described as “coming from below” because it is legislated by the Sages who take into consideration the characteristics of the animal soul within man. And they gauge the needs of each time and legislate accordingly.6 Why the Need for Rabbinic Legislation?

To understand the need for additional means of self-refinement beyond the teachings of the Torah itself that come from “below” such as Pirkei Avos, one must understand the very purpose of Torah. Torah is not just a set of rules that we are told to obey. Torah was given to us so that a state of peace and har- mony can prevail between the Creator and the created.7 In order for the Torah to have that effect, it was imperative that the Jewish people at that time go through a refinement process, otherwise they would prove to be resistant to the demands of the Torah and a spirit of dissonance would prevail between G-d and the world instead of harmony.

However, with the passage of time our receptivity to Torah has become dulled. The “animal soul’s” capacity to desensitize us to our spiritual needs has increased, and as a result it threatens our fidelity to the observance of the commandments. If left to its own devices, this situation would have deteriorated to the point where the very purpose of Torah to create a state of harmony between G-d and the world would be undermined..

The Torah therefore gave authority to the Sages of each generation to gauge the specific condition of their generation and legislate new laws and enact new enactments to deal with any of the problems that could arise. To be sure, this, they do according to the princi- ples laid down by the Torah itself. The objective of all these rabbinical enhancements of the Torah, including the teachings of Pirkei Avos, is to strengthen Judaism and bring about the desired state of harmony.8 To be sure, these specific enhancements were not mandated by the Torah itself—they are, after all “rabbinical enactments”—because in the days of Mattan Torah and the earlier generations Biblical commandments sufficed. One did not have a need to follow those rabbinical decrees because their level of observance was up to par. Nevertheless, and this is the novelty, the Torah (as it was given at Sinai) empowered the Sages to use their intelligence to evaluate the needs and levels of their generation, and legislate—utilizing the Torah’s principles—accordingly.

And while it may seem that the progression of time—that necessitated these extrameasures—brought about a regression of Jewish and spiritual standards, the opposite is true.

Because of these needs, Torah itself was enhanced with additional teachings and the concomitant increase of light that comes out of darkness. Moreover, the added corrective measures that strengthen our observance of the Torah provided for us, is actually a demonstration of the love G-d has for us. The more a father loves a child—to cite an example—the more he will increase his protection of him. In effect, the fact that we have Pirkei Avos “added on”9 to the original teachings of the Torah is to afford us extra opportunities for self-refinement, and makes us more receptive to the Torah on Shavuos, which, in turn, facilitates the realizing of the Torah’s goal of creating a spirit of harmony in the cosmos. When we study Pirkei Avos in the weeks that lead up to Shavuos we should appreciate the incredible bounty that we were given. We Likkutei Torah loc. Cit. Hemshech 5666, s.v. V;yiten lecha (p. 89) and other sources.

should also realize that it is a manifestation of G-d’s intense love for us.

From the book Introduction to Pirkei Avos (Biurim L’Pirkei Avos) by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, adapted from the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and published by the Jewish Discovery Center.

Footnotes

  1. Commentary of R. Ovadya Bartinura, beginning of Avos. ↩

  2. Introduction to Midrash Shmuel: “They instituted its study before Shavuot so that the heart of every Jew is prepared to receive the Torah with a complete heart.” See also Essays one and two. ↩

  3. See Likkutei Torah, Emor 35b. ↩

  4. [One of the prerequisites of teaching Torah is that the ideas that are taught, notwithstanding their divine origin and notwithstanding the way the Tanaim were divinely inspired, the ideas that they teach as part of Torah must go through their intellect. See Bava Metzia 58b. – Translator’s note.] ↩

  5. See Bava Kamma 30a. ↩

  6. See Eiruvin 6a: He found a valley (i.e., a wideopen expanse, a metaphor for unchecked behavior) and build a fence.” See there for cross- references. See also Moed Katan 5a: “create a guard, create a guard for the guard.” ↩

  7. See Rambam, end of Hilchos Chanukah. ↩

  8. Most of these added enactments were introduced in those generations that followed the first Temple and beyond the second Temple era. ↩

  9. [Obviously, everything that is added on to the Torah was transmitted to Moses on Sinai. However, not until it was written down, was Avos revealed to us as a part of Torah. – Translator’s note.] ↩

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Rabbi Heschel Greenberg Teacher, scholar and author of Tefillin — Judaism’s Crown. About the Rabbi

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