Welcome to the BHSS Pirke Avot Blog: May 2015

Monday, May 18, 2015

Week 7 - May 18 -24, 2015 - Chapter 6

Joel - Week 7 - Chapter 6

Mishnah 6:9 Rabbi Yose ben Kisma said, “Once I was travelling and a man met me and greeted me. When I returned his greeting, he said to me, ‘Rabbi, where do you come from?’ I replied, ‘From a great city of sages and scholars.’ He then said, ‘Rabbi, would you be willing to live with us in our place? [If you would] I would give you a million golden dinars along with precious stones and pearls!’ I said to him, ‘Were you to give me all the silver and gold and precious stones and pearls in the world, I would live only in a place of Torah!’”

So there’s the story of this mishnah, and then there’s what it means to me.

You need to understand Rabbi Yose ben Kisma’s biography. He lives at the time of the lead up to what became known as the Bar Kochba revolt. At a time of great internal upheaval in Judea, this was a rebellion by Jews of Judea, led by Simon bar Kochba, against Rome in the years 132-136.

There were Jews who looked upon Simon bar Kochba as the Messiah, and for a time it seemed he might be one. For a time, this revolt was almost miraculously successful; the rebels were able to establish an independent State of Israel for two years in parts of Judea until 6 Roman legions came along and crushed the rebellion.

But not all Jews were in favor of this rebellion. Rabbi Yose ben Kisma was a student of history; he knew that it was a rebellion much like this one in 60 years earlier that eventually resulted in the destruction of the Second Temple by Rome, and so he counselled against this revolt. Because he took this stand, he remained undisturbed during the massive Roman persecutions that followed after the rebellion itself was brutally put down.

In Rabbi Yose ben Kisma’s story is a cautionary tale. As we pick the battles we will fight in the world, we need to pick them carefully. I’m honestly not sure which side I’d have been on-- ben Kisma, or bar Kochba. I know that I would have wanted the Jews to be free to live in a place of Torah, as ben Kisma teaches in this Mishnah. And I also know that it was likely futile at that time to rebel against Rome. So in a time of great challenge, do you preserve the sages and compromise on freedom? Or do you risk your life for the value of freedom and risk your very life?

It’s not an easy question to answer. I don’t envy the choices that Jews in Judea had to make at that time, nor the choices that Jews in so many generations since have had to make.

What I do know is this: being Jewish means living in community with other Jews. It means being in a congregation like ours that gives us the chance to study together. I am firmly share the opinion of Rabbi Yose ben Kisma: for all the silver and gold and precious stones and pearls, I would never want to live in a place without Jewish community.

This experience of writing has reminded me of how blessed I am, how blessed we are, in this way. Thanks to Beth for making this possible, and thanks to you for studying along with us!

Week 6 - May 11 - 17, 2015 - Chapter 5

Joel - Week 6 - Chapter 5 (goes up May 11)

Mishnah 5:6 Ten things were created on the eve of the first Shabbat at twilight. They are: the mouth of the earth (that opened up to swallow Korach and his band when they rebelled against Moses and God, Numbers 16:32) ; the mouth of the well (that accompanied the Israelites thru the wilderness to supply water), Num. 21:16-18); the mouth of the donkey (that spoke to Bilaam, Num 22:28-30); the rainbow (from the Noah story, Gen. 9:12-17); the manna (that fed the Israelites in the wilderness, Ex. 16:15); the staff of Moses (Ex. 4:17); the shamir (a now extinct worm that which is said to have carved the parts of the priestly garments and the stones of Solomon’s Temple (Ex. 28:9ff and Jer. 17:1); the writing ; the writing instrument; and the tablets (as in the letters of the 10 commandments, the instrument used to do that writing, and the tablets on which the words were written). Some say: the destructive spirits (that God also created along with Adam and Eve); the grave of Moses; and the ram of our patriarch Adam (that appeared for Abraham to sacrifice instead of Isaac). Some even say the first tongs which are made by tongs (an effort to answer a question that must have occurred to anyone using tongs-- if one needs tongs to hold materials over a fire to make tongs, who made the first ones?) .

This Mishnah just blows my mind, I have to say. I couldn’t believe it when I first studied it, and I really had a hard time understanding it, to be honest.

What I have come to understand is that this Mishnah is one of the ways the rabbis of our tradition have come to deal with miracles and their discomfort with them. To the rabbinic mind, miracles are problematic. If they come along sometimes, why don’t they come along at other times? If God can miraculously save us at some times, why doesn’t God always swoop in?

The rabbinic answer in this Mishnah: there are no such thing as miracles. The things in the Bible that seem like miracles were actually there all along from the days of creation, and they simply waited to make their previously scheduled appearance at just the right moment.

The rabbis like the idea of natural order, and, with this mishnah, they try to explain some of the most mysterious things in the Torah that appear to violate that natural order.

I personally like this text; I’m not sure I buy what the rabbis are selling here, but I like it because it gives such a deep insight into the thinking process and theology of the rabbis. On the other hand, I am okay with mystery. I don’t need a logical explanation for everything in the Bible, or everything in the world, for that matter.

What do you make of this text? Does it help you accept these events, or does it simply strike you as mental gymnastics?

Beth - Week 6 - Chapter 5

Mishna 5:11 There are four kinds of dispositions: [One is] easy to anger and easy to calm. That one’s gain is nullified by the loss. [One is] hard to anger and hard to calm. That one’s loss is nullified by the gain. [One is] hard to anger and easy to calm. That ones is a saint. [The last is] easy to anger and hard to calm, that one is a sinner.

According to Rashi, “Whatever benefit results from being easy to pacify is lost by being easy to provoke. Likewise, whatever benefit is gained by being hard to anger is olost by being hard to assuage” (Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary On Jewish Ethics Edited and Translated by Leonard Kravitz and Kerry M. Olitzky). Bartinoro states that being easy to anger is not good because “one’s activities will be harmed by one’s irascible personality.

Rami Shapiro contends that as one who lacks greed has a “wise mind”; one who is slow to anger has a “wise heart”. He states that, “Anger arises from fear and fear is rooted in the delusion that your separateness from others and God. The wise know that they are not the target, for there is no self or other with whom to contest.”

I just read a story about the people of Le Chambon, France, who hid thousands of Jews during the German occupation of France, at great risk to themselves. The young pastor, Andre Trocme and his assistant were arrested by the Germans. When asked if they were hiding Jews, he responded, “We do not know what a Jew is. We know only Men.” “Pastor Trocme’s wife Magda said, “The issue was: Do you think we are all brothers or not? Do you think it is unjust to turn in the Jews or not? Then let us try to help!”” The townspeople had to trust one another not to turn each other in. If only one had turned to the Nazis it would have meant death for the entire town. This is a people who embody Rami Shapiro’s idea of our connection to each other and to God.

When I was younger I was prone to being both quick to anger and quick to calm. I would let out bursts of anger and quickly calm when ever I was frustrated by something or someone. I would rage either openly or silently and as soon as I was finished I would calm down and then just pretend it all never happened. Essentially, I would swallow my anger and continue with status quo. As I have grown older I have come to realize that this state of being was not serving me well. I also realized that I have no control over the people and situations around me. I only have control over how I react / respond to them. Does this mean I never get angry anymore? Of course not, But now, when I sense feelings of anger or resentment coming up, instead of letting it out and then quickly calming and essentially swallowing it back up I go through a process. I ask myself what is it that is making me angry. Then I ask myself if it is within my control. Next I ponder the ways I can react that would most benefit me and those around me. This is not always an easy process and I do not always get it right, but it is something I really work hard to do.

At work, if someone does or says something that makes me feel angry I go through my process. Most of the time, I come to the realization that whatever they said or did was not a personal assault on me but rather a reflection of where they are coming from, whatever pain they are in. If I feel the person needs to be told that they were inappropriate, I try to approach them gently (not assault them in anger) and let them know how I felt. Sometimes I let it go because I realize that this is their nature and I am not going to change them. For example, there is one person with whom I work who when under pressure becomes a impatient and whiny. She can be very demanding and not very nice about it. I have come to realize that this is her nature, it is not a personal assault on me, but rather a statement of her personality and I needn’t take it personally. Only on one occasion when she was extremely rude did I need to let her know that she was not appropriate. Most of the time I am able to realize that anger gets me nowhere. I take action when I need to do so and respond in appropriate ways to the situation I am more likely to get what I want.

Anger in and of itself is neither bad nor good. It is what I choose to do with that anger. Do I rage and then let it go with nothing changed? Do I swallow it and try to forget it? Do I let it fester and make myself miserable? Or do I work to understand what is causing it and what I can do to alleviate it? Sometimes my anger spurs me to take action in positive ways. That is the best kind of anger. When I see something unjust, do I get angry but ignore what I can do? Or do I work to help alleviate the unjust cause.

From where I stand, our sages really hit the nail on the head in the anger department. It is a difficult standard to live up to, but one worth working towards.

All the main translations I use will, be taken from this text.

Respectfully submitted,

Beth F. Levine

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Week 5 May 4 - 10, 2015 - Chapter 4

Joel - Week 5 - Chapter 4 (goes up May 4)

Chapter 4, Mishnah 1

“Ben Zoma said, who is wise? The one who learns from everyone…. Who is mighty? The one who controls one’s urges… Who is rich? One who is happy with what one has…. Who is honored? One who honors others.”

I love that this text was written by a non-rabbi. Shimon Ben Zoma lived in the second century. He was an outstanding scholar who studied with Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chanayah. He was recognized by the Talmud as “a disciple of the sages,” but was never ordained as a rabbi. He hung out with some amazing and legendary teachers, including Shimon ben Azzai and Rabbi Akiva, so he kept some incredible company. And this teaching is yet another reminder that you definitely don’t have to be a rabbi to have deep truths to teach.

Perhaps you know some people who know alot, and feel the need to let you know both how much they know and how little you do. Rashi comments on this part of the mishnah by saying that one who is fit to be a scholar is one who isn’t too conceited to learn even from those who may be less learned.

I know that I learn from my students every time I teach, and I take great pride in that. There’s always more to learn, and leave it to a non-rabbi like ben Zoma to lead off his teaching by saying to future scholars of Judaism: “don’t be so self-centered about what you know to miss the opportunity to learn from people who you think know less than you, or people who don’t have the degrees or titles you do.” The best managers, teachers, and leaders I’ve every had the privilege to learn from were humble about what they knew.

The second teaching may be the hardest to understand, and it is certainly the hardest to do, in my opinion. The rabbis say that we have two basic impulses: yetzer harah and yetzer hatov-- literally, the evil impulse and the good impulse.

Those translations are not that helpful-- they’re misleading. We all have both of these impulses, and it’s not exactly evil and good that they represent. Yetzer hara is not a demonic force that pushes a person to do evil, but rather a drive toward pleasure or property or security, which if left unlimited, can lead to evil. When properly controlled by the yetzer hatov, the yetzer hara leads to many socially desirable results, including marriage, business, and community.

For the rabbis, adults are distinguished from children by the yetzer hatov, which controls and channels the drives that exist unchecked in the child. Thus children may seek pleasure and acquisition, but they are not able to create a sanctified relationship or exercise the responsibility to engage in business.

This is healthy tension, the rabbi argue; it’s not about destroying the yetzer harah, but about mastering it; channelling it, marshalling its power to actually make and create and drive forward in constructive ways.

In a way, I think Judaism’s meta-message is to live in moderation. Learn from everyone, master your impulses, be happy with what you have, honor others and you will be honored. Again, if Pirke Avot’s goal is to give us pithy aphorisms to live by, this is a pretty good one, don’t you think?

Just because it’s easy for ben Zoma to say, though, doesn’t mean it’s easy to do.

Beth - Week 5 - Chapter 4

Mishnah 4:15 Rabbi Yanni said, “[The reason] why the guilty prosper or the innocent suffer is not within our grasp.” Rabbi Matya ben Charash said, “Be the first to greet everyone; be a tail to the lions rather than a head to the foxes.”

According to Pirke Avot: A Modern Commentary On Jewish Ethics, Rashi believed that in this world, we are dependent upon one another for reward and punishment. Since we are imperfect beings this system is flawed. However, once we are in the next life, our evil and good will be rewarded or punished by God.

I like what Rami Shapiro (Ethics of the Sages : Pirke Avot Annotated & Explained) wrote about this Mishna. He wrote, “Do not settle for easy answers or abandon the questions themselves. Asking keeps you aware of injustice and this may lead you to improve the world even as the answers themselves continue to elude you.”

I must admit, I never read the book, Why Bad Things Happen to Good People, by Harold Kushner. But I believe that the fact that we have free will speaks to the reasons why there is injustice in the world. As long as we are free to choose between what we think is good for us and what we think is good for others, it will be a struggle for many people, much of the time.

I know it has been a struggle for me most of my life. I must admit that when I was younger I didn’t ponder such questions. I didn’t concern myself with much that happened outside my realm of existence. I think / hope that is normal for many young people. I didn’t concern myself with people suffering in other communities, or with how the things I do or don’t do hurt the environment. I didn’t concern myself with the struggles of others who weren’t directly related to me.

As I’ve grown older, and matured, I have come to understand certain truths. The suffering of others not immediately in my community has an effect upon the world. It may not affect my daily living, in the moment, but it impacts the way the world works. If we turn a blind eye to the suffering of others, we ultimately will all suffer in the end. Likewise, if we ignore the impact of our actions on the environment, it will cause world-wide damage.

I know that in Judaism, action is upheld over belief. So what I believe only matters if I take action. It is not enough to just believe that racism is a still a problem in our society / world . I need to point it out when I see it among my friends and co-workers. It is not enough to know that the climate change is human caused. I need to find ways to decrease my contributions to this imbalance. It is not enough to believe that all people who love each other should have the right to marry and reap all the same benefits, no matter their gender. I need to speak up and vote for those who will afford all people equal rights. I could go on, but I think you get the point.

I am only one person and I must admit I do not always know what to do. But I do the little bits I can. I know I can always do more. I know that if everyone did a little bit to help, the world would be much better off.

Texts used to help write this blog:

All the main translations I use will, be taken from this text.

Respectfully submitted,

Beth F. Levine

Week 4 - April 27 - May 3, 2015 - Chapter 3

Joel - Week 4 - Chapter 3

Mishnah 3:15 [Rabbi Akiva would say] All is foreseen, yet [free] choice is given.

What a paradox this is! If God has foreseen everything, do we really have free will to make our own decisions? Is everything pre-destined or not? Do Jews believe in predestination? And if there is no free will, then why do we need to repent on Yom Kippur, after all, we’re not responsible for our actions!

The rabbis suggest that since God is perfect, such a paradox can work effectively in this world; that God can know the big picture, but since we don’t, we live as if we are are making choices, because we don’t know that big picture.

Rabbi David Nelson said it this way. Imagine that the universe is like a huge tapestry. Have you ever looked at the back of a beautiful tapestry? All you can see is knots-- it looks like a mess. Sometimes, if you examine the back of the tapestry carefully, there are places where you get a hint of the pattern on the front.

So it is with us, Rabbi Nelson argues. Our lives can feel random, messy, without order. And, on other days, everything seems to make sense-- it’s as if we can comprehend that there is a divine plan-- and that we might even be able to glimpse it! And then, just as suddenly, we’re in the dark again, and nothing seems to make sense.

I admit, I struggle with these ideas.

I believe that that God gave us both free choice and a Torah that tells us what God expects us to do. I believe that we are free to make good and bad choices, and that God wants us (but doesn’t force us) to choose life and blessing rather than death and curse. I don’t believe in a God who has already worked everything out; I don’t believe in a God who determines which evil people get the thrive and which good people suffer, or vice versa.

At the same time, I want to believe that there is a grand plan on a macro level. I believe that the universe didn’t just fall together, like my favorite singer songwriter David Wilcox says, “like a big mistake.” I believe there’s a divine order, but that we are free to make decisions that alternately help bring us and our world closer to that divine order or take us further from it.

So perhaps I agree with Rabbi Akiva in the end. How about you?

Beth - Week 4 - Chapter 3

Mishnah 3.9 Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa often said, “One whose fear of sin precedes one’s wisdom, one’s wisdom will last. One whose wisdom precedes one’s fear of sin, one’s wisdom will not last.” He [also] would say, “One whose deeds exceed one’s wisdom, one’s wisdom will last. One whose wisdom exceeds one’s deeds, one’s wisdom will not last.”

Rabbi Rami Shapiro alternately translates this same Mishnah as:

Mishnah, 3.11 - 3.12“If your concern for others exceeds your desire for wisdom, your wisdom will endure. If your desire for wisdom exceeds your concern for others, your wisdom will not endure. If your kindness exceeds your wisdom, your wisdom will endure. If your wisdom exceeds your kindness, your wisdom will not endure.

According to Kravitz & Olitszky, “Wisdom is based on a response to the relationship of the individual with God,” (pg. 42). The Talmud uses a metaphor to help us understand this position: A person who is a Torah scholar but does not “revere God is like the gatekeeper who has been given the keys to the inner door but not the outer ones.” How can that person enter?” (B Talmud, Shabbat 31a-b) (Olitzky and Kravitz p. 42).

Rabbi Shapiro states that according to this Mishnah, “justice and compassion together must both exceed the desire for wisdom.”

From this Mishnah (whichever translation you use) we can see that wisdom without concern and kindness (or fear of sin and [good] deeds) is not held in high regard. A learned person who does nothing good with his or her knowledge, that scholarship will not last.

Again, as a lifelong learner, I have had to learn to balance my thirst for knowledge with my deeds and actions in the world. Do I use my knowledge for good or evil? Do I do the right thing in the midst of those doing the wrong thing? Do I embrace compassion and engage others with graciousness? This is something I struggle with all the time. Not that I am an evil person, but that I make sure my actions are true and just, not self-aggrandizing, or selfish, or limited to my needs alone.

The lessons I have learned over the years is that intellectual superiority and the pursuit of worldly goods is not in and of itself a bad thing, but must be tempered with compassion, understanding, empathy and patience.

Sometimes I get caught up in the heat of the moment. I want to prove I am right about something at the expense of someone else’s feelings. At times like this I must try to pull myself back and remember it is not always necessary for me to “win” the intellectual argument. I can listen to the other person’s side and try to understand his or her perspective. That doesn’t mean I never fight for what I believe. I just try to make sure I am fighting the right fight for the right reasons. And I have learned that it is not my job (nor within my ability) to control the actions or beliefs of others. Again, it comes down to setting the good / right example by my actions. Only when I do this am I using my wisdom correctly and engaging with others in a compassionate and just manner.

Respectfully submitted,

Beth F. Levine