Who gave the Rabbis the right...?
...and to do what?
But first...
A little housekeeping:
Last week (in our final discussion) we talked about ‘understanding’ what Torah says. I mentioned that Torah remains the same (unchangeable) and that each year, as we read it, we are different - different needs, desires, understandings. This was questioned as; do you (meaning me) really believe this? The “Ultra Orthodox” believe in the literal Bible and that it does not change. Most, however, were of the opinion that this is not a true statement about the Ultra Orthodox and their reading of Torah.
As I do not believe in “coincidence”; I came across the following in my reading just yesterday. Marcel Proust, as quoted in a book on Wabi-Sabi, shows its relationship to our discussion mentioned above. He said, “The voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”
As I do not believe in “coincidence”; I came across the following in my reading just yesterday. Marcel Proust, as quoted in a book on Wabi-Sabi, shows its relationship to our discussion mentioned above. He said, “The voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”
It is a little out of season, as traditionally read; but we are now going to look at Pirkei Avot. Who gave the Rabbis the right... is the question that I want to ask first. But even before that I got a little side-tracked.
Pirkei Avot is usually ‘translated’ as The Wisdom of our Fathers, or Saying of our Fathers. Not quite. “Pirkei” (פרקי) is probably closer to “verses” but that still is not quite the proper understanding. Pei-resh-koof has the meanings of disconnecting... taking apart or the cognitive meanings of separate & develop. Where is this leading?
Well. Where do we find Pirkei Avot? Meaning where is it when it is not in a stand-alone book? It is found in Mishnah. [Mishnah (משנה) is from the root shin-nun-heh, meaning study, review, repetition, and...‘secondary”]. As in: “Secondary only to Tanach”!
Mishnah is the first Redaction of Oral Torah and, as such, is the first major work of Rabbinic Literature. [A redaction is a form of Editing, or Combining, and Redactors also add their own comments and commentary. You might see where this is leading. The Mishnah, developed late in the 2nd Century CE precedes the Babylonian Talmud and influenced the rabbis format with the commentaries placed around the main text of Talmud.
The Mishnah has six main ‘volumes’ divided further into ‘Tractates’. These Tractates deal with each and every aspect of Jewish Law - Halakah. And it was the “Men of the Great Assembly” in the land of Israel, who wrote the Mishnah. Interesting to us is the fact that while most Tractates deal with things like holidays, Temple service, civil law, marriage, etc.; it is the Pirkei Avot alone which deals only with Ethics and not laws!
The Mishnah Tractate, Pirkei Avot, begins with: “Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua. Joshua transmitted it to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly(MGA). The, the MGA, said three things: Be deliberate in judgment, raise many students, and make a protective fence for the Torah”
Finally we are getting on to it.
But first I have a different question for you. Why is it that now, in the 2nd Century CE, did the rabbis think that Oral Torah must be put into written form or it would be forgotten? The Talmud (coming later, remember) tells us that the persecution of the Jews (what’s new there?) and the passage of time raised the possibility that the details of the oral tradition would be forgotten. This is a tradition which has continued (AT LEAST) from 536 BCE to 70CE, or over six hundred years and, probably much longer (it is nearly 1500 years after Sinai!). I do not know the answer to that, and it is unlikely that any scholars have looked at why this particular time was the proper time to consider writing this all down.
Now, let’s go back and consider the original question: Who gave the rabbis the right.... to write down the Oral Torah... to Redact Torah (as it were)... to make commentary on Torah... or to Edit Torah. Part of the answer, it would be argued is in the statement by the Men of the Great Assembly; Moses receive Torah, transmitted it to Joshua... etc. But this -is exactly where Pirkei Avot, the last Tractate, begins.
But first: (drum roll) another question. Why is this paragraph place here in Pirkei Avot, which occurs at the end of the six divisions of the Mishnah, and not at the beginning? Presumably this paragraph was to give support to the rabbis contention that Torah had to be Redacted and the oral tradition put into the written word.
One suggestion was that the beginning ‘volumes’ of the Mishnah considered the fine points of Jewish Law and that was something that Jews everywhere accepted and did not ‘need’ justification. Pirkei Avot, on the other hand, considered and taught moral directives. When someone offers you such advice, why would you take it? Unless it came as a Moral Imperative which can be traced back to Moses on the Mountain [face-to-face (so to speak) with G-d].
So. Pirkei Avot is really “good advice”, rather inexact in nature, even though the statements deal with morality and proper behavior; they needed the additional credentials which come this paragraph.
With these credentials in hand, the Men of the Great Assembly make this statement; “They said three things, Be deliberate in Judgment, develop many disciples, and make a fence for the Torah.” To answer one of the earlier questions, may be that, the Great Assembly saw that the current state of persecution and exile had impacted on the Jewish scholarship. It was the fabric of the Jewish ‘nation’ which was being damaged as intellectual studies and pursuits of understanding Torah were in decline. They then felt that it was the time to take steps to ensure that sechel (intellect) would be preserved and our great history, laws, and teachings would endure.
Pirkei Avot is usually ‘translated’ as The Wisdom of our Fathers, or Saying of our Fathers. Not quite. “Pirkei” (פרקי) is probably closer to “verses” but that still is not quite the proper understanding. Pei-resh-koof has the meanings of disconnecting... taking apart or the cognitive meanings of separate & develop. Where is this leading?
Well. Where do we find Pirkei Avot? Meaning where is it when it is not in a stand-alone book? It is found in Mishnah. [Mishnah (משנה) is from the root shin-nun-heh, meaning study, review, repetition, and...‘secondary”]. As in: “Secondary only to Tanach”!
Mishnah is the first Redaction of Oral Torah and, as such, is the first major work of Rabbinic Literature. [A redaction is a form of Editing, or Combining, and Redactors also add their own comments and commentary. You might see where this is leading. The Mishnah, developed late in the 2nd Century CE precedes the Babylonian Talmud and influenced the rabbis format with the commentaries placed around the main text of Talmud.
The Mishnah has six main ‘volumes’ divided further into ‘Tractates’. These Tractates deal with each and every aspect of Jewish Law - Halakah. And it was the “Men of the Great Assembly” in the land of Israel, who wrote the Mishnah. Interesting to us is the fact that while most Tractates deal with things like holidays, Temple service, civil law, marriage, etc.; it is the Pirkei Avot alone which deals only with Ethics and not laws!
The Mishnah Tractate, Pirkei Avot, begins with: “Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua. Joshua transmitted it to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly(MGA). The, the MGA, said three things: Be deliberate in judgment, raise many students, and make a protective fence for the Torah”
Finally we are getting on to it.
But first I have a different question for you. Why is it that now, in the 2nd Century CE, did the rabbis think that Oral Torah must be put into written form or it would be forgotten? The Talmud (coming later, remember) tells us that the persecution of the Jews (what’s new there?) and the passage of time raised the possibility that the details of the oral tradition would be forgotten. This is a tradition which has continued (AT LEAST) from 536 BCE to 70CE, or over six hundred years and, probably much longer (it is nearly 1500 years after Sinai!). I do not know the answer to that, and it is unlikely that any scholars have looked at why this particular time was the proper time to consider writing this all down.
Now, let’s go back and consider the original question: Who gave the rabbis the right.... to write down the Oral Torah... to Redact Torah (as it were)... to make commentary on Torah... or to Edit Torah. Part of the answer, it would be argued is in the statement by the Men of the Great Assembly; Moses receive Torah, transmitted it to Joshua... etc. But this -is exactly where Pirkei Avot, the last Tractate, begins.
But first: (drum roll) another question. Why is this paragraph place here in Pirkei Avot, which occurs at the end of the six divisions of the Mishnah, and not at the beginning? Presumably this paragraph was to give support to the rabbis contention that Torah had to be Redacted and the oral tradition put into the written word.
One suggestion was that the beginning ‘volumes’ of the Mishnah considered the fine points of Jewish Law and that was something that Jews everywhere accepted and did not ‘need’ justification. Pirkei Avot, on the other hand, considered and taught moral directives. When someone offers you such advice, why would you take it? Unless it came as a Moral Imperative which can be traced back to Moses on the Mountain [face-to-face (so to speak) with G-d].
So. Pirkei Avot is really “good advice”, rather inexact in nature, even though the statements deal with morality and proper behavior; they needed the additional credentials which come this paragraph.
With these credentials in hand, the Men of the Great Assembly make this statement; “They said three things, Be deliberate in Judgment, develop many disciples, and make a fence for the Torah.” To answer one of the earlier questions, may be that, the Great Assembly saw that the current state of persecution and exile had impacted on the Jewish scholarship. It was the fabric of the Jewish ‘nation’ which was being damaged as intellectual studies and pursuits of understanding Torah were in decline. They then felt that it was the time to take steps to ensure that sechel (intellect) would be preserved and our great history, laws, and teachings would endure.
p10~15 Maharal of Prague’s Pirkei Avot based on his Derech Chaim
...to be continued
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