Starts Sunday, November 1 with the first mishnah. Use the arrows to preview the week.
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The shortcut to being a good person
Rav Yehuda says the way to become a chassid, a person who goes beyond the letter of the law, is to keep the laws of damages, never harming anyone. Rava says: live by the teachings of Avot. (A third view says: the laws of blessings.) Rava pointed to this book as a path to being a chassid. We read it one mishnah at a time and ask one more question: what does this look like on a Tuesday at work?
What is Pirkei Avot?
Pirkei Avot, "Chapters of the Fathers," often called Ethics of the Fathers, is a tractate of the Mishnah, the first written collection of the Oral Torah, put together by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi around the year 200. Every other tractate of the Mishnah is about law. This one is about character: how to work, how to judge, how to learn, how to treat people.
It opens with a chain. Moshe received the Torah at Sinai and handed it on, generation by generation, through the prophets and the Men of the Great Assembly to the sages of the Mishnah. Each one then adds a few words of advice, in his own name. Over its five chapters (a sixth, about acquiring Torah, was added later) you meet dozens of sages, and each one gives you the thing he most wanted to pass on.
Many communities learn one chapter every Shabbat afternoon in the summer, starting after Pesach. Here we learn it all year, one mishnah a day, with the classic commentators who have explained it for centuries: the Rambam, Rabbeinu Yonah, Bartenura, and the commentary printed under Rashi's name.
Two minutes, five parts
Every day has the same five parts, top to bottom.
The mishnah and what it means, in a few plain sentences.
Tap to open the mishnah in Hebrew, with our English.
How the mishnah applies to your job, your career and your life. This part is ours, built on the sources.
One small thing to do today, and one question for you or your study partner.
What the commentators say, in their own words, and every source.
We always keep the sources and our application apart, so you know which is which. Every source links to the original text.
Questions people ask
Why one mishnah a day?
A mishnah in Avot is a few lines long, and most of them hold a lifetime of work. One a day is enough to read, think about, and actually try. Seven a week, Sunday to Shabbat.
Who are the commentators?
The commentary printed under the name of Rashi (France, 11th century), the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, Egypt, 12th century), Rabbeinu Yonah (Spain, 13th century) and Rabbi Ovadiah of Bartenura (Italy and the Land of Israel, 15th century), whose commentary is printed in most editions of the Mishnah. We quote them in Hebrew with our English and link every quote.
Is this a full translation?
Each dose has the mishnah in Hebrew with our English (on a rare day, part of it, and we say so), and short excerpts from the commentators. The full texts are free on Sefaria, and every dose links to the exact place.
Do I need a background in Mishnah?
No. Every term is explained the first time it appears in each dose. If you can read a parsha sheet, you can read this.
How do I use it on Shabbat?
The Shabbat dose is written for the Shabbat table. Open it on Friday and print it, or save it as a PDF, with the Print button.
Can I learn it with a chavruta (study partner)?
Yes, and it works best that way. Every dose ends with a question to talk through. Send the day's link on WhatsApp with the Share button.
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