Pirkei Avot: A Social Justice Commentary - Softcover

Yanklowitz, Shmuly

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0881233226 ISBN 13: 9780881233223

Publisher: Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2018

Synopsis

Pirkei Avot is the urtext of Jewish practical wisdom. In many ways, the words of Pirkei Avot were the first recorded manifesto of social justice in Western civilization. This commentary explores the text through a lens of contemporary social justice and moral philosophy, engaging both classical commentators and modern thinkers.

About this title

Review

A lively, wide-ranging commentary including the perspectives of rabbis and commentators over the centuries, historical and political figures, and contemporary feminist voices.

- Rabbi Rachel Adler, PhD, David Ellenson Professor of Modern Jewish Thought, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

Rav Shmuly is a leading voice calling upon the Jewish community to pursue justice. His commentary on Pirkei Avot grounds this sacred work in the centuries old teachings of our rabbis, and will surely inspire a new generation.

-Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Director, Religious Action Center

Pirkei Avot is the Talmud's premier collection of the great ethical and spiritual teachings of the Rabbis over a period of hundreds of years. Now, Rabbi Yanklowitz, through a work of intensive and wide-ranging research informed by his own active and extraordinary commitment to justice, has produced a work guaranteed to insure that Pirkei Avot continues to be Judaism's preeminent text on how to be a good person. And that is of course what we were put on the earth to be.

-Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, Author, Jewish Literacy

A wide ranging, sensitive and spiritually attuned commentary on one of the great rabbinic texts. Rabbi Yanklowitz fills each page with wisdom both ancient and modern.

-Rabbi David Wolpe, Author, David the Divided Heart

Why is this edition of the rabbinic classic Pirkei Avot different from all other versions? Because it is filled with the wisdom, ethics, and psychological insights of Rabbi Yanklowitz. His commentary is humane, ethically responsible, spiritually sensitive and inspiring, focused on helping us become better people even as we repair a broken world. This book's warmth, charm and seriousness make it a great read, while its relevance and practicality make it worthwhile and enriching. It is a wonderful addition to every personal library. It offers a chance for friends, spouses, parents, and children to learn this text together and grow closer to each other in the process.

-Rabbi Dr Yitz Greenberg

Rabbi Yanklowitz has drawn on a breathtaking number of sources and persons as well as his own personal experiences in composing his commentary. Commentators ancient and modern, men and women, Jew and Gentile, as well as insights and anecdotes drawn from his own life and a variety of academic disciplines are all in conversation with one another in this pathbreaking commentary on this traditional text.

-Rabbi David Ellenson, Director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University

Edition details

• Publisher: Central Conference of American Rabbis
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0881233226
• ISBN 13: 9780881233223
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 468