Ethics of the Sages : Pirke Avot--Annotated and Explained

The clear and compelling wisdom of the rabbinic sages can become a companion for your own spiritual journey.

At the heart of Judaism is an ethical imperative to live life from your true self, as the image and likeness of God. To do this, you must see the greatness of God manifest in all things, and therefore engage each moment with grace, humility, and justice. This imperative flowers in the words of the early Rabbis (250 BCE–250 CE), who captured God's call to be holy in Pirke Avot, a collection of pithy sayings on how best to live an ethical life.

This engaging introduction to the wisdom sayings of the rabbinic sages puts you in direct conversation with them, allowing the sages to speak directly to you about what matters in life and how to live it with dignity. With fresh, contemporary translation and provocative commentary, Rabbi Rami Shapiro focuses on the central themes in this Jewish wisdom compendium―study, kindness, compassion. He clarifies the rabbinic proverbs and parables in order to expose the ethical principles at their root. By recalling the ancient voices of the rabbinic sages, he shows us the contemporary significance of their timeless wisdom and distills Pirke Avot not as a book about ethics but as a practical guide to living ethically today.

Now you can experience the wisdom of the early Rabbis even if you have no previous knowledge of Judaism or rabbinic literature. This SkyLight Illuminations edition presents the ethical teachings of the rabbinic sages, with insightful yet unobtrusive commentary that conveys Pirke Avot’s core challenge of God to the Jewish people, and through them all humanity: We are to be holy as God is holy. We are to be, in a human way, what God is in a divine way.

Rami Shapiro, a renowned teacher of spirituality across faith traditions, is an award-winning storyteller, poet and essayist. He is author of The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness: Preparing to Practice, Recovery―The Sacred Art: The Twelve Steps as Spiritual Practice and The Divine Feminine in Biblical Wisdom Literature: Selections Annotated & Explained (all SkyLight Paths), among other books.

Rami Shapiro is available to speak on the following topics:

• Writing―The Sacred Art: Beyond the Page to Spiritual Practice
• Stop Playing God: 12 Steps as Spiritual Practice
• Biblical Wisdom for Post-biblical Times: An Exploration of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job
• The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness: Cultivating Compassion in Daily Life
• Hasidic Wisdom: An Exploration of Hasidic Storytelling, Theology and Contemplative Practice
• Saints and Sages: Biblical Prophets, Ancient Rabbis and the Building of a Just World