By Laura Seymour
Dear Families,
To many, summer means time off from school and vacations — but that doesn’t mean the end of learning and growing. This summer, challenge your family to study the Talmudic tractate known as Pirke Avot, Chapters of the Sages. Pirke Avot is made up of six chapters and over 150 mishnayot (teachings). Each mishnah offers valuable lessons on how to live an ethical life.
It would be wonderful if we could simply read each saying and immediately know what to do. These mishnayot are also part of the Jewish learning we do at camp — and it’s fun! The “Mishnah of the Week” for these nine weeks of summer (while I’m busy at camp and can’t write something new each week) has been chosen because it offers lessons that apply to each of us as members of a community. Camp is filled with experiences of learning and living together — and when we study together, our lives reflect that same richness.
Spend time each Shabbat talking about the mishnah, using the provided questions as a guide. Begin by reading the words, then breaking down the parts. Trust that even young children can contribute meaningful insights. Listening to one another is the beginning of learning.
The first mishnah tells how the tradition was passed from Moses down through the generations — the very same teaching Moses received at Mount Sinai. Why begin with this? What lessons do we learn from how the tradition was transmitted? How can we continue to add our own chapters to the teachings?
“Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua; Joshua to the Elders; the Elders to the Prophets; and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly.” (Pirke Avot 1:1)
Remember, once we begin to understand the mishnah, we must then work to apply its lessons to our lives. This is the true gift of our sages — their teachings continue to guide us today. The next step is to write our own chapters and pass on these lessons to others.
Laura Seymour is the Jewish Experiential Learning director and Camp director emeritus at the Aaron Family JCC.