Sayings of the fathers
Proverbs of the Fathers ( Hebrew פרקי אבות Pirqe Avot) is a treatise of the Mishnah in the order Nesiqin and deals with questions of ethics . Although the treatise is embedded in the structure of the Talmud - it is the ninth treatise in the Seder Nesiqin , the fourth of six "sections" or "orders" - there are essential differences to the rest of the Talmudic text. On the one hand, there are no further explanations in the form of Gemara , on the other hand, the section does not contain any halachic regulations for regulating the Jewish way of life. The ethical maxims are noted as statements of various rabbis in chronological order.
The Proverbs of the Fathers are divided into six chapters and begin with the tradition of the Torah :
“משֶׁה קִבֵּל תּוֹרָה מִסִּינַי, וּמְסָרָהּ לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ, וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לִזְקֵנִים, וּזְקֵנִים לִנְבִיאִים, וּנְבִיאִים מְסָרוּהָ לְאַנְשֵׁי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה."
"Moscheh qibel Torah missinaj, umesarah lihoschua, wihoschua lisiqenim, usqenim lineviʾim, uneviʾim mesaruha leʾansche cheneset hagadolah"
" Moses received the Torah at Sinai and gave it to Joshua , Joshua to the elders , the elders to the prophets , and the prophets presented them to the men of the great congregation ."
The saying of Rabbi Hillel is particularly well known :
“אִם אֵין אֲנִי לִי, מִי לִי. וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי לְעַצְמִי, מָה אֲנִי. וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו, אֵימָתָי ”
"ʾIm ʾen ʾani li, mi li, uchʾaschér leʿatzmí, mah ʾani, weʾim lo ʿachsháw ematáj"
“If I am not to myself, who is to me? And if I am to myself what am I? And if not now, when? "
The following has also come down to us from Hillel:
“.וְלֹא כָל הַמַּרְבֶּה בִסְחוֹרָה מַחְכִּים. ובִמְקוֹם שֶׁאֵין אֲנָשִׁים, הִשְׁתַּדֵּל לִהְיוֹת אִישׁ ”
“Welo chol hammarbeh vistorah maḥbim. Uvimqom Scheʾen ʾanaschim, hishadel lihjot ʾisch "
“And those who do a lot of trade don't get wise. If there is a lack of men in a place, then make an effort to be a man. "
The sayings of the fathers are part of the liturgy in both liberal and orthodox communities and can therefore be found in numerous siddurim (prayer books).
Text and translations
- Karl Marti : Abôt (fathers). Giessen 1927.
- Max Emanuel Stern: Pearls of the Orient and key sayings of the fathers: a metrically rhymed translation of the Talmudic treatise, titled Pirke Aboth. Vienna 1840. ( digitized in the Google book search)
- Frank Ueberschaer , Michael Krupp : The Mishnah: Avot (fathers). Jerusalem 2003. ISBN 965-7221-13-7
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans-Jürgen Becker (ed.): Avot de-Rabbi Natan. Synoptic edition of both versions , Tübingen 2006, 348; Salomon Schechter: Aboth de Rabbi Nathan , New York 2nd edition 1945, 54; Anthony J. Saldarini: Scholastic Rabbinism: A Literary Study of the Fathers according to Rabbi Nathan (= Brown Judaic Studies 14), Scholars Press, Chico, California 1982, 149.
- ^ Translation from Mischnah Awot »Chapter 2. talmud.de, May 30, 2014, accessed on September 1, 2015 .
See also
Web links
- Alexander Dubrau: Pirke Avot. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.
- Charles Taylor: Sayings of the Jewish fathers , comprising Pirqe Aboth in Hebrew and English, with notes and excursuses, Cambridge University Press 1908 (facsimiles from archive.org)