Pirkei Avos

By Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld
Beit Shemesh, Israel

Pirkei Avos, literally Chapters of Our Fathers, is a section of the Mishna, one of the most fundamental works of the Jewish Oral Law. The Mishna was authored in the third century C.E., and discusses laws and customs of virtually all areas of Judaism, ranging from holidays, dietary laws, Temple service, marriage and divorce, and civil law. It records opinions of scholars from approximately the five centuries preceding the Mishna’s writing. Pirkei Avos is the only section, or tractate, of the Mishna which is devoted exclusively to the ethical and moral statements of the Sages. For this reason, it is usually referred to in English as Ethics of Our Fathers.

In this class, Rabbi Dovid Rosenfeld uncovers the beauty and depth of the Mishna. He brings to life the words of the Sages in their original form, revealing their timelessness and relevancy, and discusses fundamentals of Jewish philosophy and psychology in clear and communicative style.

Dovid Rosenfeld is a native of the Washington D.C. area. He received Rabbinic Ordination from Ner Israel Rabbinical College in 1992, while also holding a Masters in Computer Science from the Johns Hopkins University. He is currently a senior educator in Kollel Bet Zvi in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel. He is also involved in a project devoted to the writing and dissemination of the Torah lectures of R. Yochanan Zweig. He is the author of Torah.org’s highly popular Maimonides Views Life class. He resides in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel, together with his wife and children.