A New Israeli Commentary on Pirkei Avot 1:1/פירוש ישראלי חדש על פרקי אבות א׳:א׳

1The first large unit that opens the Tractate Avot (chapters 1-2) points to the transmission of the legacy of the Oral Torah from generation to generation, from Moses to Rabban Gamliel, the son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, the editor of the Mishna. In the transmission of an oral Torah (in parallel with the transmission of a written Torah), special care must be taken to maintain a continuous and reliable chain of delivery, and the Mishna before us seeks to indicate the beginning of this chain.

2...Moses received the Torah from Sinai. As told in the Book of Exodus, chapter 19 onwards. This is a written Torah, but also the principles of its interpretation, ancient halachic traditions whose roots have disappeared (and therefore they are called "Halacha to Moses of Sinai"), and especially with the permission given to each and every generation to read the sacred biblical text and discover new ideas and answers to questions that arise over time.

3...and handed over to Joshua. Already in the Torah, Joshua is presented as the faithful disciple of Moses and his successor (Exodus 33:11). From the verb 'message' the word 'tradition' is also derived, the transmission of which is from generation to generation is spoken of here.

4...And Joshua to the elders. These elders are mentioned in the Book of Joshua (24:30): 'And Israel worshipped the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders, who extended the days after Joshua.' According to the Sages, these elders lived many days after Joshua (and the meaning of "days" in the Bible is: years), and they preserved what they received from him for generations to come. In the Tractate of the Pirke de Avos Nathan (Version 1,1) it is explicitly stated that 'judges received from elders ... Prophets received from judges,' and so did the judges – such as Deborah, Gideon, Yiftach, and Samson – as a link in the transmission of the oral law. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the priests are absent from this list, and it is possible that there are things in Go: the priesthood is dynastic, passing from father to son, while the elders, prophets and especially the wise gain their status thanks to their knowledge and personality. The Pirke of the Avos seeks to emphasize this point.

5...and elders to the prophets. This, of course, refers to the prophets mentioned in the Bible, both prophets whose words were preserved for us (such as Isaiah and Amos) and other prophets who only remembered their names or deeds (such as Samuel the prophet at the end of the period of the judges or Gad and Nathan in the days of David). The last of the prophets – the feasts of Zechariah and Malachi – were already active during the Second Temple period.

6and prophets from Sarva to the members of the Great Knesset. By this name, the tradition calls a group of sages who served as the supreme religious institution of the Jewish people during the Second Temple period (from the 5th century to the 2nd century BCE or so [for this group, see also the following Mishna])....

7...They said three things. The article of the members of the Great Knesset, like many articles in The Tractate of the Fathers, consists of three parts and is clearly aimed at the world of the sages: judges, teachers and halachic authorities. And it is worth remembering that many of the wise men fulfilled these three roles at the same time.

8Woe moderates in law. An instruction is to the judges, who will not rush to reach a conclusive verdict. Moderation – patiently listening to all the witnesses, checking their credibility, cross-checking information, reading precedents and reflecting and studying the subject at hand – is a good measure and worthy of every judge.

9and put up students a lot. Teaching is for teachers or those who head learning and teaching systems, such as a school or a beit midrash. Anyone who opens the doors of schools and seminaries for welfare risks entering students who are weak, or those who are not worthy of studying. On the face of it, it would have been worthwhile for him to wonder about the merits of every previous student who would bring him closer to the world of study, and to accept only the most talented. But this article favors quantity, even where it conflicts with quality, all in order to increase Torah in Israel.

10And make a sigh to the Torah. It is a directive to legislators and halachic authorities not to reach, with regard to the application of the commandments of the Torah and its laws, to the limit that the law permits. It is always better to put up a reservation (i.e., a fence) that moves the person away from reaching the very edge, so that he does not fail. On Sage, see also below C, 17.

11All the instructions before us were originally directed to the world of the wise, but they can easily be translated into the world of each and every person: he must not rush and make judgments, he deserves to spread his knowledge in every field and to anyone who requests them, and if he hedges himself with reservations – he will not encounter things in which he has no interest.

12...'Students a lot' or education only for elites?

13...This question has always been before teachers, educators, school principals or any other person engaged in education and teaching. Who will we gather into the classroom? 'Many students' (i.e., many students) or only outstanding students? It turns out that this question already preoccupied Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, in the first century CE, 'that Beit Shammai says: There is no man but for those who are wise and poor and the son of fathers and rich, and Beit Hillel say: Every man sleeps' (Avot Derbi Nathan, Version 1,3). The people of Beit Shammai set four strict criteria for selecting the students to be taught the Mishna (which is the main teaching material of their time): intellectual skills ('wise'), character traits ('humble'), family attribution ('son of ancestors') and excellent economic status ('rich'). Beit Shammai therefore provides an institution for excellence whose wealth, family ties and skills – both in character traits and in learning skills – They are the highest. This is an institution of elites designed to train new elites. Beit Hillel, on the other hand, states that every person should be taught, regardless of any socioeconomic and personality data. There is no entrance exam to this beit midrash. And Beit Hillel (ibid.) goes on to explain its assertion: 'That many criminals were in Israel and approached the Talmud Torah, and righteous and kosher people came out of them.' This beit midrash relies on its ability to educate every person and to bring out of its walls, if not brilliant 'sages', at least people with proper character traits: 'righteous, righteous and kosher'. Even a criminal, believers in Beit Hillel, can get closer to the Torah, be educated according to her way of being and become a different person. If we don't allow him to enter the beit midrash, we will lose him forever.