This textbook is aimed at assisting students to understand what is written in Pirkei Avot and to encourage them to engage in active discussion on the important questions that Pirkei Avot raises
"Pirkei Avot [Ethics of the Fathers] is a unique tractate, filled with proverbs and short, sometimes mysterious sayings," explains Dr. Ariel Picard, Educational Director of the Be’eri Program. "Some of the proverbs in Pirkei Avot are well-known as they have become everyday Hebrew sayings, while others require great effort to understand.
Be’eri’s new textbook on Pirkei Avot is aimed at assisting students to understand what is written in the tractate and to encourage them to engage in active discussion on the important questions that Pirkei Avot raises, such as the questions that guided us in the development of the textbook: What qualities introduced in Pirkei Avot do we want to adopt for ourselves? How can we improve the society that we live in? What is the best way of acquiring knowledge and education?
In creating this textbook, we join generations of commentators, sages, and writers who have studied and commented on Pirkei Avot. Like them, our goal is to be kinder, wiser, more merciful, and loving in order to improve ourselves and the society in which we live. The goal of the textbook is to invite students to become part of the chain of Jewish tradition from Moses to the Sages to contemporary students by adding their own voices to those of past generations and in so doing to connect to their heritage and to improve themselves, their society, and the world (tikkun olam)."
Aimed at eighth grade students, this new textbook, which will be released in the coming months, was developed in response to the Ministry of Education directive to add Pirkei Avot to the eighth grade Tarbut Yisrael curriculum. This book will be used in Be’eri schools throughout the country starting in the 2011-2012 school year.
Beyond presenting each mishna within Pirkei Avot, the true goal of the textbook is to make the tractate relevant. The textbook provides students with a framework for discussing existential and contemporary ideas raised by the mishnayot. Each mishna is presented alongside a traditional Jewish text (such as a Hassidic tale) and a modern Israeli text (such as a song by an Israeli artist).
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