Pirke Avot

Audience

Scholars are divided over the original target audience of Pirke Avot. Because of its focus on Oral Torah and the proper balance between study and daily life and knowledge and good deeds, most traditional and modern commentators think the tractate served as a spiritual guide for Torah students. On the other hand, there is the opinion of the medieval Jewish scholar Maimonides, shared by some modern scholars, who thought of it as an ethical code for judges and magistrates. This makes sense, because Avot is included in the section of the Mishnah that deals with legal issues and because quite a few of the sayings deal with judicial matters.

Throughout Jewish history, diverse communities adopted different practices for reading Pirke Avot: In the Babylonian academies of the fifth and sixth centuries CE, it was read every Sabbath as part of the liturgy. In most present-day American Jewish communities, it is read chapter by chapter during a certain period in the spring or in the summer. To this day it is studied by students all over the Jewish world as an essential part of the religious curriculum.

Of all rabbinic documents, Pirke Avot is the one that is most frequently read by non-Jewish people, who are inspired by its practical wisdom and worldview. In Christian circles, it is increasingly popular to read rabbinic texts in order to better understand the cultural context in which Jesus lived and early Christianity developed. Pirke Avot is one of the choice texts that is often read in adult education or other popular study venues.