Pirkei Avot 2:21: "It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you at liberty to desist from it."
Interpreted by Rafe Levine
The compilation of sayings of the Rabbis of the Mishnaic Era is known as Pirkei Avot, The Ethics Of Our Fathers. The Mishnah, is the first section, which together with the second section, the Gemara, constitute The Talmud. Six books of Jewish law, both religious and civil, make up the Mishnah. Pirkei Avot is the Mishnah’s 6th and final book.
Rabbi Tarfon, a sage who lived at the end the of first century CE, said in Pirkei Avot, ”It is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, but neither are you at liberty to desist from it.” As a Yeshiva student from kindergarten through my college years, my Jewish education was extensive. However, as I grew to adulthood, I came to the understanding there was no end to the aquisition of knowledge in all spheres of learning.
Although Rabbi Tarfon’s aphorism can be applied to many aspects of life, the most common interpretation of his words relates to the study of Torah. I discover new heights each week, year after year, as I study the weekly Parsha with the Temple Sinai Torah Study group. It seems that the more we study, the more we need to study to extract an even deeper meaning. We work hard at applying these insights to our lives today. This effort is both challenging and rewarding; challenging in that we never seem to arrive at a consensus, yet rewarding in our striving to reach a greater understanding. Yet we continue to work, each week, knowing that this task has no end.
Baruch Ata Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha’olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al sefirat ha’Omer. Blessed are You Adonai, Sovereign of all, who hallows us with mitzvot, commanding us to count the Omer.
Today is the 27th day, which is 3 weeks and 6 days of the Omer.
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