Q&A: Are "Pirkei Avot" Torah?
Are "Pirkei Avot" Torah?
Question
Why does the fact that Jewish sages said, “A shy person cannot learn, and an impatient person cannot teach,” “Say little and do much,” “The day is short and the work is great,” make it Torah any more than if Socrates had said it?
Answer
Actually, it doesn’t seem to me to be Torah any more than Socrates. Who says it doesn’t matter.
Discussion on Answer
Indeed. The Written Torah and the books of prophecy and the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) have holiness of wording, not holiness of content. Their content can be wisdom like in any other book. I’ve already written here more than once that I don’t see much point in studying them from the standpoint of the insights one gains. There is probably some intrinsic value of Torah study in this, but in my view it is preferable to study things that also teach you something.
As I understand it, divine inspiration is a certain kind of connection to the Holy One Blessed be He (a lower level of prophecy).
And you have no literary interest in these books?
In your view there’s no reason to go through them once and know what people are talking about regarding Elijah, David, Jeremiah, and others?
It seems to me that the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) is the website of the Master of the Universe, where in His columns He expresses an opinion on various subjects that interested Him.
If on my site everyone read only what they already knew beforehand, and if it didn’t fit they would interpret it so that it did fit, then in my opinion there would be nothing of interest in it.
And what about Proverbs?
Are Solomon’s wisdom sayings more Torah than the maxims of Socrates?
“Stolen waters are sweet.”
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”
“The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are profuse.”
And if the difference is that Proverbs was written with divine inspiration, I’d be glad to know what divine inspiration is.