Matir Asurim

Happy Father's Day!!!! This morning my darling husband and I were reflecting on the miracle of life, and he was quoting somebody or ot...

The liturgical song "Al Shlosha Dvarim" is drawn from Chapter 1 : The world stands on three things: Torah, the service of G-d , ...

More on my political inclinations from Chapter 1 : Shmaayah would say: Love work, loath mastery over others, and avoid intimacy with the ...

We are in an election year, so a bit of my political inclination is in Chapter 2 : Be careful with the government, for they befriend a per...

I'm tired.  Here is something short and sweet from Chapter 1 : One who does not increase, diminishes. Is this why I'm pushing, p...

In Chapter 3 , we read, One whose deeds exceed his wisdom, his wisdom endures. But one whose wisdom exceeds his deeds, his wisdom does not...

In Chapter 5 , we read, There are four types of contributors to charity. One who wants to give but does not want others to give--is begru...

So on a happier note, we have the last line of Chapter 6 : Everything that G-d created in His world, He did not create but for His glory. ...

Oops, I missed yesterday, so I will need to do 2 of these today. First, to continue with the theme of Friday's post, also from Chapter...

In Chapter 1 , we read, Joshua the son of Perachia would say: Assume for yourself a master, acquire for yourself a friend, and judge ever...

A short line from Chapter 4 that speaks for itself: איזהו גבור? הכובש את יצרו. Who is a hero? One who overpowers his inclinations.

In chapter 4 , we learn: Rabbi Levitas of Yavneh would say: Be very, very humble, for the hope of mortal man is worms. This is what happ...

One of my favorites, from Chapter 2 : In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man. Yesterday's verse instructed us on seek...

Today we look to chapter 4 : Be a tail to lions, rather than a head to foxes. In other words, better to be the last to follow the exampl...

A few lines after yesterday's entry , I found the following little phrase, which in Aramaic I had glossed right over: לפום צערא אגרא ...

Thinking about fear led me to chapter 5 : Judah the son of Teima would say: Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, fleeting as a deer a...

Yesterday I dedicated my Pirkei Avot entry to Andrey. This morning I found out that he did choose to be adopted!  From chapter 3 : All ...

Yesterday Adeye put out a prayer request for Andrey, a 16 year old boy who must make a crucial choice: to agree to be adopted and take on a...

See Day 1 here . In Chapter 1 of Pirkei Avot , we read Rabbi Hillel 's famous quote: If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I...

Susanna Musser's recent post Driven inspired quite a discussion in the comments about how we prioritize needs.  Do we save the child wit...