“Ethics of the Fathers,” called, in Hebrew, Pirkei Avot and more properly translated as “Chapters of the Fathers,” is known as “Ethics of the Fathers” because of its content – a collection of laws, aphorisms, and guides to ethical behavior – wisdom literature that is over 2000 years old. It asks and tries to explain what makes a good person and how to get along with family members, teachers, and the neighbors. Pirkei Avot is concerned with down-to-earth, hands-on, practical living – like an early self-help book.
The emphasis is on doing, embodying the religious life even in everyday actions. This accessibility makes it very popular, so it is included in many prayer books. Some famous teaching examples are:
Bibliography
Shapiro, R. R. (2006). Ethics of the Sages Pirke Avot annotated and explained. Woodstock: Skylight Paths.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Somerstein, L. (2020). Ethics of the Fathers. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_217
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24348-7_217
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-24347-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-24348-7
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences