Today we have reached the final item in our Mishnah. We have taken 48 days to list the 48 items listen in Pirkei Avot 6:6. Today's final value in many ways revisits, highlights, and encapsulates the themes that have been mentioned and reinforced throughout this project. Here are some that come to mind:
- We are all students and we are all teachers - Show deference and appreciation to your teachers, and fill your students with their wisdom.
- Have humility - Acquiring and transiting Torah is not actually about us. It is about building community, upholding a Tradition, and contributing to a timeless discussion. The second we make it about us, we lose our ability to be productive students and effective teachers.
- Be original - We should quote and cite our teachers, and we should also feel invited to add our own insight to the pool of wisdom.
- Show deference to tradition - We are part of something much bigger. We have inherited something beautiful, but it is not something that passively transfers to us. It is something we must work towards and earn.
Pirkei Avot counsels us, "Know from where you came, and where you are going" (Pirkei Avot 3:1). I think that this message captures not only the essence of today, but of our whole journey. Acquiring Torah is ongoing. It is a way of being in this world. We come from a long line of thinkers and dreamers, and we shoulder all of their immense contributions and collective wisdom. We are also the progenitors of all who come after us, shaping, inspiring, and guiding them. We come from Torah, and we are in constant motion towards Torah.
Reflection:
Our Mishnah finishes with the following postscript: "Everyone who says a thing in the name of the one who said it brings geulah (deliverance/redemption) into the world" (Pirkei Avot 6:6).
What does redemption mean to you? How would saying things in the name of those who said them help us get there?
Lived practice:
Learn Torah this Shavuot!
This could mean reading an article or a book, talking with a friend about faith and identity, studying traditional texts, and much more! Torah is a way of being in this world, so use this holiday of זמן מתן תורתינו ('the time of the giving of our Torah') to demonstrate your commitment to learning and living these traits of Torah that we have explored together.
