Podcast Episodes

Antidotes to Anarchy (3:2)

What would happen without a police force to maintain law and order? Is there any other way to prevent society from crumbling without police power? Th…

7 years, 6 months ago

Avoiding Sin: The Authoritative Guide (3:1)

It is not often that our Sages offer us any kind of fail-safe formula. In the first mishna of the third chapter, Akaviah Ben Mehalalel provides for u…

7 years, 6 months ago

Do Your Job (2:20-21)

There are many excuses to shirk our spiritual responsibilities. In the final two mishnayos of Chapter 2, Rabbi Tarfon rebuts them one by one.

– – – –…

7 years, 6 months ago

Answering the Heretics (2:19)

Rabbi Elazar Ben Arach was the prized student of Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai, but he chose to chart his own path in life and not to join the rest of h…

7 years, 6 months ago

Relationship or Ritual? (2:18)

What is the optimal relationship between man and God? How is man supposed to view himself?  These questions and several others are addressed in Chapt…

7 years, 6 months ago

The Ultimate Meritocracy (2:17)

In a short, succinct Mishna, Rabbi Yose shares timeless lessons regarding the proper way to treat other people’s money, how Torah greatness is a meri…

7 years, 7 months ago

Choose Your World (2:16)

This mishna marks the first of three times in Pirkei Avos where the phrase “is removed from the world” is assigned to people who exhibit certain atti…

7 years, 8 months ago

Tempering Temper (2:15)

In this Mishna, one of the most fascinating characters of the Mishnaic era teaches eternal lessons on how to deploy anger properly and how to ensure …

7 years, 8 months ago

Finding Your Magic Bullet (2:13-14)

Two thousand years ago the great Sage Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai instructed his five prime disciples to undertake a unique mission. This mission and …

7 years, 9 months ago

Spiritual Natural Law (2:9-2:12)

Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai was the pivotal leader of the nation at a most vulnerable juncture of our history. His life story and his timeless lessons…

7 years, 9 months ago