Pirkei Avot Quotes

“The trouble with people is that they want to change overnight and have a good night’s sleep that night, too.”
― Shmuly Yanklowitz, Pirkei Avot: A Social Justice Commentary

“The choices one makes—positive over negative, deliberation over haste—have consequential implications for one’s character. Ultimately, whether we achieve spiritual heights in this world (and the next) rests upon each choice that we nominate to actualize. Living creatures have been given the blessing of free will; but if we don’t exercise it, it will atrophy.”
― Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, Pirkei Avot: A Social Justice Commentary

“Our existential quest, then, is to transcend the distractions of meaningless digital ephemera that have become our companions and to regain the virtues of true friendship.”
― Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, Pirkei Avot: A Social Justice Commentary

“Truth is not always identical to justice, and it is often incompatible with peace. Think of the daily white lies and unspoken criticism which protect peace in the family or the workplace. The ideal society will reconcile all three principles. For the sake of peace one may yield some aspect of justice or, for the sake of justice one may override some aspect of peace.”
― Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, Pirkei Avot: A Social Justice Commentary

“Imagine if someone came to you and offered to give you $86,400 every day for the rest of your life. The only condition is that you had to spend every penny each day and that you wouldn’t be able to save a dime. This is what God has given us: 86,400 seconds each day, not one of which can be recovered. Each moment counts.”
― Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, Pirkei Avot: A Social Justice Commentary

“Serving God requires rejecting idolatry, embracing a Torah of ethical conviction requires rejecting harmful sexual relationships, and embracing the mandate to act kindly requires one to reject all forms of oppression.”
― Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, Pirkei Avot: A Social Justice Commentary

“my life question should not be “What do I want to receive?” but “Who do I want to be?” I realized that what mattered more than acquisition was character development.”
― Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, Pirkei Avot: A Social Justice Commentary