Avoth (otherwise known as Pirkey Avoth or "The Ethics of the Fathers") is the one Talmudic tract that explores the very roots of Judaism. As in the case of most Talmudic tracts, every word here is charged with meaning, and innumerable scholars have struggles to understand the full meaning of the text. It is therefore not surprising that over 200 commentaries have been written on Avoth. Of all the many commentaries written on Avoth, perhaps the clearest is that written some two hundred years ago by Rabbi Yitzchak Magriso as part of the famed Mean Lo'ez series. Rather than burden the reader with many obscure and often contradictory explanations, the author immediately ferrets out the root meaning of the text, and presents it in a clear, unambiguous language. Stories, parables and ethical discussions round out this text and produce a clear and highly readable book.
by R. Yitzchak (ben Moshe) Magriso
Translated by R. Aryeh Kaplan