Jewish Ethical Literature

 

Jewish ethical literature begins with the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes in the Bible, each of which presents a vision for what constitutes a good and God-fearing life. As such, these books set the tone for later Jewish ethical literature, which presents itself as somewhere in between advice and law. In rabbinic times, works like Pirkei Avot (“The Chapters of the Fathers,” but often translated as “The Ethics of the Fathers”) and its companion work and commentary, Avot d’Rabbi Natan (“'The Fathers' According to Rabbi Nathan”) present an ethical vision that is something like classical stoic ethics.

 

In the middle ages, ethical literature drew its examples and particulars from models of rabbinic behavior as described in the Talmud. Some of the classical works of Jewish ethics were compendia on a variety of topics of ethical behavior; other works were more detailed analyses of one particular ethical topic, like repentance or pure speech. Other literary genres that were used to impart ethical teaching were ethical wills and letters, commentaries on Proverbs or Pirkei Avot, stories and fables, and lists of sayings. In modern times, Jewish ethicists have drawn liberally on many of these earlier sources, although commentaries on Pirkei Avot may be the most popular.

 

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