Consistent with the format and sensibility of the Lev Shalem series, this rendition of Pirkei Avot features the text and translation surrounded by the words of two superb commentators, Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum of Jerusalem and Rabbi Gordon Tucker of White Plains, New York. Each is deeply learned, and their unique perspectives reflect the breadth and depth of Conservative / Masorti Judaism.

Senior Editor Rabbi Martin Cohen guided the project at every turn, and also wrote the preface, the commentary on the 6th chapter, and the English translation of the oldest extant text of Pirkei Avot. In his own words, the unique commentaries offered in this volume represent “serious efforts to show how ancient works can become lenses through which moderns can see both the future and the past.”