Ponderings of the Perkei Avot Chapter 5:23-24

RaYBaSH’s Ponderings of the Perkei Avot

Chapter 5:23-24

By Yehudah ben Shomeyr

“Judah the son of Teima would say: Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, fleeting as a deer and mighty as a lion to do the will of your Father in Heaven. He would also say: The brazen--to purgatory; the bashful--to paradise. May it be Your will, Lord our God and God of our fathers, that the Holy Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days; and grant us our portion in Your Torah.”

Judah here is advising us to take on animal traits and apply them to our spiritual life. Be bold as a leopard in your Torah Observance and Devotion to ADONAI, Be light as an a Eagle who can ride the wind with our fear in the midst of the storm, It’s okay too, and know when to retreat like a fleet footed deer, and perform each mitzvah with the strength of a lion.

Most of the time when the word brazen in mentioned in usually means cocky, arrogant, prideful and or unashamed at sinfulness. Is it any wonder the sacrificial Altar at the Temple and Tabernacle was called the Brazen (Brass) Altar? We are to be bashful when it comes to outright sin so we may keep far from it. These things will help hasten the coming of Moshiach and the rebuilding of the Temple.

Shalom,

-- Yehudah ben Shomeyr