Every Shabbos between Pesach and Shavuos, we learn the Pirkei Avos, which contains pithy wisdom from the great Jewish sages. Many have the custom of learning this book all summer until Rosh Hashana, and the practice is worthwhile. Since days grow longer in the summer, there is more time for learning, and since the sages have said that the summer time brings with it all kinds of temptations (i.e. what we see at the beach and the park, and don’t want our kids to see!), this book is very useful to learn since it gives over moral principles in a succinct way that is easy to understand. Pirkei Avos can be found in many prayer books in English translation. Read the first few mishnayos or verses (I tell my husband “I’m learning mishna too!) and you will be inspired by the wisdom expressed in short sentences. I feel like I am sitting there with a teacher when I learn Pirkei Avos, and these are the greatest rabbis and teachers who ever lived.
I go to a Pirkei Avos class every Shabbos afternoon. Women of all ages attend this class, and many others bring their babies and small children, too. The atmosphere can be lively, and it is beautiful to see young children drinking in words of Torah that even they can understand. Just last week, my friends was reciting a verse that was familiar to her four-year-old daughter “If not now, when?” The beauty of Pirkei Avos is that it is so accessible, so elegant, and still, there is a lot to “chew over” as great minds point out that these verses have a deeper meaning. This book is truly a great leveler among the Jewish People, since it is learned every week during this time by schoolchildren and Chief Rabbis alike, and everyone has his or her personal relationship with the book.