Pirkei Avot serves as an excellent guidebook for this unique time of year, which is dedicated to self-scrutiny and self-examination. The Mishnah teaches us to look in every direction in order to draw the strength needed to make the required changes. On one hand, we must look backward. We must delve into the deep recesses of the past and discard the waste while collecting the nitzotzot (literally, sparks):
“Know from where you came.” (Avot 3:1)
But on the other hand, we must look forward and prepare for the future:
“And before Whom you are destined to give a judgment and a reckoning.” (Ibid)
Yet, that is not all. We must also look upward:
“Know what is above you,” (Avot 2:1)
And downward:
“And where you are going - to a place of dust, maggots and worms.” (Avot 3:1)
Interestingly, each direction has a deeper meaning. Although modern maps point north, ancient cartographers and explorers turned eastward – hence, the term “orient.” Indeed, in Biblical Hebrew, east is called “kedem” (literally, in front or in advance), and the Dead Sea is referred to as “yam hakadmoni” (Zechariah 14:8 – i.e. the “eastern sea”). Meanwhile, the Mediterranean is called “yam ha’acharon” (Ibid – literally, the “final sea”), because it is located behind (mei’achorei) one facing east. Similarly, southward is referred to as “teiman” (literally, Yemen), because it is located to the right. And the left? Even today, the Arabic name for Syria is “A-Sham” (literally, the left).
Moreover, the future is known as “acharit hayamim” (Devarim 4:30 - i.e. the end of days), while the past is called “yemei kedem” (literally, “primeval days” – i.e. antiquity). But wait! Should it not have been the opposite? After all, the future is before us, and the past is behind us! However, this is only correct in modern, Western terms. According to our traditional, Jewish approach, one must face the past and learn from it, and thus, the future is behind one’s back.
Moshe presents an educational problem to Bnei Yisrael:
“If your son asks you tomorrow, saying: What are the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances, which Hashem, our God, has commanded you?” (Devarim 6:20)
What will you say to him? My dear son, look to the future; work on yourself; consider how you will look tomorrow? No, just the opposite:
“You shall say to your son: We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt; and Hashem took us out of Egypt with a strong hand… in order to bring us, to give us the Land which He swore to our fathers.” (Devarim 6:21-23)
In other words, the past is what holds the secret of our spiritual existence and gives us the strength we need to confront the future.
And there is another lesson for us: The curriculum in Orot Israel College’s Land of Israel Studies Department includes a study of geography. When one knows how to examine the layers above and below the rocks and the trees, one discovers a wonderful inner world, imbued with a deep spiritual, Torah, and – in our example – even moral significance. All that remains is to invest some thought and reflection and to discover it.
May Hashem grant us a year of fruitful and productive learning which will uncover our world’s inner and spiritual layers. And as a result, may our students feel that they are not only ready to discover their own inner worlds but that they are also prepared to bequeath them to their students.
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