September 16th, 2026, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Pirkei Avot is the most well known and most studied portion of the Jewish Mishnah. It contains many of the fundamental Jewish ethical and moral principles. In this class Joe Rosenstein will discuss the themes that arise frequently in Pirkei Avot, themes that are often overlooked when the mishnayot (paragraphs) of Pirkei Avot are studied one at a time in order. He will then turn to what Pirkei Avot has to say about two timely topics, the turning that takes place before Yom Kippur … and the world that appears to be overturned. The material comes from his recently published book, Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers): The Big Picture.
Joe Rosenstein is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Rutgers University, from which he retired in 2017 after teaching for 48 years . His focus for the last 30 of those years was on improving K-12 mathematics education in New Jersey and nationally. He was a founder of the Highland Park (NJ) Minyan over 50 years ago and a founder (almost 40 years ago) and chair of both the National Havurah Committee and its summer Institute. He has published two prayer books – Siddur Eit Ratzon (2006) and Machzor Eit Ratzon (2011) – and three books of Jewish religious commentary – Memorable Verses in the Torah (2018), Reflections on Pirkei Avot: Not Just What My Rebbe Taught Me (2022), and Pirkei Avot: The Big Picture (2026). He and his wife Judy have five daughters, five sons-in-law, and 12 grandchildren, one of whom had a baby in May. His books are available at local and online bookstores and on his website joerosenstein.com
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