Pirkei Avot - Jewish Ethics

INTRODUCTION -
Pirkei Avot, literally Chapters of Our Fathers, is a section of the Mishna, one of the most fundamental works of the Jewish Oral Law. The Mishna was authored in the third century C.E., and discusses laws and customs of virtually all areas of Judaism, ranging from holidays, dietary laws, Temple service, marriage and divorce, and civil law. It records opinions of scholars from approximately the five centuries preceding the Mishna's writing. Pirkei Avot is the only section, or tractate, of the Mishna which is devoted exclusively to the ethical and moral statements of the Sages. For this reason, it is usually referred to in English as Ethics of Our Fathers.