Pirkei Avot

In Jewish Studies we were tasked with connecting paragraphs from Pirkie Avot to songs, this is what I did.

Verse 6 talks about karma and how what you do always has a way of coming back to you. In this verse it states, “Because you drowned others, you were drowned; and those who drowned you, will themselves be drowned”(Avot 2:6). This means because you drowned someone, the same thing will happen to you. You will always face the consequences of your actions. I think you to be held accountable for your actions because if you don’t who to say you won’t repeat your actions? If no one holds you accountable the first time you will think it’s okay what you are doing even if it’s not. When you do something and are held accountable for what you did it will serve you as a warning not to do it again. For this verse, I chose Karma by Alicia Keys. This song states, “What goes up must come down” This means that you must be held accountable for it. When it goes up what you do must come down means, you face the consequences of your actions.

 

Verse 12 talks about treating someone else’s property as your own. In this verse it states, “Let the property of your fellow be as precious unto you as your own”(Avot 2:12). This means that you should treat other’s property like your own. For example, if you see someone’s book on fire you should try your best to save it as you would probably want the same done to you. I think it is important to treat someone’s property as your own because it follows the rule of karma, if you treat someone’s property nicely the same will happen to you as what goes around always comes around. I chose the song A Random Act of Senseless Kindness by South Sixty Five via South Sixty Five. in this song they say 

“With a random act of senseless kindness

Unexpected hand to help remind us

A little bit of love is the cure for hate

It’s easy to give up but it’s never too late

A single step in the right direction

Person to the person making a connection”

This mean that if you make a random act of kindness it could mean the world to someone. If you care for the world and do random acts of kindness you will make the world a better place. If you do a random act of kindness so someone will do the same thing right back to you.

 

Verse 3 talks about being careful with who your friends with. In verse 3 it states “They appear to be friends when it is beneficial to them, but they do not stand by a person at the time of his distress.”(Avot:2:2) This means that you should be friends with someone regardless of if it is beneficial to you or not. You should be friends with someone all the time not only when you need or vice versa. For this verse, I chose the song Fake Love by Drake. in this song it says “I got fake people showin’ fake love to me Straight up to my face, straight up to my face”. This means that his “friends” are being friends with him for their personal gain. They are pretending to be friends with him when its beneficial to them but not being friends when its not. It is important that you are friends with a person all the time not only at times of distress.

Verse 15 talks about procrastination and how you should use all the time you have on this earth to learn. In verse 15 it states “The day is short, the work is much, the workers are lazy, the reward is great, and the Master is pressing.”(Avot 2:15) this means that you should not procrastinate as there is a lot to learn. The more you procrastinate the more work you will have to cram in at the last hour. I think it is important to do your work in a timely fashion because then you are not stressed. This verse also says that the work is very rewarding. It is important you finish doing what you need to do faster so you have more time to enjoy your reward. For this verse, I chose the song Procrastination by Amy Wine house. In this song, it says “Need to get my thoughts down but it’s getting late”. In this song, Amy Winehouse implies that she needs to get something done but can’t because its getting late. This is a great example of procrastination, she wants to get something done but keeps finding excuses on why not. When you hold something off you will keep and keep making up excuses on why you should never do them. For example, if I need to clean my room but don’t want to I would say I couldnt because I needed to do my work and when my work was done I’d say I needed to go to bed and it continues. It is important to get your things done so you can enjoy the reward.