Learning Pirkei Avot

It's time for me to commit to learning. That may sound odd coming from a teacher; however, I am a teacher who learns what I need to teach but who has lapsed in learning for myself.

For a long time I have felt a stronger than ever connection to my Judaism and spirituality but it's never manifested into anything consistent and tangible, eventhough it's been in my conscience for some time . I will buy books, read a chapter here or there, blog about it and then nothing.

I've been chatting with "Shoppa" on instant message lately because she is marrying my long time blogger friend "Karl". We were talking about learning together and have chosen to try to learn Pirkei Avot together, via the phone weekly. Because my background in studying religious topics is unlike hers, I let her help me choose what to learn. I knew I wanted to study something practical that I could take with me daily. I didn't really want to study Torah per se, but rather the qualities that make a person a good person. To be honest, I got this idea because TG is studying Mussar now. He loves it and from talking with him it seems to really help him be grounded.

You know someone is important in your life when their actions and doings motivate you to "do" in your own life, and so, Shopa and I will purchase the same book to read from and then we will discuss it weekly. I think this will be interesting, informative and hopefully introspective. I've never done ANY real studies religiously, with the exception of Hebrew school. I also think that having an informal yet structured (set time and reading goals) study partner will really work with me. I'm sure I'll keep you all updated once we get the ball rolling. Who knows, maybe there are other readers who would like to try this out.