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Pirkei Avos, 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 Avos 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.

In Chapter 1, Part 7, Nittai of Arbel, an earlier Jewish sage, said, "You should distance yourself from a bad neighbor, do not befriend a wicked person, and do not despair of punishment." Now what does this mean? How is this part of the Torah, the "oral law" interpreted?

The theme of this section of the mishna (oral law) is to beware of close association with wicked people, those who may have a bad influence on us or our families. In terms of neighbors, it's possible to choose a community in which to settle. We are thus told to distance ourselves from a bad neighbor. In terms of associations, it may be impossible to entirely avoid contact with wicked people, in business or on the street. Regarding this, the mishna recommends that we not befriend them, even if we do have to interact with them in some way (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch).

The final statement of the mishna - "do not despair of punishment" - following this theme, means we should not be fooled if the wicked seem to have all the money. Retribution will eventually come, if not in this world then in the next. Do not be lulled into a sense that there is something to gain by associating with the wicked.

Judaism has always been very strong on community. Throughout the Exile, Jews have generally formed their own neighborhoods, schools, judicial systems. "Ghetto" is possibly an overly negative term, and Pales and ghettos were usually imposed from without, but there's a great deal of truth to the idea that we have always made ourselves a nation apart. Even within Ancient Israel, the Levites, who were devoted exclusively to G-dly service, lived in their own cities. (See Numbers 35:1-8.) This stems from a recognition that no man is an island.

We are profoundly influenced by our neighbors and society, and should make every effort to live in a favorable environment. Neighbors set a tone in a community for better and for worse. There is a very strong drive to fit in, not to feel like an outcast or outsider in one's school, neighborhood, workplace. Maimonides goes so far as to state that if there is no proper society one can live in or move to, he should live the life of a hermit, disassociating himself from all external contact (Mishna Torah, Hilchos De'os 6:1).

This raises an interesting issue. Ultimately, the purpose of the Jewish nation is to be "a light unto the nations," to show the truth of G-d's existence and that the world has purpose and order, to show that our perfection and fulfillment lies in living a life of truth and ethics, thereby forging a relationship with G-d. At the same time, this mishna warns us to distance ourselves from the wicked. If so, we are disassociating ourselves from those who most need Judaism's enlightening effects! On a simple level, the answer to this is that we don't want to risk our own spirituality for the sake of others.

Ultimately, we have this grand and noble mission of bringing the world to truth, but of much more immediate concern is taking care of ourselves and our children. But in truth, the immediate and the ultimate are not in conflict. We really best fulfill our mission to the world in isolation. We show the world truth and beauty through illustration. By creating and living in utopian societies, mankind sees what human beings are capable of becoming. They may then come to recognize - and respond to - holiness in its true form.

If, on the other hand, we would go about missionizing (something Judaism has *never* been big on), telling people how to live, it's not likely we'd get very far. People are very hard to lecture to. Telling someone what he should do or what's wrong with him is possibly the best way of ensuring your advice will be ignored. Those of us who are parents know that our actions have a much more profound impact on our children than our words. Lecturing our children - even those young enough to be somewhat impressionable - goes only so far.

We may lecture them about discipline or maturity when we ourselves lose our temper, or about diligence when we can't get ourselves off the couch (unless we left the remote somewhere else). Unfortunately, they pick up a lot more from us than what we convey with our words. In honesty, almost our only hope of imparting anything of value to our children is by being role models of the people we'd like them to be.

Thus, our mission to the world is in fact to be a light unto the nations. It, however, is not best done through preaching or conversion, but through our own behavior and example setting. In this way, there is hope that humankind will see beauty and G-dliness in this world, and will hearken to the call, "And you shall know this day and take to your hearts that G-d is the Lord in the heavens above and on earth below, there is no other" (Deutoronomy 4:39).