Lifelong Torah Learning

m. Avot 5:21

70–220

[Judah ben Tema] used to say:

At five years of age the study of Scripture;
At ten the study of Mishnah;
At thirteen subject to the commandments;
At fifteen the study of Talmud;
At eighteen the bridal canopy;
At twenty for pursuit [of livelihood];
At thirty the peak of strength;
At forty wisdom;
At fifty able to give counsel;
At sixty old age;
At seventy fullness of years;
At eighty the age of “strength”;
At ninety a bent body;
At one hundred, as good as dead and gone completely out of the world.

Translated by Joshua Kulp.

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m. Avot 5:21, from Mishnah Yomit, trans. Joshua Kulp, www.sefaria.org. Originally from https://learn.conservativeyeshiva.org. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) License.

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About Lifelong Torah Learning

In what may be a late addition to the tractate Mishnah Avot (often called Pirkei Avot, lit., “chapters of the fathers”), this passage highlights the centrality of Torah study by linking different stages of life to different kinds of learning: scripture at five, Mishnah at ten, Talmud at fifteen, and so on. This framework turns study into a lifelong vocation, where maturity is measured not only in years but in the texts one studies. For the rabbis, Torah knowledge was not just preparation for life but the essence of it. The Mishnah here illustrates that rabbinic ideal: that Torah learning shapes consciousness and identity and guides practice throughout a person’s life.

Discussion Questions

Why might the rabbis tie each stage of life to a stage of study? Why does scripture precede Mishnah, which precedes Talmud?
How does this vision of learning compare to education today?
Who would be excluded from this age-based educational vision? How might economic realities challenge this idealized framework?

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Lifelong Torah Learning

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