We were told to create a playlist based off of verses that are included in the Pirkei Avot Chapter 2.  I have chosen five verses (verses 3, 4, 6, 8, 11) and linked each to a song that relates to what the verse means and lessons you could learn from it.

Now let’s get into, here is my Pirkei Avot Chapter 2 playlist.

Verse 3:

“Be careful [in your dealings] with the ruling authorities for they do not befriend a person except for their own needs; they seem like friends when it is to their own interest, but they do not stand by a man in the hour of his distress.”

Be careful with the government, for he is only your friend to benefit himself.

You can learn that some people are not your true friends. Some people are only your friend because it benefits them in some way. These can connect because the song is talking about fake friends. The verse talks about not trusting the government, and the song is talking about her (Bebe Rexha) not trusting her “friends”. They both talk about how your friends can be fake, that’s how they connect.

FFF (Bebe Rexha)

“Friends come and go, friends come and go

Go like the seasons

I never know, I never know what to believe in

And it’s getting old, it’s getting old

But no hard feelings” (Rexha).

This verse talks about how friends come and go, and how they are fake friends. She talks about how she is tired of fake friends, “it’s getting old. These can connect because it talks about how the government is only your friend because of his needs, this is considered a fake friend, and this song is all about fake friends.

Verse 4:

“He used to say: do His will as though it were your will, so that He will do your will as though it were His. Set aside your will in the face of His will, so that he may set aside the will of others for the sake of your will.
Hillel said: do not separate yourself from the community, Do not trust in yourself until the day of your death, Do not judge not your fellow man until you have reached his place. Do not say something that cannot be understood [trusting] that in the end it will be understood. Say not: ‘when I shall have leisure I shall study;’ perhaps you will not have leisure.”

Do someone’s will as if it was your own, so then when they do your will, they will do it well.

Treat others how you want to be treated. The verse talks about how if you do someone’s will as if it were yours, they will do theirs as if it were yours. That means you care about someone else’s will, you care about others. This is considered a kind act, and the song I chose is all about kindness. They both talk about kindness and caring for others. That’s whats important.

Treat people with kindness (Harry Styles)

“Maybe we can

Find a place to feel good

And we can treat people with kindness

Find a place to feel good” (Styles).

This verse talks about how if you treat people with kindness, and treat people how you want to be treated. Then we will “find a place to feel good” ,  if we are kind, we will all feel good.

Verse 6:

“Moreover he saw a skull floating on the face of the water. He said to it: because you drowned others, they drowned you. And in the end, they that drowned you will be drowned.”

Do not do bad things to people because then bad things will happen to you (Karma).

If you do bad things to people, bad things will happen to you, that’s why you should always do good. I can connect to a song that talks about karma. Instant Karma by John Lennon talks all about karma. Karma is when you do something bad (or sometimes good) then it will happen back to you. The verse says if you do something bad, then it will happen back to you, and it says the same message in the song.

Instant karma (John Lennon)

“Instant Karma’s going to get you.

Going to knock you right on the head. 

You better get yourself together

Pretty soon you’re going to be dead” (Lennon).

This verse talks about how karma is gonna get you and hurt you.  The verse talks about if you do something wrong or bad, then it will happen back to you. It says the same thing in the song, how if you do something bad, karma’s gonna get you.

Verse 8:

The verse means if you learn something, do not take credit for it, because you were built to do it.

You can learn from this verse that if you do something great, or learn something amazing, you shouldn’t be too excited, because God has built you to do all of these things. You can learn that doing amazing things shouldn’t be exciting, it should be normal on a daily basis.

God wanted you to do all of these things. That is why he had built you. So do good things not for attention, because it is normal for you.

Oh Lord it’s hard to be humble (Mac Davis)

“Oh lord it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way” (Davis).

These two can connect by being total opposites. This quote talks about being humble, and this song is ANYTHING but humble. I like to think that this is an example of what this quote DOESN’T mean. This quote says do not make a big deal out of something that you did or what you are, and this song only talks about how “amazing” this guy is.

Verse 11:

“Rabbi Joshua said: an evil eye, the evil inclination, and hatred for humankind put a person out of the world.”

The verse mentions the evil eye. One with the evil eye is someone who only sees what other people have. The evil eye is the eye of someone who has jealousy.

You can learn from this verse that jealousy is bad. Jealousy isn’t everything. If someone only looks at what other people have and not what they have, then they are jealous. One  who is jealous, has the evil eye. Evil eye, the eye of jealousy. You can learn from this that you shouldn’t be jealous all the time. You should take the time to look at what you have and be grateful for it.

Jealousy Jealousy  (Olivia Rodrigo)

“Jealousy Jealousy, started following me” (Rodrigo).

These can connect because they both talk about jealousy. The verse talks about how the evil eye is the eye of jealousy, and this song talks about how she is always jealous of others. This quote talks about how she is always so jealous, that that jealousy started following her around. That wherever she goes, she is always jealous of something that others have and she does not. Olivia Rodrigo talks about how she is always jealous, so according to the verse, she has the “evil eye”.

That’s all for my playlist! Bye