Collection Poster-Ben-Zoma, Pirke Avot 4:1-Alan Peckolick

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Who is wise? One who learns from all people. Who is honored? One who honors everyone.

Ben-Zoma, Pirke Avot 4:1

2nd century CE

Lived in Palestine

Scholar of Mishnah period

Thinker Tabs

Commentary

by Irving Greenberg

• • •

Who is wise? One who learns from all people.

Is the supply of knowledge limited? If so, to be wise would be to master a body of information.

Judaism teaches that life is dynamic and growing. The world is infinite, evolving, as yet unfinished. Therefore, what we know today is but a fraction of what there is to know. Whatever wisdom we accrue can guide us—but cannot account for all that is new and emerging. What is wise in one situation may be foolish in another. To attain wisdom, then, is to know our limits.

Wisdom is a process, not an answer. The wise man knows how much he does not know, so he constantly seeks to learn new things. The wise woman has developed understanding by listening to and learning from others.

Who is honored? One who honors others.

The direct pursuit of honor cannot produce successful results. In grasping for honor, in trying to impress others of how worthy we are, we are tempted to do the dishonorable. We exaggerate our own importance and minimize that of others, thereby diminishing ourselves.

Like happiness, honor is often the outcome of a process that involves others. Bringing goodness into the world, working constructively, or loving in a meaningful relationship are all keys to both happiness and honor. The best way to obtain happiness or honor is to give it to others.

About

Simon Ben-Zoma (Simon, son of Zoma) was a Tanna, a scholar whose opinions are recorded in the first compiled work of the Oral Tradition—the Mishnah. Ben-Zoma was not officially a rabbi but was a distinguished student of Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah.

The portrait of Ben-Zoma that we gain through his teachings in the Mishnah is of a man with a philosophical bent (he often “pondered Creation”) and a profound gratitude for the simple gifts of life.

Ben-Zoma is a central figure in two well-known literary dramas. One is recorded in the Passover Haggadah, right before the passage about the Four Children. In this story four rabbis are attending a Seder in B’nei B’rak, and their students interrupt to announce that it is time for morning prayers (possibly a coded warning that Roman guards were approaching). Reflecting on how long the Seder has continued, one of the rabbis cites an interpretation of Ben-Zoma that we are instructed to recount the story of the Exodus all through the night.

The second is a Talmudic parable that describes four great scholars who entered the “orchard”—that is, the realm of esoteric learning. A different outcome awaits each: Ben Azzai died, Ben-Zoma went mad, Elisha Ben Abuya abandoned his faith, and Akiba entered in peace and departed in peace.

Guide

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

These famous teachings of the second-century sage Ben-Zoma emphasize the mutuality in human relationships. The commentary suggests that, according to Ben-Zoma, both wisdom and honor can be attained only when we involve others—learning from them or honoring them.

What other answers could you compose to Ben-Zoma’s questions, “who is wise?” and “who is honored?” How do Ben-Zoma’s answers differ from yours?

Why might Ben-Zoma emphasize that the wise person must learn “from all people”? Why not just from other wise people?

Similarly, Ben-Zoma teaches that to be honored, you must honor everyone. Why doesn’t it suffice to honor those who deserve it?

Can you share a personal experience with one of these teachings?

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

Each image calls out to us to examine it, to note our thoughts and feelings, and relate these impressions to the quotation. Often clues in the artwork suggest meaning and invite interpretation.

Alan Peckolick’s work uses a simple design, minimal images, and a variety of fonts and colors to depict Ben-Zoma’s teachings.

How does the image present the quotation? Was this how you interpreted the quotation without the image?

How do fonts and colors play a role in depicting the quotation?

What is the significance of the two yads (Torah pointers)? Why are they pointing in opposite directions?

Please use this guide creatively in your programs. We’d also love to see what you’re doing and share it with others, so please post on our website using the Resource Share button.

Links

An introduction to Pirke Avot

Media

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin's favorite Mishna ("Who is wise?")

Slideshow accompanying Moroccan chanting (in Hebrew) of "Who is wise?" and the rest of the fourth chapter of Pirke Avot

Alan Peckolick

New York

Graphic designer

artist, photographer

Artist Tabs

About

Alan Peckolick is an internationally recognized graphic designer, artist and photographer.

He is known for the typographic forms he has created. His fascination for the graphic letter form underpins much of his work, as he draws much of his inspiration from historic signage and lettering from around the world. His projects have included logo design and corporate identity for such clients as Revlon, New York University and Baruch College. He has designed annual reports for such Fortune 500 companies as: AT&T, General Motors, BellSouth and Pfizer. Internationally, he has worked for Société Générale (France), Grupo Industrial Alfa (Mexico), Mercedes-Benz (Germany) and Sony (Japan).

Upon graduating from Pratt Institute in 1964, Peckolick went to work as the assistant to the renowned designer Herb Lubalin. In 1968 he opened his own design office. In 1972 he joined Lubalin, Smith, Carnase, which several years later was reorganized and renamed Lubalin Peckolick Associates.

Peckolick has earned over 500 design awards worldwide. His work has been featured in design journals and books. Since 1985 he has been included in every edition of Who's Who in America, and since 1990 in every edition of Who's Who in Graphic Design. In 2008, he was one of 10 designers included in China's first survey of international graphic design. His poster work is in the permanent collection of the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany. In addition to lecturing on graphic design in Hamburg, Stuttgart, Helsinki, Tokyo, London and Bergen, he regularly lectures at Parsons The New School for Design.

In 2002, Peckolick was invited to donate his archive to New York University's Fales Collection, housed in the Bobst Library. In 2005, he was the subject of a career retrospective at the university's Tracey/Barry Gallery, titled A Life in Type: The Graphic Design of Alan Peckolick.

Peckolick has been painting professionally since 1998. He is represented in London by the Cosa Gallery, in New York by the Atlantic Gallery and in Key West, Florida, by the Lucky Street Gallery. His paintings are in numerous private collections in the United States and Europe.

Peckolick is also the author of Herb Lubalin: Art Director, Graphic Designer and Typographer (American Showcase, 1985).

Peckolick’s other interests are evident in his service on boards such as the advisory board of the Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles, the Glaucoma Foundation and Save the Whales (Boston, Massachusetts). He is a member of Alliance Graphique Internationale, the Type Directors Club of New York and the Vintage Car Club of America. He is also an honorary member of the Art Directors Club of Bergen, Norway.

In 2010 he had design exhibits at Pratt Institute and NJ College of Art and was invited by the United Nations to design the poster for that year’s World Environment Day.

Links

More design by Alan Peckolick

Alan Peckolick's website

A Peckolick exhibition

Another Peckolick exhibition

A review in ArtSlant