Pirkei Avot 5:15; as qtd. in, "Struggling in Good Faith: LGBTQI Inclusion from 13 American Religious Perspectives", edited by Mychal Copeland, MTS, D’vorah Rose, BCC. (2015) p.94-95.
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Whenever love depends on some selfish end, when the end passes away, the love passes away; but if it does not depend on some selfish end, it will never pass away. Which love depended on a selfish end? This was the love of Amnon and Tamar. And which did not depend on a selfish end? This was the love of David and Jonathan.

— Pirkei Avot

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Whenever love depends on some selfish end, when the end passes away, the love passes away; but if it does not depend on some selfish end, it will never pass away. Which love depended on a selfish end? This was the love of Amnon and Tamar. And which did not depend on a selfish end? This was the love of David and Jonathan." in the context of "Pirkei Avot 5:15; as qtd. in, "Struggling in Good Faith: LGBTQI Inclusion from 13 American Religious Perspectives", edited by Mychal Copeland, MTS, D’vorah Rose, BCC. (2015) p.94-95." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "David" (Quotes about David) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
David

About David

King David (d. ca. 961 BC) was according to the Hebrew Bible, the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel.