DEUT534 In the verse that commands every parent to teach his or her child Judaism and the Torah [this verse], the Midrash states that from the moment a child can speak, the parent must teach the child Torah, and a parent must also teach the child to speak Hebrew. If a parent fails in either of these two obligations and the child does not learn either Torah or Hebrew, it is as if this parent has buried this child (since the next verse speaks about living in the land, and living [surviving] is conditional upon the child learning Hebrew and the Torah) (Midrash, Sifri, Eikev 10). This daunting statement is not merely an isolated Midrash. The most famous Torah commentator, Rashi, makes a similar pronouncement explaining the verse (Rashi commentary on this verse) and the Tosefta in the Talmud also echoes the same idea (Tosefta, Chagiga 1:3).