DEUT1598 (Continued from [[GEN132]] Genesis 1:28 blessed LEHRMAN 3) The purpose of this book is to show that, provided the effort is conscientious and unflagging, man can accomplish this perfection. No miracle, no sacrament, no vicarious saviour can achieve for him only what his own efforts in this direction can. It all depends on the manner of his translation of his affirmation into action, a power of which he usually is the master [this verse]. What singles out the Jewish way of life as unique is its sane, balanced approach and outlook on life. Both the Bible and the Talmud – – not to mention our medieval and modern writers and Judaism--lay greater stress on purity of motive and ethical conduct than upon ceremonial practice and ritual observance, essential as these are as aids to and reminders of the higher life upon which they flash a beacon of light.