Excerpt Browser

This page displays the full text of excerpts.  When viewing a single excerpt, its “Share,” “Switch Article,” and “Comment” functions are accessible.

167

DEUTERONOMY | 33:10 teach — DEUT1722 "Thou shalt teach Jacob thy ordinances a...

DEUT1722 "Thou shalt teach Jacob thy ordinances and Israel thy law" [this verse]. Modern society worships success. Education is the key to success in business and the professions. An education which is geared to the promotion of proficiency in one's career must of necessity stress technological and scientific competence. Philosophy and ethics are of little consequence within this framework. Regretfully, technology does not enhance a student's moral stance, and postgraduate degrees do not attest to perfection of character. Fortunately, man's ethical heritage derives from various sources, independent of formal education. Many professionals find an opportunity to project their humane impulses in their chosen field of endeavor. The dedicated social worker, the medical practitioner in the inner city, the lawyer who defends the poor, the teacher who remains after school hours to tutor students in need of help, and countless others in different fields, find self-fulfillment in acting out their moral perceptions. Judaism has advocated the pursuit of education as a worthy goal in its own right, not for the material gain which it may produce. The rabbinic slogan which reflects this attitude was coined by Rabbi Zadok (1st cent.): "Make not the Torah a crown with which to aggrandize thyself, nor a spade with which to dig" (Avot 4:7). The rabbis and teachers of antiquity were unsalaried people who made their living by hard labor. Despite their lack of economic success, they received the highest degree of respect, admiration, and veneration. Traditional Jewish society equated education with the study of Torah, a compendium of ritual laws, civil laws, and ethical precepts. Experts and laymen alike were required to have a knowledge of this code. It was mandatory for every individual to set aside periods for study. The basic rule of national conduct with regard to education was formulated in the command to Joshua: "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein" (Joshua 1:8). The purpose of education, spelled out in this command, is to teach the rules which one must translate into daily conduct.

Share

Print
Source KeyBLOCH
Verse33:10
Keyword(s)teach
Source Page(s)99-100
Back To Top