DEUT1535 Antigonos of Socho received the tradition from Simeon the Just. He used to say… Let the fear of Heaven be upon you. Pirkei Avot, Perek I, mishnah 3. Although up to this point we have emphasized the desirability of serving God out of sheer disinterested love, this in itself is not sufficient. Man cannot overcome temptation with love alone. He must also experience fear of the Lord, which is an admixture of awe and reverence. "Love" can supply the motive power for positive acts of service. But only "fear" can restrain man from violating the prohibitions. Another way of interpreting this last assertion of Antigonos is not that you should cultivate fear of the Lord, but rather that your presence will evoke a fear of the Lord in those about you – – as we read, "And all the nations of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, they shall be afraid of you" [this verse]. Our mishnah indicates, then, the only when we serve God in love, and truly dedicate ourselves as Jews to the observance and fulfillment of Torah, can we hope to gain the regard and understanding of our neighbors. When the non-Jew sees a Jewish community separate and apart, but with no real loyalty to Torah, belief in God or dedication to tradition, he is bewildered. But when others can see the Jew "called by the name of the Lord," and perceive a dedication to values of the spirit, then will come understanding for the God of Israel. (Then we may interpret the last part of the verse: and they shall revere [the Almighty] because of you.)

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUT1683 Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas said: … children's talk … removes a man from the world. Pirkei Avot, Perek III, mishnah 14. There is always a wide gulf between the generations. The older father or grandfather represents an age gone by; no one is interested any longer in the way things were done in his time. He is invariably, inevitably "old-fashioned." What, indeed, can he have in common with the younger generation? As a rule, very little, unless, wishing to be "modern" at all costs, he learns to manage "children's talk": he comes to discuss baseball standings, the latest movies, etc. No member of our people, however, need be reduced to such a state. If he gives his children a traditional Jewish education, and they in turn transmit it to their children, he can always talk with the young ones about something ever fresh and timely in Bible or Talmud. Grandchildren and grandparents then have Torah and Jewish life in common. "Ask your father, and he will inform you; your grandfathers, and they will tell you" [this verse]. Indeed, this sharing of values and ideas truly reinstates grandfather, not as the tolerated "old man," but as the revered and respected head of the family, the fountainhead and source of tradition.

SHOW FULL EXCERPT

DEUT1717 See [[NUM172]] Numbers 15:38 fringes SINAI1 194

SHOW FULL EXCERPT