DEUT142 See [[DEUT1641]] Deuteronomy 30:20 life AHAVCH 156

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DEUT143 See [[DEUT176]] Deuteronomy 5:16 well BLOCH 126

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DEUT144 It was taught: if a disciple is exiled, his teacher is exiled with him, it being written: "and he shall flee … and he shall live": Provide all that he needs for "living." R. Zeira said: From here it is derived that one should not teach a disciple who is not upright [the latter type furnishing the class of "unwitting slayers," whose teachers are constrained to be exiled along with them] (Makkoth 10a)

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DEUT145 It was taught: R. Yossi said: If one says: I have only Torah, he does not even have that, it being written: "and learn them … to do them": One who is included in "doing" is included in "learning"; one who is not included in "doing" is not included in "learning" (Yevamoth 109b)

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DEUT146 Though it was ruled that a father is obligated to teach his son Torah, still, if he did not teach him, he is obligated to teach himself, it being written: "and learn them" (Kiddushin 29a)

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DEUT147 Marriage provides the venue for having children but is also, in the Jewish view, the context in which children are educated. Parents have a duty to educate their children in Judaism, including its moral component. (Deuteronomy 6:7, 20-25, 11:19. This was already one of Abraham's duties (Genesis 18:19)). Parents may use schools to help them fulfill that duty, but they must periodically check to make sure that their children are in fact learning what they should, because ultimately the duty to educate children remains theirs. Moreover, much of the Jewish tradition can be taught only at home, for this is a tradition that is not restricted to the synagogue or school: It tends to influence virtually every detail of life.

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DEUT148 Our religious mode of life was the first to give humanity a God who, within Himself, incorporated all that was ideal and who demanded the same combination of virtues in those who followed Him. Those who spoke in the name of the Jewish God made it clear from the outset that to serve Him was not to indulge in theoretical discussions of ethical tracts but to translate His moral demands into a life of good deeds. Jewish authorities never compiled an "Index Expurgatorius", before the people. The only recorded instance in the Talmud of an attempt being made to exclude the Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes and Esther was triumphantly frustrated by an authority no less eminent than R. Akiva (See Meg. 7a). Man was to be judged by his actions, the only true criterion of Godliness. (See Leviticus xviii. 5; [this verse], Jer. vii. 3-7; Amos v. 14-15; Ps. xxxiv 12-15; xxxvii. 27; cf. Kiddushin 40b).

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DEUT149 [E]very Jew is responsible to know God's commands and to teach them to their children. (For the duty of Jewish adults to learn the Torah, see this verse. For the duty of parents to teach their children, see Deuteronomy 6:7, 11:19).

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DEUT150 See [[NUM152]] Numbers 15:2 speak OXFORD 13-4

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DEUT151 The Biblical verse, "I stood between God and you" (this verse) was interpreted by a hasidic master to mean that the "I," the ego, often stands between God and us, obstructing the divine – human relationship. (Quoted in Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim, Early Masters, p. 149). Indeed, many authors of Jewish ethical works considered the ego to be a potential obstacle, not only to one's relationship with God, but to any and all relationships. It is no wonder, therefore, that arrogance is considered a dangerous moral vice, obstructive in the formation of relationships, and replete with destructive potentialities. For example, in his talmudic commentary, Samuel Edels ("Maharsha") wrote that just as humility is the most exalted moral virtue, pride is the most dangerous moral vice. Commentary to Talmud, Sanhedrin 88b. The medieval Spanish scholar, Jonah Gorandi, describes human arrogance as the primary cause of most sins. Commentary on Ethics of the Fathers, 4;4, 60. Midrashic literature characterizes the flood generation, the Tower of Babel generation, and the inhabitants of the wicked city of Sodom as arrogant, linking their arrogance to their destruction. Seder Eliyahu Rabbah, chap. 29, p. 158. According to a midrashic source, unbridled pride is a threat to the very existence of the world. Ibid., chap. 16, p. 74. "Pride precedes destruction and a haughty spirit goes before a fall." Says Proverbs (16:18).

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