DEUT269 … when Scripture states, "And you shall teach them [the Torah's mitzvoth] diligently to your children" [this verse] the command is in the singular, from the Almighty to every parent personally: Educate your children in the Torah! Our tradition and its Sages were the first to demand education for all among an entire people, in every generation. In his Republic, the Greek philosopher Plato drew up a blueprint of his own for an ideal society: It was essentially totalitarian, quite undemocratic. Education, he wrote, must be limited to soldiers and the children of patricians (nobles, aristocrats). Children of the poor could become no more than laborers or artisans. Thousands upon thousands of Jewish children, since time immemorial, have become laborers and artisans too--but with a rich, masterful knowledge of their heritage. Quite a few Sages are identified in Talmud and Midrash by occupational titles: so-and-so the sandal-maker, so-and-so the carpenter, etc. Poverty has never been a factor to deprive a Jewish child from his rightful education. In fact, the Sages warned, "Treat the children of the poor with care, since from them shall Torah come" (T.B. Nedarim 81a).

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DEUT273 See [[DEUT87]] Deuteronomy 4:9 teach SINAI3 357

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DEUT270 [Deuteronomy 6:7]. This biblical commandment to commit oneself to Torah study is a basic and far reaching one, codified into law and translated into individual and communal action. The codifiers of Jewish law all considered Torah study to be an obligation unlimited in time, so that all other activities became either limited in its light or were even frowned upon. Furthermore, the obligation of Torah study was considered not to be limited by one's age, knowledge, or economic or social condition. ... Torah education was not limited to children but had to be extended to adults, in view of the obligation "you shall devote yourselves to its [Torah] study" (Jos. 1:8).

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DEUT268 … review of the Talmud [is] in fulfillment of [this verse]: "'And you shall teach them [v'shinantam] to your children' -- words of Torah should be sharp [sh'nunim] in your mouth, so that if someone asks you something you should not answer hesitatingly, but outright" (Sifri Devarim ibid., Kiddushin 30a). It is impossible that mitzvos be "sharp" and ready in one's mouth for a response to questioners without many repetitions, as our Sages stated (Chagigah 9b): "One who reviews his lesson 100 times cannot be likened to him who has reviewed it 101 times."

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DEUT275 See [[EXOD354]] Exodus 20:2 other DUTIES 63-7

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DEUT276 Put tefillin on one's arm. Owing to the fact that man has a physical body, he is naturally attracted to physical pleasures. Unless man's physical component is held back by his soul, he will fall into sin, for his earthly side is always rushing to satisfy its every urge and lust. Man's soul, however, is at a disadvantage, for it dwells within man's physical body and is confined within earthly borders--very far from the soul’s realm, which is in the heavens. Far from its home, the soul is unable to subdue the body's urges and they threatened to overpower her. For this reason the soul needs protection from her corrupt earthly neighbor, lest man's physical component kill her, for she is trapped in his territory and is under his sway. Hashem wants His holy nation to have merits, so He commands us to post a number of strong guards around our soul--specifically to never cease speaking words of Torah, day and night; to place tzitzis on one's garments; to attach a mezuzah at one’s doorways; and to wear tefillin on one's arm and head. All these are reminders so that we abstain from sin and do not follow after our eyes and our lusting heart.

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DEUT277 Put tefillin on one's head. As to why these four particular passages, as opposed to others, are inside our tefillin, these deal with accepting Heaven’s kingship and the One-ness of Hashem. So, too, there are verses about the Exodus from Egypt, the decisive factor behind belief that the world was created, and that its Creator is involved with all that He made and watches over the entire creation at all times. These concepts are central to the Jewish religion. Therefore, our Maker commands us to place these fundamental principles between our eyes and next to our hearts every day, for these two parts of the body are where our intelligence and powers of perception dwell. By laying these principles as a remembrance on these places, we become more firmly attached and more firmly committed to these principles. We also become more conscious of Hashem's ways, and thereby merit eternal life.

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DEUT278 It is a positive commandment to affix a m'zuzah at the entrance of the home as Scripture states, And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates [this verse]. In the m'zuzah [a rolled-up piece of parchment generally enclosed in a case] two sections of Scripture are written: Hear (ibid. 4-9); And it shall be if you hearken (ibid. 11:13-21). A person has a duty to take care about a m'zuzah, so that every time he enters or leaves he will encounter the unity of the God [written in the m'zuzah] and will remember his love for Him, and so he will awaken from his slumber and his errors in the vaping, empty matters of the present; and he will realize that nothing endures forever and ever except a knowledge of the Divine Rock-foundation of the world [God]. So he will return at once to his good sense and walk in the straightforward paths of decency.

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DEUT279 See [[NUM190]] Numbers 15:39 remember DUTIES 777-9

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DEUT280 See [[LEV209]] Leviticus 18:5 laws BOROJMV 257-8

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