DEUT388 The rabbis recognized quite clearly that certain character traits were basic and crucial in their influence upon the overall personality and behavior patterns of people. One such set of opposing traits is humility (anavah) and pride (ga'avah). The Torah had already warned against pride and arrogance: [this verse] and "Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord" (Proverbs 16:5). The Rabbis made the judgment, on the basis of both Scripture in their own experience, that the most important single virtue was humility, and conversely that the severest vice was pride, haughtiness, or arrogance (Avodah Zarah 20b; Orchot Tzaddikim, p. 13). Not only was humility or meekness seen as a key quality in achieving a proper relationship to God, a necessary condition for prophecy and for acquiring Torah knowledge, but it was considered a prerequisite for attaining a moral relationship with one's fellow creatures (Nedarim 38a, Berakhot 43b, Avot 6:6).