DEUT1563 Moses our teacher intimated to Israel after forty years that they were deficient in gratitude, it being written: "and I led you forty years," and: "And the Lord did not give you a heart to know." Rava said: From here it is derived that a disciple cannot properly fathom his master's intent until the passage of forty years (Avodah Zarah 5b)

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DEUT1564 See [[DEUT406]] Deuteronomy 9:7 angered TZADIK 501-3

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DEUT1565 See [[DEUT1566]] Deuteronomy 29:4 forty SINAI3 229

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DEUT1566 [Judah b. Tema] used to say: … the man of forty [has attained] understanding; Pirkei Avot, Perek V, mishnah 24. Just as thirty finds a man at the peak of his strength, so forty finds him at the height of his powers of understanding. At the end of the Israelite wanderings, when those who left Egypt had died out, Moses told the next generation, born after the exodus, "I have led you forty years in the wilderness…" and just before this, Moses told them, "the Lord has not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, until this day." It took them forty years to realize the full significance of their extraordinary experience. "From this you can learn," said Rabbah, "that a man does not fully plumb the thinking of his master teacher until he is forty" (Deuteronomy 29:4,3. T.B. Abodah Zarah 5b (in place of Rabbah, M'iri and En Ya'akov have Rava). For at this age, R. Bahya observes, the physical state is definitely on the decline; and as physical ability wanes, mental powers grow stronger and clearer. The focus can be sharper, the vision brighter, to grasp wider. Experience adds perspective and depth to mature understanding.

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DEUT1567 R. Elazar said: If one teaches his neighbor's son Torah, it is as if he would have "made" words of Torah, as it is written: "And you shall heed the words of this covenant, [perpetuating them by teaching them to others], and you shall make them." Rava said: It is as if he would make himself, it being written: "And you shall make otham": Read it not "otham" ["them"], but "atem" ["you"] (Sanhedrin 99b)

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DEUT1568 R. Yehoshua b. Levi said: If one occupies himself with Torah study, his possessions prosper, as it is written: "And you shall heed the words of this covenant, and you shall do them, so that you succeed in all that you do" (Avodah Zarah 19b)

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DEUT1569 Unity gives strength. The Midrash comments on this verse, "When are the Jewish people standing? When they are together ("all of you"). Even a young child can break a single reed. But a bunch of reeds together is strong and cannot be broken. The Midrash continues: The Jewish people will not be redeemed until they are a unified group." (Yalkut Shimoni)

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DEUT1570 Conditions of undertaking not to repeat the offense. The conditions of undertaking not to do so again what the Creator has forbidden are also five in number. ... 3. One should consider the days he turned away from God and disregarded His service, despite the steady favors that God bestowed upon him throughout that period, as it says: “For for long ago I [God] broke your yoke and burst your bands, and you [Israel] said, לא אעבר״” (Yirmeyahu 2:20). לא אעבר״” in this verse means, “I [Israel] will not assume Your service nor enter into Your covenant”-- as though it had said, לא אעבר בבריתך, as in לעברך בברית י-י אלקיך , “To enter into the covenant of Hashem your God” (Devarim 29:11).

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DEUT1571 "alah" is an oath, as it is written (Numbers 5:21): "Then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of the alah." And from here [the fact that we do not find Israel swearing, but only answering Amen] it is derived that answering Amen to an oath is the equivalent to taking the oath itself (Yerushalmi Sotah 2:5)

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DEUT1572 As in other Western religions, for Judaism God is central not only to defining the good and the right, but also to creating the moral person. God does that in several ways. First, acting in God's judicial and executive functions, God helps to ensure that people will do the right thing. God is the infallible Judge for He knows "the secrets of the world," as the High Holy Day liturgy reminds us. Nothing can be hidden from God, and God cannot be deceived. Moreover, God holds the power of ultimate reward and punishment. To do the right thing just to avoid punishment or to gain reward is clearly not acting out of a high moral motive, but such actions may nevertheless produce good results. Moreover, the Rabbis state many times over that even doing the right thing for the wrong reason has its merit, for eventually correct moral habits may create a moral person who does the right thing for the right reason. (B. Pesachim 50b; B. Sanhedrin 105a; B. Arakhin 16b; B. Sotah 22b, 47a; B. Horayot 10b; B. Nazir 23b.) God also contributes to the creation of moral character in serving as a model for us. The underlying conviction of the Bible is that God is good, and God's actions are, as such, paradigms for us. The Bible itself raises questions about God's morality, for there are times when God appears to act arbitrarily and even cruelly; but for all that, Jewish texts trust that God is good. We, then, should aspire to be like God: "As God clothes the naked ... so you should clothe the naked" [etc.] (B. Sotah 14a). (Continued at [[DEUT1453]] Deuteronomy 25:13 not with us DORFFLOV 321-1).(By Elliot N. Dorff and Jonathan K. Crane)

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