Musar su Deuteronomio 33:4

"With three crowns was Israel crowned : the crown of the Torah, the crown of the Priesthood and the crown of Kingdom" (Aboth 4:17, Yoma 72b, Eccl. Rabbah 7:1). Aaron merited the crown of the Priesthood, as it is said, "And it shall be unto him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood" (Num. 25:13). David merited the crown of Kingdom, as it is said, "His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before Me" (Ps. 89:37). As for the crown of the Torah — it lies there waiting for all Israel, as it is said, "Moses commanded us a law, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (Deut. 33:4) : anyone who wants the crown of Torah can come and take it. And should you say that the other crowns are greater than the crown of Torah, then behold he says, "By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth" (Prov. 8:15—16). From this you learn that the crown of the Torah is greater than the crown of Priesthood, and greater than the crown of Sovereignty. And the Sages said, "A bastard who is a scholar takes precedence over a High Priest who is ignorant" (Horayoth 13a). As it is said, "She (wisdom) is more precious than rubies" (Prov. 3:15). The Hebrew word "peninah" means both "ruby" and "inside", and the verse can therefore be interpreted as meaning : More precious is the Torah and he who studies it than the High Priest who enters the very inside of the Temple — into the Holy of Holies.

The first Rabbi quoted makes it plain that he speaks of a person who seeks such a position for his personal gratification. He views it as his due for having studied a great deal of Torah. The objection to the appointment of such a person is that it is forbidden to seek personal gratification and advantage from words of Torah. We are told in Sotah 4 in the name of Rabbi Chiyah bar Abba in reference to Proverbs 6,26, that "a married woman can ensnare even a prestigious man," that a haughty person will sooner or later commit the sin of adultery. Haughtiness could be the result of someone having studied Torah. The reason that one must not become boastful even if one has studied a great deal of Torah, is that we are told in Avot 2,8, that "if you have studied much Torah do not take credit for this, for after all you have only done what you have been created for." If not for Torah, man would have been no better than the smelly drop of semen which is his origin. Torah converts this smelly drop into a waterproof cistern which does not lose anything that is put into it. Under such conditions the words of Torah have a chance to increase and multiply. This is why we have a tradition that words of Torah are compared to seedlings. Just as seedlings increase and multiply, so do words of Torah multiply. Torah has been called אשה, "wife," as we know from Deut. 33,4, where the expression מורשה קהלת יעקב, is also interpreted as מאורסה, i.e. she is Israel's "betrothed." When one uses one's Torah knowledge to boast, then this "betrothed" is considered as an alien woman (compare Pessachim 49). Such a woman is like a vessel full of excrement, though everybody runs after her. Hence the drop of semen becomes an evil smelling drop.

A chart on which the alphabet has been written should be brought so that the teacher may read from it the names of the letters: alef, beis, gimmel, daled, hei, vav, etc. Then in reverse order: tav, shin, reish, kuf, tzadi, peh, ayin, samech, nun, mem, lamed, kaf, yud, tes, ches, zayin, vav, hei, daled, gimmel, beis, alef. The child should be prompted to say the names of all the letters after the teacher and the teacher should read the verse, “Moshe commanded us the Torah, etc.” (Devarim 33:4). Then he should read the first verse of Vayikra while the child repeats each word after him. Finally a bit of honey should be spread upon the chart so that the child can lick the honey from the letters. Afterwards the father should take the child home and seat him in a place from which he can see no impure creature and it is preferable that no menstruating woman touches the child that entire day. It is also proper for the child’s parents to fast that day and to pray to God in Heaven that he should be successful in his Torah studies, that he should acquire awe of Heaven and perform good deeds throughout a long life. Towards evening, when the fast is over, they should make a feast for the poor and give charity in accordance with their means. Then the father can be confident that the child will be God-fearing. Let this warning be sufficient.