Fearing the Unknown Chapter 3, Mishna 21(b) By Rabbi Dovid
Rosenfeld "Rabbi Elazar ben (son of) Azariah said: If there is
no Torah [study] there is no proper conduct; if there is no
proper conduct there is no Torah [study]. If there is no wisdom
there is no fear of G-d; if there is no fear of G-d there is no
wisdom. If there is no knowledge there is no understanding; if
there is no understanding there is no knowledge. If there is no
flour (sustenance) there is no Torah; if there is no Torah there
is no flour." Last week we discussed our mishna's first
statement -- "If there is no Torah [study] there is no proper
conduct." As we explained, a person who is guided by his
conscience alone will invariably fall short of the eternal,
unbending principles of morality set forth in the Torah. Our
consciences will roughly point us in the proper direction --
they *are* G- d-given and they do hear the echoes of our eternal
souls, yet even in the best case they will fail to provide us
with much of the details outlined in t