But it was not only through sight and hearing that, from its very inception, life in Israel became religious. There was also from the first positive teaching, of which the commencement would necessarily devolve on the mother. It needed not the extravagant laudations, nor the promises held out by the Rabbis, to incite Jewish women to this duty. If they were true to their descent, it would come almost naturally to them. Scripture set before them a continuous succession of noble Hebrew mothers. How well they followed their example, we learn from the instance of her, whose son, the child of a Gentile father, and reared far away, where there was not even a Synagogue to sustain religious life, had from an infant [1142] known the Holy Scriptures,' and that in their life-moulding influence. [1143] It was, indeed, no idle boast that the Jews were from their swaddling-clothes...trained to recognise God as their Father, and as the Maker of the world;' that, having been taught the knowledge (of the laws) from earliest youth, they bore in their souls the image of the commandments;' [1144] that from their earliest consciousness they learned the laws, so as to have them, as it were, engraven upon the soul;' [1145] and that they were brought up in learning,' exercised in the laws,' and made acquainted with the acts of their predecessors in order to their imitation of them.' [1146]
But while the earliest religious teaching would, of necessity, come from the lips of the mother, it was the father who was bound to teach his son.' [1147] To impart to the child knowledge of the Torah conferred as great spiritual distinction, as if a man had received the Law itself on Mount Horeb. [1148] Every other engagement, even the necessary meal, should give place to this paramount duty; [1149] nor should it be forgotten that, while here real labour was necessary, it would never prove fruitless. [1150] That man was of the profane vulgar (an Am ha-arets), who had sons, but failed to bring them up in knowledge of the Law. [1151] Directly the child learned to speak, his religious instruction was to begin [1152] - no doubt, with such verses of Holy Scripture as composed that part of the Jewish liturgy, which answers to our Creed. [1153] Then would follow other passages from the Bible, short prayers, and select sayings of the sages. Special attention was given to the culture of the memory, since forgetfulness might prove as fatal in its consequences as ignorance or neglect of the Law. [1154] Very early the child must have been taught what might be called his birthday-text - some verse of Scripture beginning, or ending with, or at least containing, the same letters as his Hebrew name. This guardian-promise the child would insert in its daily prayers. [1155] The earliest hymns taught would be the Psalms for the days of the week, or festive Psalms, such as the Hallel, [1156] or those connected with the festive pilgrimages to Zion.
The regular instruction commenced with the fifth or sixth year (according to strength), when every child was sent to school. [1157] There can be no reasonable doubt that at that time such schools existed throughout the land. We find references to them at almost every period; indeed, the existence of higher schools and Academies would not have been possible without such primary instruction. Two Rabbis of Jerusalem, specially distinguished and beloved on account of their educational labours, were among the last victims of Herod's cruelty. [1158] Later on, tradition ascribes to Joshua the son of Gamla the introduction of schools in every town, and the compulsory education in them of all children above the age of six. [1159] Such was the transcendent merit attaching to this act, that it seemed to blot out the guilt of the purchase for him of the High-Priestly office by his wife Martha, shortly before the commencement of the great Jewish war. [1160] [1161] To pass over the fabulous number of schools supposed to have existed in Jerusalem, tradition had it that, despite of this, the City only fell because of the neglect of the education of children. [1162] It was even deemed unlawful to live in a place where there was no school. [1163] Such a city deserved to be either destroyed or excommunicated. [1164]