Our moral and religious training is based on the Word of God, on the Torah, and the study of the Torah, ‏חלמוד תורה‎, is an essential element in Jewish education. The term Torah is to be understood in no narrow sense, but as including the written and the oral Law, all the books of the Holy Writings, and such works as have from time to time been composed for the purpose of facilitating and promoting the study of the Torah. The importance of this duty has been recognised from ancient times, and Jewish congregations, before building a synagogue, made provision for the religious education of the young and for the study of the Law, by establishing schools and colleges (‏בית ספר‎ or ‏בי רב‎ and ‏בית המדרש‎). Talmud-torah is one of those duties to which no measure was fixed (‏אשר אין להם שיעור‎ Mishnah Peah i. 1). Whenever we can find time and leisure, we ought to turn to the Word of God, every one according to his capacity and his opportunities. The readings from the Torah, both the written and the oral, which form part of our Service, have been introduced for the purpose of facilitating for the general public the fulfilment of the duty of Talmud-torah. The study of the Law and the regular and punctual attendance at the Beth-hammidrash belong to those religious acts which “bear fruit here on earth and procure bliss in the future life” (ibid.). Our Sages exhort us in various sayings to devote ourselves earnestly to the study of the Torah. The object of this study is, in the first instance, to enable us to live in accordance with His Commandments; secondly, to purify our thoughts by turning them from common, ordinary things to higher and loftier subjects; for while we are reading the Divine messages and reflecting on them, we move in a purer atmosphere and must be inspired with holy and noble thoughts. The book which is expected to produce these results must be approached “with awe, with meekness, with cheerfulness, and with purity” (Aboth vi. 6). Our intention must be to be instructed and guided by what we read. We must not presume to criticise the Divine decrees therein recorded. If we meet with passages that strike us as strange or objectionable, we may be sure that we have not yet comprehended the true sense of the Divine words. Modesty must cause us rather to assume shortcomings on our part than to find fault with the Holy Writings. “Turn it over, and read it again and again; for all is in it, and behold everything through it; and even when old and weak, cleave to it, and do not move away from it; for there is no better guide for thee than this one” (Aboth v. 22). There is one great advantage in the study of the Torah; it constantly supplies us with one of the best means of promoting our moral training, viz., with good company.