hua ben Chaninah, who was very homely in appearance, possessed
great wisdom and erudition; and one of his favorite sayings was, that
"though many have exhibited a vast amount of knowledge, notwithstanding
their personal attractions, yet had they been less handsome, their
acquirements might have been more extensive."

The precepts are compared to a lamp; the law of God to a light. The lamp
gives light only so long as it contains oil. So he who observes the
precepts receives his reward while performing them. The law, however, is
a light perpetual; it is a protection forever to the one who studies it,
as it is written:--

"When thou walkest, it (the law) will guide thee; when thou liest down,
it will watch over thee; and when thou awakest, it will converse with
thee."

When thou walkest it will guide thee--in this world; when thou liest
down, it will watch over thee--in the grave; when thou awakest, it
will converse with thee--in the life to come.

A traveler upon his journey passed through the forest upon a dark and
gloomy night. He journeyed in dread; he feared the robbers who infested
the route he was traversing; he feared that he might slip and fall into
some unseen ditch or pitfall on the way, and he feared, too, the wild
beasts, which he knew were about him. By chance he discovered a pine
torch, and lighted it, and its gleams afforded him great relief. He no
longer feared brambles or pitfalls, for he could see his way before him.
But the dread of robbers and wild beasts was still upon him, nor left
him till the morning's dawn, the coming of the sun. Still he was
uncertain of his way, until he emerged from the forest, and reached the
cross-roads, when peace returned unto his heart.

The darkness in which the man walked was the lack of religious
knowledge. The torch he discovered typifies God's precepts, which aided
him on the way until he obtained the blessed sunlight, compared to God's
holy word, the Bible. Still, while man is in the forest (the world), he
is not entirely at peace; his heart is weak, and he may lose the right
path; but when he reaches the cross-roads (death), then may we proclaim
him truly righteous, and exclaim:--

"A good name is more fragrant than rich perfume, and the day of death is
better than the day of one's birth."

Rabbi Jochanan, the son of Broka, and Rabbi Eleazer, the son of Chismah,
visited their teacher, Rabbi Josah, and he said to them:--

"What is the news at the college; wh