to one another. A few of these teachings may be quoted here: "The commandments of the Torah were only given to purify men's morals" "Whatever may not properly be done in public is forbidden even in the most secret chamber" "In the future, a person will give a judgement and accounting over everything that his eye saw and he did not eat." "Whoever lacks pity for his fellow man is no child of Abraham" "Better to cast oneself into a fiery furnace than to publicly shame one's fellow man." "One should never betroth himself to a woman without having seen her; one might subsequently discover in her a blemish because of which one might loathe her and thus transgress the commandment: 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself'" "A father should never prefer one child above another; the example of Joseph shows what evil consequences may result." "While the dates are still in the borders of your skirt, run off with them to the distillery!" [Meaning, before one wastes what he has, let him convert it into something more productive] "Receive the payment. Deliver the goods!" [i.e. do not sell on credit] "[Better to come] under the displeasure of Ishmael (i.e. the Arabs) than [the displeasure of] Rome; [better to come] under the displeasure of Rome than [the displeasure of] a Persian; [better to come] under the displeasure of a Persian than [the displeasure of] a disciple of the Sages; [better to come] under the displeasure of a disciple of the Sages than [the displeasure of] an orphan and widow." "A man ought always to occupy himself in the words of the Law, and in the commandments, even if it were not for their own sake. For eventually he will do it for their own sake" "A man ought always to look about in search of a [good] city whose settlement is only of late, considering that since its settlement is [relatively] new, its iniquities are also few." "A disciple of the Sages ought to have in him one-eighth of one-eighth of pride, [and no more]." Rav loved the Book of Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), and warned his disciple Hamnuna Saba against unjustifiable asceticism by quoting its advice that considering the transitoriness of human life, one should not despise the good things of this world. To the celestial joys of the future he was accustomed to refer in the following poetic words: