Musar for Sotah 41:10

א"ר יוסף מצוה בעידנא דעסיק בה מגנא ומצלא בעידנא דלא עסיק בה אגוני מגנא אצולי לא מצלא תורה בין בעידנא דעסיק בה ובין בעידנא דלא עסיק בה מגנא ומצלא

— 'when thou walkest it shall lead thee', viz., In this world; 'when, thou sleepest it shall watch over' thee, viz., in death; and when, thou awakest it shall talk with thee, viz., in the Hereafter. Parable of a man who is walking in the middle of the night and darkness, and is afraid of thorns, pits, thistles, wild beasts and robbers, and also does not know the road in which he is going. If a lighted torch is prepared for him, he is saved from thorns, pits and thistles; but he is still afraid of wild beasts and robbers, and does not know the road in which he is going. When, however, dawn breaks, he is saved from wild beasts and robbers, but still does not know the road in which he is going. When, however, he reaches the cross-roads, he is saved from everything.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The commandment is the torch, Torah the dawn, and death the cross-roads. ');"><sup>9</sup></span>

Shemirat HaLashon

And in our times, the obligation is even greater. For when one makes a match with a Torah scholar there sprout from him afterwards generations of fearers of the L-rd and fulfillers of His mitzvoth. Not so, if he does the opposite. Who knows what will become of his descendants? As we see before our eyes, in our many sins, in these times, that whoever is richer [than his neighbor] finds it more difficult to rescue himself from the wiles and stratagems of the yetzer. Therefore, one must see to it to bring himself closer to Torah and to those who study it; and "the Torah defends and saves," as Chazal have said (Sotah 21a).

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