Rabbi Akiva would say: A sense of humor is a fence for honor. Silence is a fence for wisdom. Abstinence is a fence for vows. Holiness is a fence for purity. Fear of sin is a fence for humility. He would also say: Do not hang around with cynics, for you may begin to learn from their ways. Do not break bread with an unlearned priest, for you may end up desecrating holy things. Do not break your vows, for you may come to break your oaths.1Oaths are more grave than vows, as he who swears a false oath in God’s name “will not be held guiltless” (Exodus 20:7). Do not accustom yourself to eating big meals, for you may end up having to eat scraps. Do not cause yourself to doubt, for you may then cause yourself to be overconfident. Do not leave the Land of Israel, for you may end up worshiping idols, just as David said (I Samuel 26:19), “For they have driven me out today, so that I cannot have a share in the Eternal’s inheritance, but am told to go and serve other gods.” Do you actually think King David would worship idols? Rather, David was saying that anyone who leaves the Land of Israel and goes to a foreign country, it is as if he were worshiping idols.He would also say: Anyone who is buried in any foreign country, it is as if he were buried in Babylon. Anyone who is buried in Babylon, it is as if he were buried in the Land of Israel. Anyone who is buried in the Land of Israel, it is as if he were buried underneath the altar, for all of the Land of Israel is fit for the altar. Anyone who is buried underneath the altar, it is as if he were buried under the Throne of Glory, as it says (Jeremiah 17:12), “A Throne of Glory, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our Sanctuary.”⁠a He would also say: An unlearned person cannot be truly pious. A timid person cannot learn, nor can an impatient person teach.He would also say: Why do Torah scholars die young? Not because they commit adultery, and not because they steal, but because they interrupt their Torah learning with casual conversation. And then they do not come back to the place where they left off. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar would say: When the people of Israel are in foreign lands, they worship idolatry without meaning to. How so? A Samaritan makes a party for his son. He sends out an invitation to all the Jews in his city. Even though they eat and drink their own food, and bring their own attendants who stand and pour for them, it is still considered as if they ate from the sacrifices of the dead, as it says (Exodus 34:15), “They will call to you, and you will eat their sacrifices.”Rabbi Eliezer HaModa’i would say: Anyone who violates the Sabbath, scorns the festivals, disregards circumcision, or attempts to reveal the flaws of the Torah, even though he may be learned in Torah and have done many good deeds, he has no share in the World to Come. Rabbi Akiva would say: Anyone who marries a woman who is not proper for him transgresses five commandments: “Do not take vengeance” (Leviticus 19:18), “Do not bear a grudge” (ibid.), “Do not hate your brother in your heart” (Leviticus 19:17), “Love your fellow as yourself”⁠b (Leviticus 19:18), and “Let your brother live with you” (Leviticus 25:36). Because he will hate her he will want her to die, and this will cause fewer children to be born into the world. He would also say: Anyone who eats food [that is not good for the body] (upon which he does not make a blessing) transgresses three commandments: He disgraces himself, he disgraces the food, and he makes a blessing on something that is not for his betterment. Rabbi Yehudah ben Ilai would say: When a person who dies and leaves behind a son who never learned Torah from his father, and then that son goes and studies Torah from others, this child will always be seeking approval. Rabbi Eliezer HaKappar would say: Do not be like the upper part of the doorway, which no person’s hand can reach. And do not be like the upper beam, which [displays] engraved images, nor like the middle beam, which knocks into the legs. Rather, be like the threshold, which everyone steps on, and which will remain standing even when the rest of the building has been destroyed.