To whom do you ascribe your character?

Rabbi Samuel bar Nahmani said in Rabbi Jonathan's name: He who teaches his neighbor the Torah, scripture ascribes it to him as though he had begotten him. (Babylonia Talmud Sanhedrin 19b) Resh Lakish said: He who teaches Torah to his neighbor's son is regarded by scripture as though he had fashioned him. (Sanhedrin 99b) "And you shall teach them to your children." Deuteronomy 6:7: "This refers to your disciples, for you find that disciples are always referred to as children..." (Sifrei to Deuteronomy 6:7) Those who teach children Torah are like parents, because they create them anew. Isn't this true: that teachers mold children, fashioning who they will be in life? Torah Temima says that before Torah came into the world people were crude and simple, and with Torah we are like a new creation.

As we conclude the school year, I am wondering at the role of teachers in our lives, particularly teachers of Torah. Rabbi Abe Shusterman helped me to become a better man because he taught by example that it's our job to improve the world, helping to integrate Baltimore, and bringing better relations among the religions. Rabbi Eugene Lipman demonstrated that there is no substitute for learning, and that social justice may require us to put ourselves on the line, to risk something in our lives to bring about a better world. They were not more important than my parents, but without them I would not have become the man I came to be.