At five years old a person should study the Scriptures- at ten years for the Mishnah,
- at thirteen for the commandments,
- at fifteen for the Talmud,
- at eighteen for the bridechamber,
- at twenty for one’s life pursuit,
- at thirty for authority,
- at forty for discernment,
- at fifty for counsel,
- at sixty to be an elder,
- at seventy for gray hairs,
- at eighty for special strength (Psalm 90:10),
- at ninety for decrepitude, and
- at a hundred a man is as one who has already died and has ceased from the affairs of this world.
Source: Pirkei Avot 5:24. For more information, click here.
For more information about the human life cycle and its depiction in different cultural traditions, see Thomas Armstrong, The Human Odyssey: Navigating the Twelve Stages of Life
This article was brought to you by Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. and www.institute4learning.com.
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