Jewish Texts

"There is no doubt that in its closeness to the tradition ascribed to ben Asher, and also in its accuracy and consistency, this manuscript must be considered superior to all other Tiberian manuscripts known to us. It is, therefore, the most important representative of the standard Tiberian tradition."

"Damage to the Aleppo Codex (Halab), the earliest Hebrew Old Testament, has been found to have been caused by a member of the genus Aspergillus, rather than fire."

"In these matters we relied upon the codex, now in Egypt, which contains the twenty-four books of Scripture and which had been in Jerusalem for several years. It was used as the standard text in the correction of books. Everyone relied on it, because it had been corrected by Ben Asher himself who worked on its details closely for many years and corrected it many times whenever it was being copied."

"From these few test-passages we may conclude that the statement assigning this Coded to Ben Asher is a fabrication, merely introduced to enhance the value of the same."

"A man should so live that at the close of every day he can repeat: "I have not wasted my day"."

"There are halls in the heavens above that open but to the voice of song."

"When men in prayer declare the Unity of the Holy Name in love and reverence, the walls of earth's darkness are cleft in twain, and the Face of the Heavenly King is revealed, lighting up the universe."

"Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it."

"There are four types of student. One who is quick to understand and quick to forget--his flaw cancels his virtue. One who is slow to understand and slow to forget--his virtue cancels his flaw. One who is quick to understand and slow to forget--his is a good portion. One who is slow to understand and quick to forget--his is a bad portion."

"Be a tail to lions rather than a head to jackals."

"There are four types of contributors to charity. One who wants to give but does not want others to give--is begrudging of others. One who wants that others should give but does not want to give--begrudges himself. One who wants that he as well as others should give, is a chassid. One who want neither himself nor others to give, is wicked."

"Rabbi Tarfon would say: The day is short, the work is much, the workers are lazy, the reward is great, and the master of the house is insistent. He would also say: It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task, but neither are you free to absolve yourself from it. If you have learned much Torah, you will be greatly rewarded, and your employer is trustworthy to pay you the reward of your labors. And know, that the reward of the righteous is in the World to Come."

"[Rabbi Yochanan] said to them: Go and see which is the best trait for a person to acquire. Said Rabbi Eliezer: A good eye. Said Rabbi Joshua: A good friend. Said Rabbi Yossei: A good neighbor. Said Rabbi Shimon: To see what is born [out of one's actions]. Said Rabbi Elazar: A good heart. Said He to them: I prefer the words of Elazar the son of Arach to yours, for his words include all of yours. He said to them: Go and see which is the worst trait, the one that a person should most distance himself from. Said Rabbi Eliezer: An evil eye. Said Rabbi Joshua: An evil friend. Said Rabbi Yossei: An evil neighbor. Said Rabbi Shimon: To borrow and not to repay; for one who borrows from man is as one who borrows from the Almighty, as is stated, "The wicked man borrows and does not repay; but the righteous one is benevolent and gives" (Psalms 37:21). Said Rabbi Elazar: An evil heart. Said He to them: I prefer the word of Elazar the son of Arach to yours, for his words include all of yours."

"Ben Zoma would say: Who is wise? One who learns from every man. As is stated (Psalms 119:99): "From all my teachers I have grown wise, for Your testimonials are my meditation." Who is strong? One who overpowers his inclinations. As is stated (Proverbs 16:32), "Better one who is slow to anger than one with might, one who rules his spirit than the captor of a city." Who is rich? One who is satisfied with his lot. As is stated (Psalms 128:2): "If you eat of toil of your hands, fortunate are you, and good is to you"; "fortunate are you" in this world, "and good is to you" in the World to Come. Who is honorable? One who honors his fellows. As is stated (I Samuel 2:30): "For to those who honor me, I accord honor; those who scorn me shall be demeaned.""

"There are four types among those who attend the study hall. One who goes but does nothing--has gained the rewards of going. One who does [study] but does not go to the study hall--has gained the rewards of doing. One who goes and does, is a chassid. One who neither goes nor does, is wicked."

"Rabbi Shimon the son of Gamliel would say: By three things is the world sustained: law, truth and peace."

"Shammai would say: Make your Torah study a permanent fixture of your life. Say little and do much. And receive every man with a pleasant countenance."

"Rabbi (Judah HaNassi) would say: Which is the right path for man to choose for himself? Whatever is harmonious for the one who does it, and harmonious for mankind. Be as careful with a minor mitzvah as with a major one, for you do not know the rewards of the mitzvot. Consider the cost of a mitzvah against its rewards, and the rewards of a transgression against its cost. Contemplate three things, and you will not come to the hands of transgression: Know what is above from you: a seeing eye, a listening ear, and all your deeds being inscribed in a book."

"Joshua the son of Perachia would say: Assume for yourself a master, acquire for yourself a friend, and judge every man to the side of merit."

"Yossei the son of Yoezer of Tzreidah would say: Let your home be a meeting place for the wise; dust yourself in the soil of their feet, and drink thirstily of their words."

"He [Hillel] used to say: The more flesh, the more worms; the more property, the more anxiety; the more wives, the more witchcraft; the more female slaves, the more lewdness; the more slaves, the more robbery; [but] the more Torah, the more life; the more sitting [in the company of scholars], the more wisdom; the more counsel, the more understanding; the more charity, the more peace. If one acquires a good name, he has acquired something for himself; if one acquires for himself knowledge of Torah, he has acquired life in the world to come."

"Rabban Yochanan the son of Zakkai received the tradition from Hillel and Shammai. He would say: If you have learned much Torah, do not take credit for yourself---it is for this that you have been formed."

"Rabbi Eliezer would say: The honor of your fellow should be as precious to you as your own, and do not be easy to anger. Repent one day before your death."

"Rabbi Joshua would say: An evil eye, the evil inclination, and the hatred of one's fellows, drive a person from the world"

"מצווה גוררת מצווה, עברה גוררת עברה"

"וֶהֱוֵי זָנָב לָאֲרָיוֹת, וְאַל תְּהִי רֹאשׁ לַשּׁוּעָלִים"

"There are four types of people: One who says, "What is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine" is a boor. One who says "What is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours" -- this is a median characteristic; others say that this is the character of Sodom. One who says, "What is mine is yours, and what is yours is yours" is a chassid [pious person]. And one who says "What is mine is mine, and what is yours is mine" is wicked."

"There are four types of temperaments. One who is easily angered and easily appeased--his virtue cancels his flaw. One whom it is difficult to anger and difficult to appease--his flaw cancels his virtue. One whom it is difficult to anger and is easily appeased, is a chassid. One who is easily angered and is difficult to appease, is wicked."

"He (Hillel) would also say: If I am not for myself, who is for me? And when I am for myself, what am 'I'? And if not now, when?"

"וְאַל תַּאֲמִין בְּעַצְמְךָ עַד יוֹם מוֹתְךָ"

"They [the Men of the Great Assembly] would always say these three things: Be cautious in judgment. Establish many pupils. And make a safety fence around the Torah."

"In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man."

"Shimon the Righteous was among the last surviving members of the Great assembly. He would say: The world stands on three things: Torah, the service of G-d, and deeds of kindness."

"There are four types among those who sit before the sages: the sponge, the funnel, the strainer and the sieve. The sponge absorbs all. The funnel takes in at one end and lets it out the other. The strainer rejects the wine and retains the sediment. The sieve rejects the coarse flour and retains the fine flour."

"Without the Talmud, we would not be able to understand passages in the Bible. ... God has handed this authority to the sages and tradition is a necessity as well as scripture. ... Anyone who does not study the Talmud cannot understand Scripture."

"A person who understands the law but who is far from the love of God is like a bank official who has the keys for the inside of the building but not the key for the front door."

"I had never seen the Talmud. It was very interesting. It's got big pages, and in a little square in the corner of the page is the original Talmud, and then in a sort of L-shaped margin, all around this square, are commentaries written by different people. The Talmud has evolved, and everything has been discussed again and again, all very carefully, in a medieval kind of reasoning. ... The Talmud is a wonderful book, a great, big potpourri of things: trivial questions, and difficult questions—for example, problems of teachers, and how to teach—and then some trivia again, and so on."

"The doctrines of religion are resolved into carefulness; carefulness into vigorousness; vigorousness into guiltlessness; guiltlessness into abstemiousness; abstemiousness into cleanliness; cleanliness into godliness."

"Jews don't read the Bible literally. We read it through the lens of generations of interpretations and acknowledge the evolution of human understanding of God. The Talmudic image of God is vastly different from the image of God presented in the Bible."

"He who touches tar will be soiled; he who associates with an arrogant man will become like him. Do not carry too heavy a load; do not make friends with someone stronger and richer than you. Why put the earthen pot near the iron one? One will bang the other and break it. The rich man does wrong and is unconcerned; the poor man is insulted and apologizes. The rich man uses you as long as you are useful to him; when you have nothing left he deserts you. He will stay with you as long as you have something; he will drain you without a second thought."

"Who will have pity on the snakecharmer bitten by a snake or on those who go near wild beasts? It is the same for the man who joins company with a sinner and finds himself involved in his wrongdoing. The sinner will remain quietly with you for an hour but when you are distracted he will throw away his mask."

"Cursed be the gossiper with his spiteful tongue. He has destroyed many who lived peacefully. The vicious tongue has demolished many and hounded them from nation to nation. It has ruined powerful cities and laid low great households. The vicious tongue has cast out wives who were beyond reproach, depriving them of the fruit of their work. Whoever listens to it will never find rest or be able to live in peace. The whip leaves a mark but the lash of the tongue shatters bones. Many have been felled by the sword but many more have perished by the tongue. Happy he who has escaped it and has not been exposed to its fury, who has not been weighed down by its yoke or been tied up in its chains."

"A friend does not become an enemy in the time of prosperity, nor does an enemy remain hidden in the time of adversity. When a man is doing well, his enemies are sad; when he is suffering misfortune, even his friends hasten to abandon him."

"Give to the godly man, do not help the sinner; do good to the humble, do not give to the ungodly; deny him bread, do not give it to him lest he eventually dominate you. He will repay you with a double evil for all the good that you have done for him. For the Most High himself detests sinners and carries out his vengeance on the ungodly. Give to the good man but do not help the sinner."

"Grudge and wrath, these also are abominations in which sinful people excel."

"Lending to your neighbor is an act of mercy, going to his aid fulfills the commandments. Learn to lend to your neighbor when he is in need and, in turn, repay him any loan on time."

"Do good to the godly man and you will receive a reward, if not from the man himself, at least from the Most High."

"Do not say, “What do I need? What more could I have or desire?” Do not say, “I have all that is necessary, what misfortune can harm me now?” On good days, one forgets the bad; and on bad days one forgets the good. Even when the end draws near, it is easy for the Lord to reward a man according to the way he has lived. The hour of adversity makes one forget pleasure; at the end of a man’s life his deeds will be revealed."

"If you do evil, evil will befall you and you will not know from where it comes. The proud man makes use of mockery and insults, but vengeance lies in wait for him like a lion."

"Do not be disconcerted at the success of sinners but have confidence in God and persevere in your own efforts. It is easy for the Lord in an instant to make the poor man rich."