Great Throughts Treasury

"Do not unto others that which you would not have them do unto you. That is the entire Torah; the rest is commentary."

"He that exalts his name destroys his name; he who increases not decreases."

"If I am here, everyone is here. If I am not here, no one is here."

"Is not the soul a guest in our body, deserving of our kind hospitality? Today it is here, tomorrow it is gone."

"The more charity, the more peace."

"Where there are no men, you try to be a man."

"Judge not thy neighbor until thou comest into his place."

"If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?"

"He who does not learn forfeits his life."

"A name made great is a name destroyed. He who does not increase his knowledge decreases it."

"That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary, go and learn it."

"A boor does not fear sin, nor is a peasant pious (hasid)."

"A brutish man cannot fear sin; an ignorant man cannot be pious, nor can the shy man learn, or the impatient man teach. He who engages excessively in business cannot become wise. In a place where there are no men strive to be a man."

"Be among the disciples of Aaron: Love peace and pursue peace; love your fellow creatures and bring them near to Torah."

"Do not say of a word, 'It cannot possibly be heard'; it will end by being heard."

"Do not say something that cannot be understood but will be understood in the end."

"Do not say: ?When I have leisure I shall study,? perhaps you will never have leisure."

"Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you."

"Do not judge your fellow creature until you have come into his position."

"Do not judge your fellow until you are in his place."

"Do not say, 'I will study when I have time'; for you may never have the time."

"Do not trust yourself until the day of your death."

"He who does not increase deceases."

"He who aggrandizes his name, loses his name."

"Do not separate yourself from the community."

"God says: If you come to My House, I will come to yours."

"He who makes unworthy use of the crown (of the Torah) shall pass away."

"He who does not increase his knowledge, decreases it."

"Hillel saw a skull floating on the surface of the water and he said unto it: Because you drowned others they drowned you; and those that drowned you will eventually be drowned."

"He who refuses to learn deserves extinction."

"He who seeks his name, loses his name."

"Hillel stood in the gate of Jerusalem one day and asked two men on their way to work: "How much, will you earn to-day?" "A denarius," says one. "Two denarii," said another. "What will you do with the money?" Hillel inquired. "We will provide for the necessities of life," they replied. Then said he to them: "Would you not rather come and make the Torah your possession, that you may possess both this and the world to come?""

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

"Say not: When I have time I will study because you may never have the time."

"No one too much involved in trade will be a sage."

"Pass not judgment upon thy neighbor until thou hast put thyself in his place."

"Take care of yourself - you never know when the world will need you."

"The bashful cannot learn nor the hot-tempered teach."

"The more flesh the more worms; the more possessions the more anxiety; the more women the more witchcraft; the more maidservants the more lewdness, the more manservants the more theft. But the more Torah the more life, the more schooling the more wisdom; the more counsel the more understanding; the more righteousness the more peace. If a man has acquired a good name he has gained something which enriches himself; but if he has acquired words of the Torah he has attained afterlife."

"The highest form of freedom is when it is combined with servitude. Then one finds in his soul true independence, befitting for one who is truly free: when one can control even the greatest of his powers - the power of freedom."

"The seven rules Hillel the elder used when interpreting (Torah) before the benei Bathyra [the leading scholars under Herod]: (1) "the light & the heavy" [qal wachomer: deduction a minori ad maius]; (2) "similar concept" [gezeyrah shawah: analogy] (3) "principle traced from one text" [binyan ab mikatub echad: generalizing the particular] (4) "principle traced from two texts" [binyan ab mishne kethubim: generalizing what appears more than once] (5) "include & divide/divide & include" [mikelal uferat miferat ukelal: inference from general to particular] (6) "as deduced elsewhere" [kayotze bobemaqom acher: inference from one passage to another] (7) "word joined to subject' [dabar ha lamed inyano: conclusion from context]."

"Trust not in thy spiritual strength until the day of thy death."

"What you yourself hate, don't do to your neighbor. This is the whole law; the rest is commentary. Go and study."

"What is hateful to thee, do not unto thy fellowman; this is the whole Law. The rest is but commentary."

"Who does not grow, declines."

"Whoever has acquired the words of the Law has acquired the life of the world to come."

"Whosoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whosoever that saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world."