Great Throughts Treasury

"Pray for your enemies that everything may be well with them. More than all others prayers, this is truly the service of God."

"?Now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou has written? (Exodus 32:32). ?And my holy father said that the plain meaning is in the verse, for they said in the Talmud that the Tzaddik is taken away on account of evil, for two reasons: So that he will not have to look upon the punishment of the generation, and moreover so that he can atone for the generation through his death. [sermon on Moses]"

"I never felt a need for something until I possessed it. As long as I did not have something, I was certain that I did not need it."

"So there is nothing in the world but the Creator, blessed be he. This is the opposite of what people imagine; when they are not attached to God but to earthly things, they think that they exist, and they are great in their own eyes. But if, out of love for God, they think they are nothing, and cleave to him with all their menial powers, they are very great, since the branch has come to the root and is one with the root."

"The fact that evil confronts good gives man the possibility of victory."

"The specifics of the vitality in order to raise it up, and the individual creatures are left without their life."

"Thus, if they think that they exist, they certainly do not. But if, out of love for God, they think that they are nothing, and cleave to him with all their mental powers, they are very great, since the branch has come close to the root and is one with the root."

"The words of Yehiel Mikhal of Zlotchov are short but straight to the point. All of us seem to base our value and worth off of what material possesions we own and other worldly things. We then start to think that we are self sufficient and deserve all the credit for where we are in life. We forget that even life in itself is something that can be taken from us in a matter of seconds. The eye opening matter is that in a flash all that we placed our value and worth on could be taken from us, and then what? Are we worth nothing? Of course not, because we have an almighty creator who loves and takes care of us. He is far more permanent than any money we could earn or accomplishments we could acheive here on Earth. This life that we live is tiny in comparison to all eternity and the lifespan of our never failing all powerful God. So doesn't it make sense that we should invest our time and effort into something that we are sure will never fail or be taken away from us? Though God may not be something physical that we can look at and show off, the body passes with time but the spirit remains and God will renew your spirit and protect it from damage for as long as you trust in him. This passage shows us that worldly objects and relationships are not where you should place your trust, but instead you should place your trust in God who will never fail you."

"This is the opposite of what people imagine: when they are not attached to God but to earthly things, they think that they exist, and they are great in their own eyes. And how can they be great, when one night they exist and the next night they die."

"You, please listen to my words. It is not you alone that I warn and command, but myself as well whom I exhort with you."