Great Throughts Treasury

"If the Bible didn't show us the weaknesses, the vulnerabilities , the sins of our heroes, we might have deep questions about their true virtue."

"I asked the Moshiach, "When will you come?" and he said to me: "When your wellsprings shall spread to the outside.""

"It is written, "For you (the people of Israel) shall be a desirable land, says G?d" (Malachi 3:12). Just as the greatest explorers will never uncover the limits of the great and valuable resources which the Almighty has placed within the earth, neither will anyone ever discover the limits of the great treasures which lie buried within a Jew - G?d's "desirable land.""

"It is written: "When you will see the donkey of your enemy collapsing under its burden, and you are inclined to refrain from aiding him, you shall nevertheless aid him" (Exodus 23:5). The Baal Shem Tov applied this instruction to the body and the material self (chamor, "donkey", also means "materiality"). Initially - the Torah is saying - you may see your body as your enemy, resisting your soul's objectives, collapsing under the "burden" of the mitzvot. You may therefore be inclined to fight the body by denying its needs and mortifying it. Says the Torah: You must aid your soul's "enemy". Purify the body, refine it, do not break it."

"It is written, "You stand upright this day before the L-rd your G?d" (Deuteronomy 29:9). "This day" refers to Rosh Hashanah which is the Day of Judgment. Yet you remain standing firmly upright, meaning you will be vindicated in judgment."

"One must have total self-sacrifice and dedication for love of one's fellow, even towards a Jew whom one has never seen."

"Mind is the foundation of man."

"Our Sages have said that "Slander kills all three" - the subject of the slander, the one who relates it, and the listener. This is all in spiritual terms, which is more severe than physical murder."

"The Baal Shem Tov's love of a fellow Jew was beyond imagination. His successor, the Maggid of Mezeritch, said: If only we could kiss a Torah-scroll with the same love that my Master kissed the children when he took them to school as a teacher's assistant."

"People should allow themselves the opportunity to really know what the unity of God means. To grasp a part of the nondivisible union is to grasp the whole."

"The central aspect of worship is the feeling of being at one with God."

"The Baal Shem Tov was orphaned from his father, the hidden tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer, at the age of five. The last words spoken to him by his holy father before his passing were: "Yisrolik, fear nothing but G?d alone. Love every single Jew, without exception, with the full depth of your heart and with the fire of your soul, no matter who he is or how he behaves.""

"The Baal Shem Tov was very fond of light, and said, "Or (light) is the numerical equivalent of raz ('secret'). Whoever knows the 'secret' in every thing can bring illumination.""

"The love G?d has for every Jew extends not only to the Jew's soul but also to his body. G?d loves all Jews without distinction; the greatest Torah genius and scholar and the most simple Jew are loved equally by G?d."

"The three loves - the love of G?d, love of Torah, and the love of one's fellow - are indeed truly one."

"The Torah (Numbers 33) enumerates the 42 encampments in "the journeys of the Children of Israel who came out of Egypt." Each and every one of us goes through our own personal forty-two journeys in life, beginning with our "exodus," our birth, passing through the many way-stations in our lives, and concluding upon reaching the promised celestial "Land of Life.""

"The simple true faith of a Jewish man or woman that finds expression in their recitation of Psalms is the highest level of attachment to G?d. It arouses G?d's Divine mercies and provides succor to the one who recites these holy words in a spirit of oneness with G?d."

"The wholesome simplicity of the simple Jew touches on the utterly simple essence of G?d."

"The world is new to us every morning - this is God's gift; and every man should believe he is reborn each day."

"There are two levels in the study of Torah, Torah of the mind and Torah of the heart. The mind cogitates, comprehends and understands; the heart feels. I have come to reveal Torah as it extends to the heart as well."

"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Why? Because every human being has a root in the Unity, and to reject the minutest particle of the Unity is to reject it all."

"Tishrei, the month of the new year, is blessed by G?d Himself, on the Shabbat of Blessing, the last Shabbat in the previous month of Elul. With this power, the people of Israel bless the other months eleven times a year."

"Two Souls: From every human being there rises a light that reaches straight to heaven. And when two souls that are destined to be together find each other, their streams of light flow together, and a single brighter light goes forth from their united single being."

"To love a fellow Jew is to love G?d. For it is written, "You are children of G?d" (Deuteronomy 14:1); when one loves the father, one loves his children."

"To pull a friend out of the mire, don't hesitate to get dirty."

"We should not laugh at the person who becoming caught up in his prayer bends his body or moves about in strange ways. Perhaps he moves in this manner to wave off unwelcome thoughts that would interrupt the prayer. Would we find it funny if we saw a person drowning going through strange motions doing whatever was necessary to save his life?"

"When a father complains that his son has taken to evil ways, what should he do? Love him more than ever."

"Whenever feeling downcast, each person should vitally remember, "For my sake, the entire world was created.""

"Your fellow man is your mirror. If your own face is clean, the image you perceive will also be flawless. But should you look upon your fellow man and see a blemish, it is your own imperfection that you are encountering - you are being shown what it is that you must correct within yourself."