Great Throughts Treasury

"He who prays for his neighbors will be heard for himself."

"He who promises runs in debt."

"He who prays should direct the eyes downward and the heart upward."

"He who talks too much commits a sin."

"He whose deeds exceed his wisdom will endure; but he whose wisdom exceeds his deeds, his wisdom will not endure."

"He who recites his prayer aloud, in order that it might be heard, belongs to those of little faith."

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

"He who saves one life is considered as if he had preserved the whole world."

"If silence be good for the wise, how much the better for fools."

"In eating, a third of the stomach should be filled with food, a third with drink, and the rest left empty."

"Man should not be joyous amongst the weeping, nor should he weep amongst the joyous. He should not be awake amongst the sleeping, nor should he sleep amongst those who are awake."

"Iron sharpens iron; scholar, the scholar."

"One should not promise a child something and then not give it as he thus teaches the child to lie."

"More people die from overeating than are victims of starvation."

"To cry over the past is a vain prayer."

"Of all the things God created in this world, He did not create a single thing without purpose."

"The world is only saved by the breath of the school children."

"Wisdom without fear of God is despicable."

"Who forces time is pushed back by time; who yields to time finds time on his side."

"A man cannot say to the Angel of death: I wish to arrange my affairs before I die."

"Your silence is better than your speech."

"Woman entices with her heart and man with his mouth, and this is a superior trait in woman."

"A man should not act as a judge either for someone he loves or for someone he hates. For no man can see the guilt of someone he loves or the good qualities of someone he hates."

"A scholar takes precedence over a king of Israel, for if a scholar dies, there is none to replace him; while if a king of Israel dies, all Israel are eligible for kingship."

"Beware of him who gives thee advice according to his own interests."

"Blessed is the generation in which the old listen to the young; and doubly blessed is the generation in which the young listen to the old."

"Charity knows no race or creed."

"Everyone whose deeds are more than their wisdom, their wisdom endures. And everyone whose wisdom is more than their deeds, their wisdom does not endure."

"Give up fearing death; it is at all times foolish to miss life’s pleasures for fear of death."

"Deeds of kindness are equal in weight to all the commandments."

"He who gives alms in secret is greater than Moses."

"God fills the universe just as the soul fills the body of man."

"He who rises from prayer a better man, his prayer is answered."

"If two men claim thy help, and one is thy enemy, help him first."

"In the life to be, there is neither envy nor hatred, nor contention, but the righteous rejoice in the light of God’s countenance."

"It is a duty to say what should be heard, and a duty not to say what should not be heard."

"Jealousy, passion, vanity drive one out of the world."

"It matters not whether a man does much or little, if only he directs his heart towards Heaven."

"Judge every man in the most favorable light."

"Loving-kindness is greater than law; and the charities of life are more than all the ceremonies."

"One who causes himself pain by abstinence from something he desires is called a sinner."

"Of eight things a little is good and much is evil: travel, mating, wealth, work, wine, sleep, spiced drinks, medicine."

"Prohibit not something to others which you permit to yourself."

"The Divine Presence does not dwell in the midst of idleness, sadness, jocularity, levity or idle chatter, but rather in the joy derived from a virtuous deed."

"Prayer is the service of the heart."

"The best preacher is the heart; the best teacher is time; the best book is the world; the best friend is God."

"The greatest charity is to enable the poor to earn a living."

"The unlearned lose the power of clear thinking as they grow old, but scholars gain in it as their years advance."

"The Holy Spirit rests on him who has a joyous heart."

"The world rests upon three things: upon truth, upon justice, and upon peace. All these three are really one, for when justice is done the truth becomes an actuality, peace a reality."