Great Throughts Treasury

"There is no mediator between God’s children and God."

"This is the punishment of a liar: he is not believed, even when he speaks the truth."

"Who is mighty? He who turns an enemy into his friend."

"When man appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he is asked is not: “Have you believed in God? Or “Have you prayed and observed the ritual?” He is asked: “Have you dealt honorably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow man?”"

"Tremble before a minor sin, lest it lead you to a major one."

"What is service of the heart? This is prayer."

"With ten characteristics was the earth created: wisdom and understanding; knowledge and strength; rebuke and might; righteousness and justice; mercy and compassion."

"A man should endeavor to be as pliant as a reed, yet as hard as cedar-wood."

"A man does not hurt his finger unless it is decreed from above."

"A person will be called to account on Judgment Day for every permissible thing he might have enjoyed but did not."

"A legal decision depends not on the teacher's age, but on the force of his argument"

"A person who seeks help for a friend, while needy himself, will be answered first."

"A word is worth one coin; silence is worth two."

"A quotation at the right moment is like bread to the famished."

"All the blessings of a household come through the wife, therefore should her husband honor her."

"All ailings, only not the ailing of heart; all evils, but not an evil wife."

"Ambition destroys its possessor."

"And if not now, when?"

"As a tree is known by its fruit, so man by his works."

"An eye for an eye. But not an eye and a life for an eye."

"Any controversy waged in the service of God shall in the end be of lasting worth, but any that is not shall in the end lead to no permanent result."

"Be cautious in your intercourse with the great; they seldom confer obligations on their inferiors but from interested motives. Friendly they appear as long as it serves their turn, but they will render no assistance in time of actual need."

"Be very careful if you make a woman cry, because God counts her tears. The woman came out of a man's rib. Not from his feet to be walked on. Not from his head to be superior, but from the side to be equal. Under the arm to be protected, and next to the heart to be loved."

"Be eager to fulfill the smallest duty and flee from transgression for one duty includes another and one transgression induces another transgression."

"Breed not a savage dog, nor permit a loose stairway"

"Beware of too much laughter, for it deadens the mind and produces oblivion."

"Better an ounce from the ground than a pound from the roof."

"Commit a sin twice, and it will not seem to thee a sin."

"Customs are more powerful than laws."

"Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time."

"Do not decide that someone is good until you see how he or she acts at home."

"Do not attempt to confute a lion after he's dead."

"Doubt cannot override a certainty."

"Do not judge your fellow man until you have stood in his place."

"Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, grow, grow."

"Don't use the conduct of a fool as a precedent."

"Even for the rebuilding of the Temple the instruction of the children must not be interrupted."

"Even if you be otherwise perfect, you fail without humility."

"Examine the contents, not the bottle."

"Excellent is wisdom when associated with an inheritance."

"First correct thyself, then correct others."

"Fate chooses our relatives, we choose our friends."

"For the unlearned, old age is winter; for the learned it is the season of the harvest."

"Fish die when they are out of water, and people die without law and order."

"For the sake of peace one may lie, but peace itself should never be a lie."

"God said: you must teach, as I taught, without a fee."

"Greater even than the pious man is he who eats that which is the fruit of his own toil; for scripture declares him twice-blessed."

"God wants the heart."

"Good deeds are better than creeds."

"He alone is poor who does not possess knowledge."