The Jewish Wisdom Database

Nobody is ever impoverished through the giving of charity.

One should accept the truth from whatever source it proceeds.

Give graciously, cheerfully, and sympathetically.

There are eight rungs in charity. The highest is when you help a man to help himself.

The great sages were porters, smiths, hewers of wood and drawers of water...accepting nothing from the community.

The Sabbaths are for rest and the festivals for joy, not for fasting and weeping and crying.

To eat and drink on a festival in the company of your family without providing for the poor and distressed, is not 'the joy of the commandment' but the joy of your stomach. It is a disgrace.

If a poor man asks for alms, and you have nothing to give, console him with words; for it is forbidden to chastise a poor man or raise your voice against him, since his heart is broken.

Our sages recommended that a father should spend less than his means on food, up to his means on dress, and beyond his means for his wife and children.

Whoever does no work will suffer all his life.

Men's features are not alike; nor are their opinions.

A miracle cannot prove that which is impossible; it is useful only as a confirmation of what is possible.

It is imperative that most men work in [physically] productive occupations, so that the few who devote themselves entirely to learning may have their wants provided; in this way, the human race goes on, and knowledge is enriched.

What is lofty can be said in any language, and what is mean should be said in none.

When I see no way of teaching a truth but one that will please one intelligent man but will offend ten thousand fools, I address myself to the one, and ignore the censure of the thousands.

He who has not studied enough and teaches imperfect knowledge is to be treated as if he has sinned intentionally.

The Torah is truth, and the purpose of knowing it is to live by it.

A truth does not become greater by repetition.

The Torah is truth, and the purpose of knowing it is to live by it.

A wise man is a greater asset to a nation than a king.