The Jewish Wisdom Database

Shame induces us to fear sin.

Being ashamed of oneself is not like being ashamed of others.

The Shekhina does not bide amidst gloom and sloth, amidst frivolity, levity or idle chatter, but only in the joy of performing a precept.

Six things augur well for the sick: sneezing, sweating, looseness of bowels, nocturnal pollution, sleeping and dreaming.

Never call a halt to your visiting of the sick!

Who visits a sick friend lessens his pain a little.

Silence means consent.

Silence profits the wise and even more the fool.

There is no proxy in transgression. [The sinner cannot shift the blame to his employer.]

If a man is told to commit all the sins in the Torah to save his life, let him obey, save for idolatry, incest and the shedding of blood.

A servant whose master has no control over him cannot be called one.

The sleep of the wicked is a benefit to them and a boon to the world.

A man must repeat the lesson until his pupil has learnt it.

Study leads to action.

If you see a student who finds it as hard as iron to study, it is because his studies are without system.

Who suspects the upright will be smitten with bodily ill.

Even the mundane talk of scholars needs study.

When you whitewash your home, leave a small patch bare to remind you of the Temple's destruction! [Tisha B'Av]

No man should lead himself into temptation.

Who steals from a thief goes unpunished.

The breach beckons the burglar.

If a thief finds nothing to steal, he thinks himself honest.

As you do, so will you be done by.

To use the Torah is more important than to study it.

If food, which is ephemeral, requires a blessing before and after you eat it, how much more so the Torah, which is everlasting!