The Jewish Wisdom Database

Once an error is learned, it is hard to unlearn.

If you are a man of the sword, you can't claim to be a man of the book; and if you are a man of the book, you will not be a man of the sword.

Much have I learned from my teachers, more from my colleagues, but most from my students.

Don't worry about tomorrow: who knows, what may befall you this day?

A man shows his character by three things: his tipping, his tippling, and his temper.

When a man marries, his sins decrease.

The mind of each man is as unique as his face.

Miracles don't happen every day.

Hope for a miracle---but don't depend on one.

The child honors his mother more than his father because his mother affects him by her words---so God set the honoring of the father before the honoring of the mother; and the child fears his father more than his mother, because it is the father who teaches him Torah---so God set the fearing of the mother before the fearing of the father.

Our passions are like travelers: at first they make a brief stay; then they are like guests, who visit often; and then they turn into tyrants, who hold us in their power.

If there are more than twenty-five children in an elementary class, appoint an assistant.

When two men quarrel, the one who yields first displays the nobler nature.

One must not say to a man who has repented (and changed his way of life,) 'Remember your former transgressions.'

Consider every day your last and you will always be ready---with good deeds and repentance.

Happy is the man who leaves a good name.

The Sabbath was delivered unto you, and not you unto the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was given for the study of the Torah.

The Sabbath is the Queen of the week.

Just as a small log may set fire to a large one, so do smaller scholars sharpen the wits of sages.

To partake of a meal at which a great scholar is present is to feast upon the refulgence of the Divine Presence.

A passage from Scripture can yield many meanings, just as a hammer splits one rock into many fragments.

A man who does not own a piece of land is not a complete [secure] man.

There is always hope for the man who is capable of being ashamed.

If a word be worth one shekel, silence is worth two.