The Jewish Wisdom Database

Drunk but not of wine---that is a man in his youth.

A young man has to live and an old man wants to.

A child of five could understand this. Fetch me a child of five.

You've got the brain of a four-year-old boy, and I'll bet he was glad to get rid of it.

Ask your child what he wants for dinner only if he's buying.

I must take issue with the term 'a mere child,' for it has been my invariable experience that the company of a mere child is infinitely preferable to that of a mere adult.

My mother loved children -- she would have given anything if I had been one.

The reason grandparents and grandchildren get along so well is that they have a common enemy.

Do not boast of your children when they are little, because you never know what they will be like when grown-up!

As a teenager you are at the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you.

Children ask better questions than adults. 'May I have a cookie?' 'Why is the sky blue?' and 'What does a cow say?' are far more likely to elicit a cheerful response than 'Where's your manuscript?' Why haven't you called?' and 'Who's your lawyer?'

Do not, on a rainy day, ask your child what he feels like doing, because I assure you that what he feels like doing, you won't feel like watching.

Even when freshly washed and relieved of all obvious confections, children tend to be sticky.

Your responsibility as a parent is not as great as you might imagine. You need not supply the world with the next conqueror of disease or major motion picture star. If your child simply grows up to be someone who does not use the word 'collectible' as a noun, you can consider yourself an unqualified success.

Jewish tradition perceives children as worthy and deserving of our greatest resources of time and energy to create an environment that is both physically and spiritually nurturing. For it is the children who embody the purity of intent, sincerity, faith and enthusiasm for life.

People should tell your children what life is all about -- it's about work.

I figure if my kids are alive at the end of the day, I've done my job.

I make decisions for my life, not the other way around. Besides, when you have a kid, you must weigh everything against time with your child.

Did you ever hear of a kid playing accountant -- even if they wanted to be one?

As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it.

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection.

Educational television should be absolutely forbidden. It can only lead to unreasonable disappointment when your child discovers that the letters of the alphabet do not leap up out of books and dance around with royal-blue chickens.

Don't threaten a child: either punish him or forgive him.

In the final analysis it is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings.

In seeking wisdom the first step is silence, the second: listening, the third: remembering, the fourth: practicing, the fifth: teaching others.