Quotations of Jews

Quotations of Jews

Jewish Proverbs

Ask about your neighbors, then buy the house.

Do not make yourself so big, you are not so small.

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.

Prepare your proof before you argue.

Rejoice not at your enemy's fall - but don't rush to pick him up either.

The common soldiers do the fighting, and the officers claim the victory.

The innkeeper loves a drunkard, but not for a son-in-law.

When you have no choice, mobilise the spirit of courage.

Jewish Quotations

Why do Jewish men die before their wives? They want to. [Henny Youngman]

Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons. [Woody Allen]

I was thrown out of N.Y.U. [New York University] my freshman year . . . for cheating on my metaphysics final. You know, I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me. [Woody Allen]

Since things are deteriorating so quickly, will society and man's habits change quickly enough? [Isaac Asimov]

A strong egoism is a protection . . . [Sigmund Freud]

A certain degree of neurosis is of inestimable value as a drive, especially to a psychologist. [Sigmund Freud]

Opposition is not necessarily enmity. [Sigmund Freud]

Just as modern mass production requires the standardization of commodities, so the social process requires standardization of man. [Erich Fromm]

Selfish persons are . . . not capable of loving themselves either. [Erich Fromm]

The moment of truth, the sudden emergence of a new insight, is an act of intuition. [Arthur Koestler]

Space-ships and time machines are no escape from the human condition. [Arthur Koestler]

I find television very educational. Every time someone switches it on I go into another room and read a good book. [Groucho Marx]

The two most beautiful words in the English language are "check enclosed." [Dorothy Parker]

I'd worship the ground you walked on if only you walked in a better neighborhood. [Billy Wilder]

It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. [Albert Einstein]

Rabbi Words

You don't have to be religious to perfect your soul; I have found saintliness in avowed atheists. [Rabbi Harold Kushner]

Can you see the holiness in those things you take for granted - a paved road or a washing machine? If you concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul. [Rabbi Harold Kushner]

Do not say, 'When I have leisure, I will study,' because you may never have leisure. [Rabbi Hillel]

If I am not for myself, who will be for me?" [Rabbi Hillel]

Maturity is achieved when a person postpones immediate pleasures for long-term values. [Joshua Loth Liebman]

Professor Yehudah Levi

In North America and Western Europe, ten percent of the population of the world consumes fifty percent of its energy. (...)

The real danger to the Earth lies in this excessive consumption. (...)

This over-consumption is also manifest in our use of raw materials. It can even be found in our dietary habits. ... People are well aware of this.

The root of the problem lies in a selfish world view which inflates personal consumption beyond the essential. (...)

From the explicit prohibition against the destruction of fruit trees, our sages deduced that it is all the more forbidden to destroy the fruits themselves. (...)

One of the treasures of nature is beauty; this, too, should be preserved. (...)

Spoiling the landscape ... is clearly against the spirit of the Torah. (...)

The beauty of the environment is an important factor in the quality of life.

(As for a well planned city,) no generation has a right to change it as it wishes. The present generation is not the sole master over it. Rather, the future generations are equal to them in their rights. (...)

Cities originally surrounded by a wall can produce an urban population cut off from the surrounding fields and from agriculture altogether. At the same time, the greenbelt laws eliminate the possibility of the unchecked expansion of a city into a monstrous megalopolis. If there is a need for additional homes, a new city must be established. (...)

Sages expanded these laws to also prohibit psychological disturbances, such as possible exposure to a neighbour's observation, noise, and so on. [It helps to remove] the cause of the noise (...)

Particular nuisances (are) smoke, sewage odours, dust and similar aerosols, and vibrations. (...) These four nuisances are forms of pollution which are a source of great concern to this day. (...)

Aesthetic damage, such as littering in public places, is also included (...) This is where the Torah steps in. It comes to eliminate the prime cause of conflict by providing a (...) vision of an ecological paradise ... [▾Reference]

Learning More

What drives a person to rebukes? It seems to me that there are three reasons one would rebuke or criticise.

1. One is the obvious reason; that would be to alter a particular behaviour. ... Shimshon Rephael Hirsch, "Rebuke imposes on every member of the Jewish community generally not to remain silent when they see their Jewish companion’s big or small sins." Likewise in the realm of interpersonal relationships, one is obligated to allude to misdeeds.

2. The second reason for reprimand may be in order to avoid what the Talmud calls "silence is equivalent to acquiescence ." ... The Talmud goes on to explain that even after that initial objection the owner must declare his disapproval at least once every three years. It’s not enough to object once or twice, there must be a consistent voice of disapproval. ... Similarly when it comes to rebuking someone for a religious or social fault.

3. The third reason for reprimanding is less obvious ... we tell people of our disapproval of their behaviour ... to show them that we care. [Note: Shortened. Here's the ▾reference]

Literature  

Cohen, A., coll. Ancient Jewish Proverbs.. London: John Murray, 1911.

Dingle, Carol A., coll. Memorable Quotations: Jewish Writers of the Past.. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, 2003.



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