Halachic and Talmudic Words of Wisdom
The walls have ears.[1]
Seeing is believing.[2]
Don’t eat meat until you have animals.[3]
No one has a pain-free life.[4]
One who has only a single shirt is not living properly.[5]
A person cannot evade his debts indefinitely.[6]
A person only dies from boredom.[7]
There is no day in which God does not innovate a halacha in the Heavenly court.[8]
Do not innovate stringencies in halacha.[9]
Either friendship or death.[10]
One cannot be more righteous than God.[11]
A person is not permitted to do something that would injure himself.[12]
Don’t drink from a cup without first inspecting it.[13]
There is no profession that doesn’t include those who are rich and those who are poor.[14]
Do not completely praise a person in his presence.[15]
The worst offense is lying.[16]
A conceited person is a blemished person.[17]
The worst sin is to violate the trust of a friend.[18]
There is no academy that does not produce new insights.[19]
Poverty is the worst form of suffering.[20]
A person should be more careful not to harm others than not to be harmed by others.[21]
People don’t even realize the miracles that are performed for them.[22]
Nothing bad descends from Above. [23]
The honor of a person can be ascertained by his clothes.[24]
There is always room for dessert.[25]
There is no book that does not contain some mistakes.[26]
One who forgives can never be called cruel.[27]
The one who completes the mitzva gets the credit for it.[28]
The reward for performing mitzvot is incomprehensible.[29]
Don’t forbid for others that which you permit for yourself.[30]
The wise man said: if you want your friend to hate you – be sure to visit him often.[31]
I love Socrates, I love Plato, but I love the truth [the Torah] even more.[32]
If you can’t see God everywhere then you really can’t see Him anywhere.[33]
So great is the honor due to human beings that it even outweighs the prohibitions of the Torah.[34]
Don’t speak with food in your mouth.[35]
If everyone agrees with you then you are certainly mistaken.[36]
Time is like gold – valuable and hard to find.[37]
Take nothing from no one; that way you will not have to give anything to anyone.[38]
Keeping quiet is difficult for one who has nothing intelligent to say.[39]
If you’ve given bread to a child be sure to inform his mother.[40]
I’ve created everything in the world just for you to enjoy. The only thing I ask of you is that you love each other and honor one another.[41]
You'll know a person really loves you if they're there for you in a time of need.[42]
It is preferable to rule leniently than to rule stringently.[43]
A person should not eat meat twice on the same day.[44]
Don’t speak to someone unless you know he is going to listen.[45]
Give your enemies the most accurate advice – it's best revenge.[46]
There is no joy like that of living in Israel.[47]
One who learns something 101 times knows it better than one who only learned it 100 times.[48]
Don’t keep an unsafe ladder on your property.[49]
Only help those who help themselves.[50]
Eat when it is time to eat and sleep when it is time to sleep.[51]
If you’re in pain, go to the doctor.[52]
First learn, then form an opinion.[53]
When it is time to rejoice, rejoice; and when it is time to mourn, mourn.[54]
[1] Vayikra Rabba 32:2.
[2] Mechilta, Shemot 19:9.
[3] Sifri, Re’eh 12:20; Chullin 84a.
[4] Yalkut, Ekev.
[5] Sefer Chassidim 171
[6] Yerushalmi Gittin 5:4.
[7] Avot D’rabbi Natan 11:1.
[8] Bereishit Rabba 49:2
[9] Radbaz 163.
[10] Taanit 23a.
[11] Bamidbar Rabba 12:2.
[12] Bava Kamma 91b.
[13] Ketubot 75b.
[14] Kiddushin 82a.
[15] Bereishit Rabba 32:4.
[16] Mechilta, Mishpatim 21:8.
[17] Megilla 29a.
[18] Yerushalmi Sota 9:1.
[19] Chagiga 3a.
[20] Shemot Rabba 31:11.
[21] Tosfot, Bava Kama 23a.
[22] Nidda 31a.
[23] Bereishit Rabba 51:5.
[24] Derech Eretz Zuta 10.
[25] Megilla 7b.
[26] Bechinat Hakabbala 269.
[27] Shemot Rabba 19:23.
[28] Sota 13b.
[29] Tanchuma, Tavo 3.
[30] Hapitgam Hashinon, p. 14.
[31] Orchot Tzaddikim, Sinah.
[32] Rabbi Zerachia Halevi.
[33] Hapitgam Hashinon, p.31.
[34] Shabbat 94b.
[35] Taanit 5b.
[36] Hapitgam Hashinon, p. 50.
[37] Ibid., p. 64.
[38] Bereishit Rabba, Vayishlach.
[39] See also Mishlei 10:19; Hapitgam Hashinon, p. 90.
[40] Rashi, Bamidbar 21:16.
[41] Tanna D’vei Eliyahu Rabba 26.
[42] Sefer Chassidim 184.
[43] Berachot 60a; Beitza 2b.
[44] Pesikta Zutrati, Beshalach 16:8; Yalkut Shimoni, Yeshayahu 60.
[45] Tanchuma (Buber), Yitro 15.
[46] Sefer Chassidim 134.
[47] Ohr Hachaim, Devarim 21:1.
[48] Chagiga 9b.
[49] Bava Kama 15b.
[50] Sefer Chassidim 853.
[51] Kav Hayashar 8.
[52] Bava Kama 46b.
[53] Shabbat 63a; Berachot 63b.
[54] Bereishit Rabba 27:4.