Above all, you must fight conceit, envy, and every kind of ill-feeling in your heart.

The dearest days in one’s life are those that seem very far and very near at once.

Be modest, humble, simple. Control your anger.

The orthodox Jewish faith practically excludes woman from religious life.

God, for example, appealed to me as a beardless man wearing a quilted silk cap; holiness was something burning, forbidding, something connected with fire while a day had the form of an oblong box.

What is this world? A mere curl of smoke for the wind to scatter.

I was a great dreamer of day dreams.

What is wealth? A dream of fools.

If a man is tongue-tied, don’t laugh at him, but, rather, feel pity for him, as you would for a man with broken legs.

You must never tire fighting Satan.

If it be true that our people represent a high percentage of mental vigor, the distinction is probably due, in some measure, to the extremely important part which Talmud studies have played in the spiritual...

If you feel that you are good, don’t be too proud of it.

If you study the Talmud you please God even more than you do by praying or fasting.

Life is much shorter than I imagined it to be.

Only the other world has substance and reality; only good deeds and holy learning have tangible worth.

Remember that it is not enough to abstain from lying by word of mouth; for the worst lies are often conveyed by a false look, smile, or act.