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Latest comment: 1 month ago by BurningLibrary in topic Quotes
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This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Talmud page.

Quotes

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Latest comment: 1 month ago4 comments3 people in discussion

Inbox

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Quotes that may be considered for inclusion.

Unknown translations

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Quotes where the particular translation is unknown.
  • Our Rabbis taught: It says, "Honour your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12), and it says, "Honor God with your wealth" (Proverbs 3:9). By using the same terminology, the Torah compares the honour you owe your father and mother to the honour you have to give to the Almighty. It also says, "Every person must respect his mother and his father" (Leviticus 19:3), and it says, "God your Lord you shall respect, Him you shall serve" (Deuteronomy 10:20). Here the same word, respect, is used. The Torah equates the respect you owe your parents with the respect you must show God. Furthermore it says, "Whoever curses his father or mother shall be put to death" (Exodus 21:17). And furthermore it says, "Anyone that curses God shall bear his sin" (Leviticus 24.–15). By using the same terms the Torah compares cursing of parents with cursing the Almighty.
  • A man should endeavor to be as pliant as a reed, and never unyielding like the cedar.
  • Let every man divide his money into three parts, and invest a third in land, a third in business, and a third let him keep by him in reserve.
  • One may decline the request of a lesser person, but one may not decline the request of a great person.
  • A legal decision depends not on the teacher's age, but on the force of his argument.
  • Whoever did not see Jerusalem in its days of glory, never saw a beautiful city in their life.
  • Ten measures of beauty descended to the world, nine were taken by Jerusalem.
  • Even during the time of Jerusalem's stumbling, men of faith did not cease from [living] there.
  • Jerusalem does not become impure through touching; Jerusalem will not be split by the tribes.
  • Jerusalem was only destroyed because its inhabitants desecrated the Shabbat, they refrained from reciting the Morning and Evening Shema, the children in the Torah day schools wasted their learning time, because they were not shame faced (to sin), because they made the minors equal to the adults, because one did not rebuke another, because they embarrassed Torah Scholars.
  • Whoever mourns for Jerusalem will be meritorious and will see its rejoicing and all who do not mourn for Jerusalem will not see its rejoicing.
  • Why did G-d exile the Jewish people? To make converts of the world.
  • If you steal from a thief, you also have a taste of it.
  • Who takes vengeance or bears a grudge acts like one who, having cut one hand while handling a knife, avenges himself by stabbing the other hand.

Unsourced

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  • Sheep follow sheep.
    • Ketuboth 62
  • For we are like olives: only when we are crushed do we yield what is best in us.
  • A quotation at the right moment is like bread to the famished.
  • Ambition destroys its possessor.
  • Be of an exceedingly humble spirit, for the end of man is the worm.
  • Beware of the ruling powers! for they do not befriend a person except for their own needs: they when it is to their advantage, but they do not stand by a man when he is hard-pressed.
  • Breed not a savage dog, nor permit a loose stairway.
  • Deeds of kindness are equal in weight to all the commandments.
  • Despise no man and consider nothing impossible, for there is no man who does not have his hour and there is no thing that does not have its place.
  • Do not appease thy fellow in his hour of anger; do not comfort him while the dead is still laid do not question him in the hour of his vow; and do not strive to see him in his hour of misfortune.
  • Do not attempt to confute a lion after he's dead.
  • Don't use the conduct of a fool as a precedent.
  • Doubt cannot override a certainty.
  • Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, "Grow, grow."
  • Examine the contents, not the bottle.
  • For the unlearned, old age is winter; for the learned it is the season of the harvest.
  • He that gives should never remember. He that receives should never forget.
  • He who carries out one good deed acquires one advocate in his own behalf, and he who commits one transgression acquires one accuser against himself. Repentance and good works are like a shield against calamity.
  • He who loves money will not be satisfied with money.
  • He who promises runs in debt.
  • He whose wisdom exceeds his works, to what may he be likened? To a tree whose branches are numerous but whose roots are few. The wind comes along and uproots it and sweeps it down.
  • Hire yourself out to work, which is beneath you, rather than become dependent on others.
  • If one profanes the name of heaven in secret he shall be punished in broad daylight: unwittingly is all one in profaning the name.
  • If silence be good for the wise, how much better for fools.
  • Into the well which supplies thee with water, cast no stones.
  • Keep far way from an evil neighbor, do not associate with the wicked, and do not despair of retribution.
  • Let your left hand turn away what your right hands attracts.
  • Life is so short we must move very slowly.
  • Loving kindness is greater than laws; and the charities of life are more than all ceremonies.
  • Make thy study of the word of The Eternal a fixed practice; say little and do much; and receive all countenance.
  • Man has three friends on whose company he relies. First, wealth— which goes with him only while good fortune lasts. Second, his relatives— they go only as far as the grave and leave him there. The third friend, his good deeds, go with him beyond the grave.
  • Mark well three things and thou wilt not fall into the clutches of sin: Know what is above thee— an eye that sees, an ear that hears, and all thine actions recorded in the book.
  • More people die from over-eating than from undernourishment.
  • Never expose yourself unnecessarily to danger; a miracle may not save you...and if it does, it will be deducted from your share of luck or merit.
  • No labor, however humble, is dishonoring.
  • Only a fraction of a man's virtues should be enumerated in his presence.
  • Power buries those who wield it.
  • Rather be the tail of a lion than the head of a fox.
  • Richer is one hour of repentance and good works in this world than all of life of the world to come; and richer is one hour's calm of spirit in the world to come than all of life of this world.
  • Sheep follow sheep.
  • Sin is sweet in the beginning, but bitter in the end.
  • The burden is equal to the horse's strength.
  • The deeper the sorrow the less tongue it hath.
  • The Divine Spirit does not reside in any except the joyful heart.
  • The doctrines of religion are resolved into carefulness; carefulness into vigorousness; vigorousness into guiltlessness; guiltlessness into abstemiousness; abstemiousness into cleanliness; cleanliness into godliness.
  • The end result of wisdom is... good deeds.
  • The highest form of wisdom is kindness.
  • The myrtle that grows among thorns is a myrtle still.
  • The sun sets without thy assistance.
  • These things are good in little measure and evil in large; yeast, salt, and hesitation.
  • Thy friend has a friend, and thy friend's friend has a friend; be discreet.
    • Seder Nezikin, Baba Bathra, Ch III, 28b seems the likely source. As translated on the linked-to page by Isidore Epstein, it reads "Your friend has a friend, and the friend of your friend has a friend," with a footnote that it is "a popular saying. Someone is bound to tell the holder that the claimant has protested against his occupation of the land, and he will therefore take care not to lose his title-deed." On his WIST (Wish I'd Said That) website Dave Hill notes, "The summary 'be discreet' does not appear in the actual Talmud translations I found, but seems to be an explanation from early Christian reviews of the Talmud for when the verse is given as a stand-alone proverb." That jibes with my on-line research as well. --Hughh (talk) 02:43, 21 July 2017 (UTC)Reply
  • Trust not your own powers till the day of your death.
  • When choosing a wife look down the social scale; when selecting a friend, look upwards.
  • When you teach your son, you teach your son's son.
  • When you add to the truth,you subtract from it.
  • Who can protest an injustice but does not is an accomplice to the act.
  • Who is mighty? One who subdues his urges.
  • Who is wise? One who sees the future.
  • Who is wealthy? One who is satisfied with his lot.
  • Who is a wise man? He who learns of all men.
  • You can educate a fool, but you cannot make him think.

Outbox

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Quotes that may belong somewhere else.

Vox Day quote

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The following quote by Theodore Beale, AKA "Vox Day", was recently added to the about section. It was also added to Torah study. The quote reads:

  • the Torah is not studied in order to better obey it, but rather, to better determine how to “legally” work around it. It’s very much like the Constitution, whereas the Talmud is akin to the growing collection of case law and interpretation that takes precedence over the black letter law itself. In the same way lawyers are able to justify violating Constitutional rights despite the clear language of the Constitution, rabbis are highly skilled in their ability to justify various activities despite the clear language of the Law of the Old Testament. Which is why there is a specific warning in Isaiah against those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

For the sake of this discussion, it is worth providing a fuller quote:

  • It’s not just about the observable behaviors either, as in the case of a sinful priest or pastor. What many people don’t understand about the rabbinic religion is that the Torah is not studied in order to better obey it, but rather, to better determine how to “legally” work around it. It’s very much like the Constitution, whereas the Talmud is akin to the growing collection of case law and interpretation that takes precedence over the black letter law itself. In the same way lawyers are able to justify violating Constitutional rights despite the clear language of the Constitution, rabbis are highly skilled in their ability to justify various activities despite the clear language of the Law of the Old Testament.

    Which is why there is a specific warning in Isaiah against those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

    If you can imagine ten thousand Ben Shapiros deciding what is right, what is wrong, and constantly redefining both over time as desired, that’s pretty much the situation.

"Ten thousand Ben Shapiros deciding what is right"—here it is worth pointing out that there is an ongoing discussion on Talk:Ben Shapiro about negative Beale quotes about Shapiro, of which there are a few.

I recommend that the same approach be taken in both cases, which is to move all quotes by Beale to Beale's own Wikiquote page, and this I will carry out unless anyone has a better idea.

Update: The quote has been moved to Beale's own Wikiquote page. BurningLibrary (talk) 13:30, 14 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

RationalWiki

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  • Quoting the Talmud is almost always more trouble than it's worth. The Talmud is long, complex, and explicitly contradictory, and an honest citation requires a significant amount of context to establish whether the opinion cited is meaningful or relevant to modern Judaism. Legitimate critics of Judaism will typically be able to find citations in a more straightforward source, such as one of the Jewish law codes, Rabbinical responsa, or modern Jewish publications. Critics who rely solely on the Talmud for critical citations often explain their lack of other sources by accusing Judaism of hiding secret, shocking beliefs, whereas in fact Talmudic opinions that are not cited in later literature simply aren't important to later Jewish tradition – just like obscure laws can be discarded if they are never cited in relevant common law sources.

I don't think we permit wiki quotes on Wikiquote, but this RationalWiki quote raises an interesting point. BurningLibrary (talk) 23:02, 25 July 2024 (UTC)Reply

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Latest comment: 1 year ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Most of the quotes on this page are from the William Davidson Talmud, which has been made available under a Creative Commons non-commercial license:

Through the generous support of The William Davidson Foundation, these translations are now available with a Creative Commons non-commercial license, making them free for use and re-use—even beyond Sefaria. […] The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, was released with a CC BY-NC license by Koren Publishers.

This means that the limits on quotations can be relaxed when quoting from this edition of the Talmud. BurningLibrary (talk) 16:05, 19 September 2023 (UTC)Reply

Suggested guidelines

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Latest comment: 2 months ago1 comment1 person in discussion

This page aims to present a selection of Talmudic quotes that can be appreciated by a broad audience. The focus is on wholesome words on wisdom with universal appeal, famous passages which are often cited, and passages discussing core tenets of the Jewish faith.

Passages dealing with difficult topics should not be added here. Rather, the suggested approach when dealing with such material—if at all notable—is to create a dedicated sub-page for the topic in question (e.g., "Talmudic views on …", or a page named after a corresponding Wikipedia article), and then organize that page in such a way that the least controversial quotes are listed first. This permits an agreeable quote to be picked as representative of the whole topic, which can then be cited on this page, along with a link to the sub-page. In this way, the gentleness of this page is mostly preserved even when difficult topics are occasionally mentioned.

Please strive to contribute to this page in a way that adds to the understanding of Judaism in general and of the Talmud in particular. BurningLibrary (talk) 18:22, 17 September 2024 (UTC)Reply

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