Questions tagged [quotations]
The quotations tag has no usage guidance.
75
questions
2
votes
1answer
241 views
Who made this claim about the author of Sefer Habahir?
Asking for someone else:
"I remember a quote of some medieval or later rabbi disputing the claim that Rabbi Nechunya [ben Hakanah] wrote the Sefer HaBahir, saying something like god forbid that a ...
2
votes
4answers
433 views
What's a good quote from Chazal to use as a constant reminder? [closed]
I am looking for some of Mi Yodeya's favorite quotes from Mishna, Gemara, works of Chazal, etc. that can be used as constant reminders to always be doing the right thing and trying to grow.
I am aware ...
3
votes
1answer
188 views
Source for a quotation from a Rabbi (or Jewish story)
My apologies if this question isn't within the typical scope of this site. I'm trying to locate the source of a quotation I saved long ago, it was from I believe an academic text collecting various ...
8
votes
1answer
104 views
'Just because I think doesn't mean I know how to think'- Rambam quote?
A few years ago I heard Rabbi Joseph Dweck give a lecture on Kabalah and he mentioned this quotation attributed to Rambam: "Just because I think doesn't mean I know how to think." But I ...
4
votes
1answer
305 views
Do you have the source for the quote about not trusting liars
Does anyone remember a quote about how once someone is a confirmed liar nothing they say or said can be trusted and should be questioned?
I cannot find the exact words.
1
vote
1answer
415 views
Seeking the source for a Baal Shem Tov quote
“Let me fall if I must fall. The one I am becoming will catch me.”
I often see this quote online, but I can't find the original source. I want to know if the Baal Shem Tov actually said this and in ...
1
vote
2answers
619 views
Did Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson say that the souls of non-Jews are from the Satan?
According to the book "Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel" by Israel Shahak the Lubavitcher Rebbe allegedly said in the 1965 book "Gatherings of Conversations" (Probably mean "...
5
votes
1answer
166 views
Source for Rabbi Meir Shapira's statement about Daf Yomi
In numerous locations in print and online, the following idea is told over in the name of Rabbi Meir Shapira, the founder of the Daf Yomi learning program. The quote is almost identical in every place ...
5
votes
2answers
941 views
What is "okinta"?
A friend of mine, a professional translator and interpreter, was stymied in her work by a word that some rabbis keep using when quoting Talmud, baraitot, Rambam, even Rav Kook. To her ear (she is a ...
3
votes
1answer
195 views
Source for "the land of Israel makes its inhabitants wise"
I would like to know the source of the quotation: "Eretz yisrael m'chakim es yoshvehah"? My translation: The land of Israel makes its inhabitants wise.
1
vote
2answers
157 views
Where do we learn that students are like offspring?
Is there a quote in the Talmud that says something like "anyone who teaches a child Torah is like he is his parent?"
1
vote
0answers
978 views
Source of "God could not be everywhere, so He created mothers"?
A popular line, usually attributed to the Talmud, is "God could not be everywhere at the same time, so He created mothers." I could not find it anywhere in Jewish sources. Besides, God is Ha-Makom --...
5
votes
1answer
730 views
Does anything in the Tanakh resemble the quote "Each shall seek his own kind"?
I just watched "Fiddler on the Roof" and noticed Tevye said the following:
Who says he isn't? It's just that he's a different kind of man. As the Good Book says, "Each shall seek his own kind." In ...
4
votes
1answer
76 views
Maharam Discussing the Rosh
Is there a list of teshuvot (or other documents) in which the Maharam discusses his student the Rosh?
1
vote
1answer
85 views
Which rabbinic or mishnaic source is quoted as having stated that men are to be married at nineteen and fathers at twenty-four?
I've seen someone quote a certain Jewish text here and there in my readings on the internet where it says something along the likes of, 'eight for the Torah, thirteen for the study, nineteen for ...
1
vote
2answers
225 views
Idiomatic Serenity Pledge?
There's something called the Serenity Prayer, which is a clever "prayer" often used at addiction support groups, such as AA.
I did a little Googling, and it turns out that it may have been composed ...
6
votes
1answer
122 views
Who says the wicked are full of remorse? Help tracking down a supposed statement of Chazal
One section of the Tanya is called Likutei Amarim. Chapter 11 of this section contains the statement “Concerning such a person, the Rabbis of blessed memory have said, “The wicked are full of remorse.”...
2
votes
1answer
79 views
Quotation in the name of a student
The Bavli often says "אמר פלוני אמר פלוני" ("So-and-so said that So-and-so said…") or "אמר פלוני משמיה דפלוני" ("So-and-so said in the name of So-and-so…") or "כי אתא פלוני אמר פלוני" ("When So-and-so ...
2
votes
3answers
158 views
How should I understand Rabbeinu Bachya on Numbers 25:13?
ויכפר על בני ישראל, “he obtained atonement for the Children of
Israel.” This verse teaches that he who spills the blood of the wicked
is considered as if he had offered a sacrifice. The idea is ...
1
vote
0answers
162 views
Rebbe Nachman - quote on the power of dancing and clapping
I seem to remember reading somewhere in Chayei Moharan where Rebbe Nachman of Breslov said:
"Had I known the power of dancing and clapping, I would not have fasted so much in my youth."
Does ...
2
votes
1answer
75 views
looking for quote from tanach about good character [closed]
What is a pasuk from tanach that can be used to describe a person being intelligent and/or possessing positive character traits?
4
votes
1answer
511 views
Source for Chasam Sofer quote about Zohar
What is the source for the Chasam Sofer having said (regarding the Zohar), "If we could sift the book and keep only what R’ Shimon Bar Yochai wrote, it would be a very very thin book. You would only ...
3
votes
1answer
177 views
If don't aspire to be a general cannot be a simple soldier
I believe I read this saying (originally said by Napoleon) by one of the Gedolim (Torah leaders) with respect to one's religious service. Could be it was the Chafetz Chaim. Looking for a source.
The ...
8
votes
1answer
200 views
Source for Expression: "There is No Prophet For His Own Town"
There is an expression: אין נביא לעירו which apparently refers to the lack of control or respect wielded by local authorities over their own populace.
The earliest source I know for this is the ...
1
vote
1answer
109 views
Quotes on Ahavas Yisroeil [closed]
I am looking for good quotes about Ahavas Yisroeil because of a story I am writing. Can anyone provide some nice sayings from Jewish sources?
2
votes
1answer
193 views
the difference between the wise and the clever
Someone, years ago, told me the difference between the chacham (wise) and the pikeach (clever) men; the chacham does not enter, where a pikeach knows how to escape from. (החכם לא נכנס, משם פיקח יודע ...
3
votes
2answers
135 views
Praise for abstract thinking
Where in the Jewish scriptures and law can praise for abstract thinking be found? Presumably this has something to do with why so many Nobel prize winners are Jewish. Thanks.
3
votes
1answer
325 views
Gematria 515 avodat halev
I read this article: 'ABOUT AND BY THE COMMENTATORS: Why do we Eat Matza on Pesach?' written by Rabbi Amnon Bazak, in which he wrote:
Avudraham gives many examples of gematria, the numerical value ...
0
votes
2answers
238 views
What did the lubvitcher rebbe mean?
On chof cheis Nissan 5751 the Chabad Rebbe said in a public address "I did all I can to bring moshiach now I leave it up to you"
What does this mean that he did everything he could? What do we still ...
3
votes
2answers
86 views
Looking for the source of a saying on "redemption being like a candle in the daylight"
I'm looking for the source for the saying that goes something like: "celebrating the first redemption in the yemos hamoshiach will be like lighting a candle in the daylight".
9
votes
1answer
852 views
If I knew Him I would be Him
Anyone know the source of the phrase "If I knew Him I would be Him," and its meaning? (heard it a few times though don't recall where. rumors abound that the rambam said this though have never seen a ...
0
votes
1answer
183 views
Reb Yoel's opinion on Torah of Baal Shem Tov
In the answer here, an opinion that 'the Torah of the Baal Shem Tov is forgotten' is attributed to Reb Yoel of Satmar.
Is there an actual source for these words being said by him?
Is there any ...
3
votes
0answers
75 views
Bons-mots of R' Yoel Teitelbaum
I've heard many Judaism-related witticisms attributed to the Satmar Rebbe over the years, often without sources. This has led me to wonder whether a compendium, preferably sourced, of R' Yoel ...
-1
votes
1answer
433 views
0
votes
4answers
411 views
the King is in the Field
What is the source of the expression that during the month of Elul the King is in the field?
I have seen this on many occasions but could not find any source.
0
votes
1answer
54 views
Temple Mount and Tefillah
On Aish.com, I saw the following:
הר הבית הוא שער השמים - The Temple Mount is the gateway to heaven. כל תפילה עולה דרך מקום זה - All prayers ascend from this spot.
Does anyone know where this line ...
-3
votes
1answer
139 views
Which Rabbi claimed he was metaphorically born at the top of a mountain?
I once heard that a rebbe claimed that his great levels were compared to a child born at the top of a mountain. Does anyone know where this is recorded?
2
votes
2answers
185 views
Quote from Chazal
I read in Real Power on page 47, the following:
“If you are not going upward then you are automatically falling downward.”
—Chazal
Does anyone know if this is a Gemara or Medrash etc.?
4
votes
1answer
259 views
Where does the Taz say that beer gives us life?
There is a Taz on the topic of yoshon (old grain) that says something to the effect of:
כי עיקר חיינו תלוי בשכר
While it's an awesome quote out of context, the basic pretense is that since the ...
2
votes
3answers
1k views
Nothing stands in the way of desire
I saw on page 15 of this pdf the following statement quoted in the name of the Chida: "אין דבר העומד בפני הרצון, Nothing stands in the way of desire."
Does anyone know where the source for ...
2
votes
1answer
46 views
What's the point of this editorial note on Keth. 43b?
At the top of Keth. 43b the Gemara cites a ruling of Rav's, passed down by Rav Mathneh, as taught in the name of either Rav Zeira or Rabi Zeira:
אמר רב זירא אמר רב מתנה אמר רב ואמרי לה אמר רבי זירא ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
Source for "אין שמחה כשמחת התרת הספקות"
Some people in my synagogue this morning were discussing the aphorism
אין שמחה כשמחת התרת הספקות
there's no joy like the joy of the resolution of doubts
or words to that effect. Specifically, ...
5
votes
1answer
309 views
Who first said "You're being machmir on pikuach nefesh"?
I've been hearing the phrase "This is not being meikil1 on Shabbos, this is being machmir2 on pikuach nefesh3" for a long time. I've heard it quoted from R' Chaim, from the Gra, and from various and ...
4
votes
2answers
344 views
Source for the quotation, "More than Jews have kept the sabbath..."
I have heard and seen in print many times the quotation attributed to Achad Ha'am that "more than Jews have kept the sabbath, the sabbath has kept the Jews" (exemplified in all its unattributed ...
1
vote
0answers
96 views
What's "כי אתא פלוני אמר פלוני"?
The phrase "כי אתא [name] אמר [name], [statement]" appears many times in the Bavli. For example,
Rosh Hashana 35:1: כי אתא רבין אמר רבי יעקב בר אידי אמר רבי שמעון חסידא לא ...
8
votes
2answers
235 views
What did the Or Sameach do for Rabbi Yaakov Ruderman?
I have heard that Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman of Ner Israel quoted Rabbi Meir Simcha (the Or Sameach or Meshech Chochma) in almost every, or possibly even in every, Torah address to the school. I ...
2
votes
1answer
78 views
The Chozeh Mi'Lublin prioritizing dveikus over kriyas shema
I heard someone quote from the Chozeh (parshas Pinchas) that if one is in a state of dveikus with Hashem and zman kriyas shemah is arriving (or passing?) the yetzer harah says to stop for kriyas ...
0
votes
2answers
175 views
A Jewish Equivalent for this Quote?
I have read an Islamic quote that I like very much: "All praise is due to Allah; all the mistakes have been mine."
Can anyone think of a Jewish source that expresses a similar concept?
1
vote
1answer
207 views
King Josiah famous last words?
I was told that the tale of king Josiah's death has a few versions. I was told one of Josiah's last words or famous words after he was hit with arrows was in regards to his own error for not listening ...
2
votes
2answers
390 views
Quotations of the Islamic Hadith in Jewish texts
This source claims that there is a Chovas Halevavos that quotes the Islamic Hadith without attribution. I was wondering if there are other examples of this in Jewish texts.