Questions tagged [quotations]
The quotations tag has no usage guidance.
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Source for quote from Rebbe Nachman zy"a
Does anyone know where the source is for the quote, "Remember: Things can go from the very worst to the very best in just the blink of an eye", I don't think this is an exact quote but if ...
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How did the Briskers, or the Soloveitchiks, acquire the reputation for exactingness in quotation?
I recently came across a story about the Vilna Ga’on in Halachic Man (on p.30 in the 1984 English edition). I had various doubts about the authenticity of the story, and in the course of discussing my ...
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What is the quote about 13 rivers of aparsemon?
Can some share the quote where this came from: "the righteous will bathe in 13 rivers of aparsemon"? I've seen it paraphrased online a lot but I can't find it in the reference listed (Avodah ...
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Is the quotation “The true shekinah is man” from the Talmud?
One of the quotes on the wall of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. is, “The true shekinah is man.” I was curious about the origin of that quote, but when I googled it, I found that it was ...
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Where is this quote from? "you are master of your words until you say them"?
It was quoted to me years ago from mishnah brura, but I cannot find it there now.
I am familiar with the line in Avot "no better guard for wisdom than silence" // that is not exact.
Guidance ...
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Source for quote from Hagaon Hagadol Rabbi Mordechai Gifter T'zl
"These days, bachurim are learning more and more about less and less. Eventually they will know everything about nothing".
Where is the source that he said this, and what did he mean?
I saw ...
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Who said this quote?
Does anyone know who said the following quote: “what is forbidden is forbidden, and what is permissible is not necessarily to be done.”
I think it may be from a modern rabbi but I don’t recall who ...
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The Rokeach and the Chanukah candle
Rabbi Daniel Glatstein (The Light And The Splendor, p. 336-337) quotes the Rokeach, Rabbi Elazar Rokeach of Worms and mentions the following parable:
When a new building is complete, the first ...
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Where did Samson Raphael Hirsch write "the catechism of the Jew is his calendar"?
There are lots of articles and books that say "Samson Raphael Hirsch famously wrote 'the catechism of the Jew is his calendar'" - but what is the mareh makom?
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Source of teaching
I read that “the works of the righteous are their offspring" is a "rabbinic teaching". Is there a source, other than Chacham Tzvi 93?
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How do you interpret the expression עול בחיקו?
This is a metaphor used sometimes, such as in ואם הנהגה של רשע תהיה עול בחיקו של הצדיק למטה (R' Natan Nata Spira, 1585-1633, Megaleh Amukot al Iyov 34). I also read this expression in the R' Salman ...
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A word in print, is for generations after generations. - source of the Rebbe Rayatz
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, in one of his letters (letter no. 184, dated from 7 Shvat, 5705), cites the Rebbe Rayatz (The Tzemach Tzedek) and says:
A word spoken is public knowledge; in writing, it is for ...
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Ariza"l and Seer (Chozeh) of Lublin on Korach
This fascinating article says:
The Seer of Lublin said: “Were I alive at the time, I would have
supported Korah” … Rabbi Yitzhak Luria Ashkenazi, the Ari, writes: “In
the future, Korah will be shown ...
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Baal Shem Tov on the words b'simcha and machshava
Baal Shem Tov says:
The letters of the Hebrew word b'simcha (happy) can be rearranged to
spell machshava (thought), emphasizing that happiness depends not on
your situation, but upon your view of it.
...
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Trying to track down the textual source of a Jewish quote about a Rabbi Neskizh
I found the below quote in a a book called Spiritual Midwifery. I would love to know if the quote is real, and where it comes from. Thanks!
The Quote:
Rabbi Mordecai of Neskizh said to his son, the ...
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Source of "You can educate a fool but you can't make him think."
The internet is full of this "quote", attributing it to "The Talmud".
Is this really to be found in Mishnah or Gemara?
If so, what is the source reference?
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Rabbits in the Torah
Are there are quotes about Rabbits in Tanach, Midrash, Gemara etc..
I am looking for somewhere which speaks about them.
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Need source of a quote
"In this world, we suffer because we are Jewish. In the World to Come, we will suffer because we are not Jewish enough."
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Is this quote really from the Rambam?
Some non-Jewish sources on the internet (eg here) attribute the following quote to the Rambam:
Teach thy tongue to say, “I do not know,” and thou shalt progress
Does anyone have a source for this?
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Source in Darash Moshe on own understanding
It is said that in Darash Mose דרש משה Parashas Korach, the following quote can be found from Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt'l
Korach thought that every Jew is entitled to fulfill the laws of the
Torah in ...
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Where is this quote from?
This is consistent with the dictum that a person should earn a living by “the labor of [his] hands,” rather than accepting a scholar’s stipend.
It is from Chabad.org (here) but where did it find the ...
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The Maggid of Mezeritch on jewels and straw
In his sermon on the ethics of controversy, R Norman Lamm says:
The great Maggid of Mezeritch, the leading theoretician of Hasidism
and one who knew only too well the life of controversy, told us ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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'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 ...
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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.
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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 ...
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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 "...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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.
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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?"
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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 --...
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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 ...
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Maharam Discussing the Rosh
Is there a list of teshuvot (or other documents) in which the Maharam discusses his student the Rosh?
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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.”...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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?
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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?
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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 ...
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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.
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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 ...
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