Halachic and Talmudic Words of Wisdom

Rabbi Ari Enkin
  • 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]
  • A person can not evade his debts indefinitely[5]
  • A person only dies from boredom[6]
  • Do not innovate stringencies in halacha[7]
  • Either friendship or death[8]
  • One cannot be more righteous than God[9]
  • A person is not permitted to do something which would injure himself[10]
  • Don’t drink from a cup without first inspecting it[11]
  • There is no profession which doesn’t include those who are rich and those who are poor[12]
  • Do not completely praise a person in their presence[13]
  • The worst form of trespass is lying[14]
  • The worst sin is to violate the trust of a friend[15]
  • There is no academy which does not produce new insights[16]
  • Poverty is the worst form of suffering[17]
  • A person should be more careful not to harm others than not to be harmed by others"[18]
  • People don’t even realize the miracles that are performed for them[19]
  • Nothing bad descends from Above[20]
  • The honor of a person can be ascertained by their clothes[21]
  • There is always room for dessert[22]
  • There is no book which does not contain some mistakes[23]
  • One who forgives can never be called "cruel"[24]
  • The one who completes the mitzva takes the credit for it[25]
  • The reward for performing mitzvot is incomprehensible[26]
  • Don’t forbid upon others that which you permit for yourself[27]
  • The wise man said: If you want your friend to hate you – be sure to visit him often[28]
  • I love Socrates, I love Plato, but I love the truth [the Torah] even more[29]
  • If you can't see God everywhere then you really can't see him anywhere[30]
  • So great is the honor due to human beings that it even outweighs the prohibitions of the Torah[31]
  • Don’t speak with food in your mouth[32]
  • If everyone agrees with you than you are certainly mistaken[33]
  • Time is like gold – valuable and hard to find[34]
  • Take nothing from no one, then you will not have to give anything to anyone[35]
  • Keeping quiet is difficult for one who has nothing intelligent to say[36]
  • If you’ve given bread to a child be sure to inform his mother[37]
  • 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[38]
  • It is preferable to rule leniently than to rule stringently[39]
  • A person should not eat meat twice on the same day[40]
  • A person is only truly happy when he is with his wife and children[41]
  • Don’t speak to someone unless you know he is going to listen[42]
  • There is no joy like that of living in Israel[43]
  • One who learns something 101 times knows it better than one who only learned it 100 times[44]
  • Don’t keep an unsafe ladder on your property[45]
  • Only help those who help themselves[46]
  • Eat when it is time to eat and sleep when it is time to sleep[47]
  • If you're in pain – go to the doctor[48]
  • First learn – then form an opinion[49]
  • When it's time to rejoice – rejoice, and when it is time to mourn - mourn[50]


[1] Vayikra Rabba 32:2

[2] Mechilta;Shemot 19:9

[3] Sifri;Re'eh 12:20, Chullin 84a

[4] Yalkut;Ekev

[5] Yerushalmi Gittin 5:4

[6] Avot D'rabbi Natan 11:1

[7] Radbaz 163

[8] Ta'anit 23a

[9] Bamidbar Rabba 12:2

[10] Bava Kamma 91b

[11] Ketubot 75b

[12] Kiddushin 82a

[13] Bereishit Rabba 32:4

[14] Mechilta;Mishpatim 21:8

[15] Yerushalmi Sota 9:1

[16] Chagiga 3a

[17] Shemot Rabba 31:11

[18] Tosfot;Bava Kama 23a

[19] Nidda 31a

[20] Bereishit Rabba 51:5

[21] Derech Eretz Zuta 10

[22] Megilla 7b

[23] Bechinat Hakabbala 269

[24] Shemot Rabba 19:23

[25] Sota 13b

[26] Tanchuma Tavo 3

[27] Hapitgam Hashinon p.14

[28] Orchot Tzadikim;Sinah

[29] Rabbi Zerachia Halevi

[30] Pitgam Hashinon p.31

[31] Shabbat 94b

[32] Ta'anit 5b

[33] Pitgam Hashinon p.50

[34] Pitgam Hashinon p.64

[35] Bereishit Rabba;Vayishlach

[36] See also Mishlei 10:19, Pitgam Hashinon p. 90

[37] Rashi;Bamidbar 21:16

[38] Tanna D'vei Eliya Rabba 26

[39] Berachot 60a, Beitza 2b

[40] Pesikta Zutrati;Beshalach 16:8, Yalkut Shimoni Yeshayahu 60

[41] Abarbanel;Shmuel 1:3

[42] Tanchuma (Buber) Yitro 15

[43] Ohr Hachaim;Devarim 21:1

[44] Chagiga 9b

[45] Bava Kamma 15b

[46] Sefer Chassidim 853

[47] Kav Hayashar Chapter 8

[48] Bava Kamma 46b

[49] Shabbat 63a, Berachot 63b

[50] Bereishit Rabba 27:4