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Quotes

Embracing Profound Love Through Ancient Jewish Wisdom

by aharon March 6, 2024

written by aharon

It’s no secret that a strong feeling of love can be obtained simply by ingesting certain chemicals, but can profound love be cultivated that way? And if not, how can it be?

To figure out what “profound love” is, the best place to look should be the world’s best-known love song – written by King Solomon and called, the Song of Songs. Warning: depending on the translation you have, reading it might make you blush. The original Hebrew version gets quite heated and graphic. In the song’s crescendo, the singer passionately says, “I am My Beloved’s and My Beloved is Mine.” And that, my love-sick friends, IS the key to love.

Let’s go deeper into that deceptively simple-sounding statement.

I am My Beloved’s and My Beloved is Mine.
Song of Songs (Shir ha Shirim)

On the surface, it sounds like any other lyric from a cliche-ridden love song full of “be mine,” “I need you,” and “I love you.” But there is an essential difference.

This lyric is not just about “you,” or “me,” or even “us.” It’s not static. Instead, it expresses a constant process of growth, as both individuals reciprocate one another’s relationship with the other. In other words…

I am yours and you are mine and I am yours and you are mine and I am yours and you are mine and I am yours and you are mine and I am yours and you are mine and I am yours and you are mine…etc. etc. etc.

There is no end to a relationship like that. It depends not just on the physical but also incorporates and sanctifies it. It’s about so much more than the chemical feeling of love and, likewise, can’t be obtained with chemicals. Neither can it be obtained in the short term nor with multiple “bedfellows.”

Profound love requires deep commitment and a lot of effort. Over and over again.

“I am My Beloved’s and My Beloved is Mine.”

March 6, 2024

14 Uplifting Quotes From The First Chief Rabbi of Israel – Rav Kook

by Wise Old Sage September 28, 2021

written by Wise Old Sage

Rav Kook, aka Rabbi Kook, is a well-known and revered figure in Israel whose influence is felt through all of Jewish and Israeli society and throughout the world. He was a poet and a scholar, a leader and a spiritual healer, and his inspirational quotes and wisdom are just as relevant today as they have ever been. Here is a collection of Rav Kook quotes that is worth keeping handy for inspiration, elevation, and consolation.

Uplifting quotes from Rav Kook

1) When you feel empty, know this

“When you feel humiliated, empty, lacking all spiritual strength, when you fall and stumble, realize that a great light has been prepared for you.”

Orot Hakodesh III, p. 252

2) Be true to your inner self

“There are free men with the spirit of a slave, and slaves whose spirit is full of freedom. One who is true to his inner self is free, while one whose entire life is merely a stage for what is good in the eyes of others, is a slave.”

Olat Re’iyah

3) The song of the soul

“It is not at some particular time or period that the soul generates wisdom and expression, song and holy speech, but rather at every moment and every hour, it pours forth rivers and streams of milk and honey.”

Orot Hakodesh I, pp. 172-3

4) When you fall, consider this

“When you feel that you have fallen because of a weakness of the spirit of ethical awareness, consider that from the depths of the abyss you must draw forth precious pearls.”

Orot Hakodesh III, p. 252

5) Do not set aside any exalted goal

“Do not set aside any exalted goal that you envision, even if it appears that the obstacles are many: from the outside, or from your own personality.”

Arpelei Torah, p. 42

6) When the light of our soul bursts forth

“When the light of our soul bursts forth, we must immediately give that light its freedom, so that we may unfold, visualize, imagine, grow wise and attain, aspire and yearn to the highest heights, to the source of our root, to the life of our soul, to the light of the life of the soul of all universes, to the light of the supernal God, to His goodness and beauty.”

Orot Hakodesh 10:2

7) Absolute goodness

“In the fullness of the soul, we sense the necessity of absolute goodness, the impossibility of its not existing, and the unceasing longing in the depths of our heart to rise to it, to approach its heights, to gaze upon its pleasantness.”

Orot Hakodesh II, pp. 466-67

8) Darkness is just diminished light

“In truth, all darkness is merely diminished light.”

Orot Hakodesh II, p. 455

9) The roots of mindfulness

“Let us remove all grumbling

Let us rise above smallness of mind and of heart

Let us rise beyond hatred and resentment

Let us absorb the fresh love from its source in Eden

Let us connect the branches of mercy to the roots of mindfulness”

Orot Hatechiyah, 24

10) Love for others

“Love for others must be alive within our heart and soul: love for every individual and love of all the nations.”

Musar Avichah

11) The Divine Soul

“A Jew is obligated to believe that a divine soul, whose essence is entirely one letter of the Torah, dwells within him.”

Orot Hatorah 11:2

12) Wings of the spirit

“Rise up.

Rise up, for you have the power.

You have wings of the spirit, wings of powerful eagles.

Do not deny them, or they will deny you.

Seek them, and you will find them instantly.”

Orot Hakodesh I, pp. 83-84

13) Unconfineable spirit

“Confine me not in cages,
Of substance or of spirit.
My soul soars the expanses of the heavens.

Walls of heart and walls of deed
Will not contain it.”

Chadarav, p. 39

14) This is what the most purely righteous people do

“The most purely righteous people do not complain about evil;
Rather they increase justice.

They do not complain about godlessness,
But increase faith.

They do not complain about ignorance,
But increase wisdom.”

Arpilei Tohar, p. 39

Special thanks

This special collection of Rav Kook quotes would not have been possible without the kind help of Rabbi Yaacov David Shulman and Rabbi Chanan Morrison both of whom have translated/produced a number of books and articles based on Rav Kook’s teachings. Thanks very much to both of them.

Rabbi Yaacov David Shulman is himself a writer, translator, and editor specializing in Torah and literary texts. In addition to his books based on Rav Kook’s teachings, he has books about the teachings of Rebbi Nachman and the Tanya, biographies of important rabbis, and a bunch of others. He has a rather large amount of articles focused on Rav Kook’s teachings available for free on ravkook.net. For his latest books & blog, see ydshulman.com and for his online portfolio, see shulman-writer.com.

Rabbi Chanan Morrison also has a rather large amount of articles focused on Rav Kook’s teachings available for free on his website http://ravkooktorah.org. And his books are available at http://ravkookbooks.com most of his books are based on Rav Kook’s teachings and he also has an analysis of the Kuzari.

Share your thoughts

Which of these quotes speaks to you and why? Let us know in a comment below.

September 28, 2021

Quotes Work

20 Jewish Quotes About Money

by Wise Old Sage September 22, 2021

written by Wise Old Sage

Ah, Jews and money. When those two words are in the same sentence is liable to ruffle some feathers. Whether it’s because of the trope that portrays Jews as greedy and dishonest, such as was promulgated by famous authors Shakespeare and Charles Dickens. Or, let’s just get it over with, Hitler and Stalin. After all the blood libels and pogroms that began as a result of these tropes, it’s understandable why Jews do not appreciate the stereotype.

But what really is the Jewish relationship with money? Below is a list of Jewish quotes about money to shed some light on the subject.

(There is a lot of discussion about tzedakah below. For the uninitiated, in Judaism, donations, called tzedakah, are an obligatory part of Jewish living where the giver is not superior to the recipient.)

Jewish quotes about money

1) Financial advice

“Rabbi Yitzhak says, ‘One should always divide their money into thirds: one third for real estate, one third for business, and one third should be kept on-hand [liquid].'”

Bava Metzia 42a

2) Paying a day-wage worker on time

“Regarding the mitzvah to pay a day-worker on the day they work, it is important to be careful to pay them before the sun sets, while it is still definitely daytime.”

Ahavat Chesed 9:1

3) Lending money without interest

“It is a greater mitzvah to lend money [without interest] to a person in need than to give a donation since a loan doesn’t make the recipient as embarrassed…although if the recipient is completely impoverished, and is already accustomed to receiving donations, in that case, it is better to give it to them as a gift.”

Ahavat Chesed 1:1 and chap. 17

4) Avoiding tzedaka likened to idolatry

“Anyone who hides their eyes from giving tzedaka, it’s as if they worship idolatry.”

Ketubot 68a

5) Giving tzedakah bountifully

“Anyone who gives tzedakah bountifully – that is praiseworthy.”

Tanna Dvei Eliyahu Zuta 1:8

6) Transgressions due to money

“Most transgressions are caused as a result of a person getting worked up about money.”

Pele Yoetz, Kesef

7) Pre-determined income

“One should have a steadfast belief that is secured in their heart — similar to the way nails are secured to a wall — that their income has already been pre-determined from the Heavens…other than the money one spends on mitzvahs or good deeds which is not pre-determined.”

Pele Yoetz, Chapter Kesef

8) Gambling doesn’t improve civilization

“A person who gambles is not taking part in the human endeavor necessary to build, maintain, and improve civilization.”

cf. Rambam; see Gra on Ch”M 203

9) One who loves money

“One who loves money will never be satiated by money.”

Ecclesiastes 5:9

10) God lifts up

“God impoverishes and makes rich, disgraces and also lifts up.”

Shmuel 1 2:7

11) What one is asked after they die

“In the hour when a person is being judged [after he dies], he is asked, ‘Did you conduct business faithfully?’…”

Shabbat 31:1

12) Torah and flour

“If there is no flour, there is no Torah. If there is no Torah, there is no flour.”

Pirkei Avot 3:17

13) Torah with an occupation

“Torah learning is beautiful with an occupation – since exerting oneself in both of them makes sin forgotten.”

Pirkei Avot 2:2

14) What to focus on at work

“While at work, one’s intention should be to make money in order to give tzedaka to poor people who are genuinely honest.”

Rebbi Natan, Likutei Halachot 6: 8,27

15) Better than gold and silver

“Torah from Your mouth is better for me than thousands in gold and silver.”

Psalms 119:72

16) Ten percent

“You shall give ten percent of all of all of your seed crops that sprout forth from the fields each year.”

Deuteronomy 14:22

17) One who hates gifts

“A greedy person befouls his own household, but one who hates gifts will live.”

Proverbs 15:27

18) Tzedakah saves from death

“Tzedakah saves one from death.”

Proverbs 11:4

19) Tzedakah is great

“Tzedakah is great, for, since the day the world was created until now, the world stands on tzedakah.”

Tanna Dvei Eliyahu Zuta 1:8

20) Lack of money or lack of brains

Everyone complains about a lack of money, but none complain about a lack of brains.

Yiddish saying

Now your turn

Did we miss anything you’d like to have added? Do you have any money advice to share from experience or otherwise? Please leave your comments below…

September 22, 2021

Nature Quotes Relationships

Cultivating Closeness With Healthy Boundaries

by Wise Old Sage August 28, 2021

written by Wise Old Sage

“It is but a mere hairsbredth that separates one raindrop from another.”
– Talmud, Taanit, 9b

As the pandemic has taught us, maintaining a safe distance can be a way of showing that we care about others.

Social distancing and other types of healthy boundaries can keep us, and others, safe. We know this scientifically and we know this logically. The closer people get to one another, the more vulnerable they can become to each other in both positive and negative ways.

Sometimes closeness and vulnerability are healthy, and sometimes not: “There is a time for embracing, and a time to refrain from embracing” (Kohelet 3:5). There are times and situations that are appropriate to refrain from moving into another’s personal space and that’s a beautiful thing about healthy relationships – when there is respect for boundaries it creates the space necessary to cultivate nurturing and closeness.

Self-restraint and seperation

When someone forces themselves into the space of another person, it can be traumatic. What’s worse is that it makes the victim feel powerless and angry because something has been taken from them.

This is true no matter how severe, or seemingly trivial, the violation. Whether the breach was done with money, property, words, violence, or touch.

But when people respect the space of others by getting close only if, or when, appropriate, it creates an environment of growth. This can be seen in the natural world, too.

Raindrops and healthy space

“Nothing separates one raindrop from another raindrop but a hairsbreadth [of space]” (Talmud, Taanit, 9b).

In nature, the rain that comes showering from the sky in small packaged droplets is necessary for humanity to exist. Jewish prayer praises The Creator for the delicate way rain comes down calling it the “mightiness of rain” (גבורות גשמים) because it takes attention to detail and self-restraint to create the infrastructure for something as meticulously delicate as raindrops that don’t crash into one another.

But rain can also fall in ways that are destructive.

Floodwaters – violation of space

Since the natural world mirrors the spiritual world, during the time of Noah, when humanity began to fall in a magnitude that caused severe damage, so did the rain. The water in the natural just behaved similarly to human society.

According to the Kli Yakar, it was the invasion of others’ space that was the root cause of the famous Flood. People had become severely disrespectful of personal boundaries ‒ stealing, idolatry, and inconsiderate sexual behavior were considered ethical. It had become socially acceptable to steal in quantities small enough that the courts wouldn’t convict for ‒ just a few penny’s worth at a time. It became “ethical” to steal a nickel, a touch, a taste, a parking space, a pen from the office, hotel towels…

Society had become so disrespectful of space, and so intrusive, that people began to give up on the idea of healthy boundaries, so to speak. The Flood was just a natural, albeit tragic, result.

The light at the end of the rainbow

So far this post has mentioned a lot of sad stuff. So what’s the light at the end of the rainbow? Simply speaking, we can always learn to improve and get better. And the beautiful thing about that is, if you are reading this, that there is space in each of our lives to learn and grow through performing acts of lovingkindness, prayer, and tshuva.

The ideas presented above are based primarily on the Orach L’Haim chap 35 that explains that “all wise people should learn from the rain” and dedicate themselves to respecting the boundaries that have been Divinely given them.

August 28, 2021