Abraham Cahan

“If you study the Talmud you please God even more than you do by praying or fasting.”

“Above all, you must fight conceit, envy, and every kind of ill-feeling in your heart.”

“What is wealth? A dream of fools.”

“Only the other world has substance and reality; only good deeds and holy learning have tangible worth.”

“If a man is tongue-tied, don't laugh at him, but, rather, feel pity for him, as you would for a man with broken legs.”

“If it be true that our people represent a high percentage of mental vigor, the distinction is probably due, in some measure, to the extremely important part which Talmud studies have played in the spiritual life of the race.”

“Remember that it is not enough to abstain from lying by word of mouth; for the worst lies are often conveyed by a false look, smile, or act.”

“If you feel that you are good, don't be too proud of it.”

“The dearest days in one's life are those that seem very far and very near at once.”

“Be modest, humble, simple. Control your anger.”

“I was a great dreamer of day dreams.”

“You must never tire fighting Satan.”

“Life is much shorter than I imagined it to be.”

“God, for example, appealed to me as a beardless man wearing a quilted silk cap; holiness was something burning, forbidding, something connected with fire while a day had the form of an oblong box.”

“The orthodox Jewish faith practically excludes woman from religious life.”

“What is this world? A mere curl of smoke for the wind to scatter.”