Words of Wisdom, Words of Wit

R' Yechezkel of Kozmir once beseeched Hashem: "Hashem, our debt to You is very great. When a businessman is in danger of bankruptcy, his creditors extend him yet more credit in the hope that his situation will improve and he can pay them off. Similarly, we ask of You to 'write us in the book of life' - grant us a little more credit 'for Your sake' - so that we will be able to repay the debts we already owe You."

A certain gadol once remarked, "It is true that the chassidim and misnagdim have a different order for the Shacharis prayers, but when they get to Yehi Chevod - May Hashem's glory endure forever and ever - they all come together, and all work for the same goal."

A young man applied to learn in the yeshiva of the Sha'agas Aryeh. The Sha'agas Aryeh tested him, and found him to be totally ignorant. "In which yeshiva did you eat until now?" asked the Sh'agas Aryeh. "Rebbe, don't you mean where did I learn?" asked the young man. "No, I meant exactly what I said," responded the Sha'agas Aryeh. “That you ate I am sure; that you learned I'm not so sure."

The Chiddushei HaRim used to say, "A common misconception is that on Simchas Torah we celebrate the completion of the Torah reading. That's wrong. On Simchas Torah, we celebrate beginning the Torah reading all over."

The Maggid of Kelm had a number of sermons which he repeated often. An unrepentant sinner once asked him, "Rabbi, why do you keep repeating the same sermons time after time?" "Why," retorted the Maggid, "do you repeat the same sins time after time?"

An elderly chassid told R' Chanoch of Alexander, "Rebbe, after struggling for decades, I have finally overcome my yetzer hara. Now I wish to attain the level of chassidus piety." R' Chanoch replied with a smile, "It's not that you've overcome your yetzer hara. If you had the strength, you would sin the same way as before. In your case, your yetzer hara has simply been transformed into pride."

R' Naftali of Ropshitz was once asked, "Rebbe, where does the yetzer hara dwell?" "It dwells," he said, "in exactly those places where you don't think it does."

R' Eliezer of Rozniatov asked R' Menachem Mendel of Kosov, "Rebbe, why has Mashiach not come? "The answer," said R' Menachem Mendel, "lies in the verse in Shmuel (1, 20:27), 'Why has the son of Yishai not come today or yesterday?' Why hasn't he come? Because our today is like our yesterday."

"Whenever a person performs a mitzvah," said R' Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, "the greater his kavanah (intention), the greater the value of the mitzvah. There is only one exception to that rule, and that is the mitzvah of anavah humility. With respect to anavah, one is not permitted to have any kavanah at all, and even the slightest degree of kavanah ruins the performance of the mitzvah."

Several students of the Slabodka Yeshiva went to hear R' Itzele Peterburger deliver a mussar lecture. When the Alter of Slobodka heard that some of them had been moved to tears by R' Itzele's words, he reprimanded them: "Listening to R Itzele should move you to think, not cry."

The Rebbe of Gustinin observed people playing poker and declared that he had learned two important principles from the game: If one has bad material, he must get rid of it as soon as possible; and if one has something good, he should keep it to himself and not show it to others.

"Unfortunately," said the Baal Shem Tov, "some people behave like clocks. Imagine a house in flames. All around the fire is raging, but the clock keeps ticking away, oblivious to all else that is happening. The fire comes ever closer and closer, but the clock keeps ticking. Only when the fire engulfs it, does the clock finally stop."

R' Uri of Strelisk used to say: "Man is like a tree. Just as one cannot stand staring at a tree to watch it grow, so one cannot keep a child under constant supervision. If one takes care of the tree properly - watering it, adding fertilizer, pruning and weeding it the tree will grow by itself. So, too, must one ensure that the proper atmosphere is available to a child, so that he will mature properly on his own."

The Chiddushei HaRim and the rav of Warsaw, R' Dov Ber Meisels, once came to a wealthy man seeking a contribution to an important cause. Seeing him eating lunch, they told him, "Enjoy, enjoy!" "Rabbis," the man answered, "I doubt you would wish me to enjoy my food if you knew that it isn't kosher." "On the contrary," replied the Chiddushei HaRim, "since the food is not kosher, I really hope you enjoy it. If not, that would mean you were eating it to show your contempt for mitzvos, and that is a far worse sin."

R' Yonasan Eybeschuetz was once asked by the non-Jewish mayor of Metz, "Rabbi, since the Torah commands the Jews not to bear a grudge or take revenge, why do you still celebrate Purim and your revenge against Haman?" "That's not so, answered R' Yonasan. "We don't celebrate Purim because of our revenge against Haman, but as a warning to all present-day Hamans as to the fate that awaits those who attempt to harm the Jews"

During the 1930's, it was very difficult for Jews to reach the Western Wall because of Arab opposition. Attempts by Jews to pray there often led to riots. Eventually, the British government appointed a commission to investigate the disturbances. One of those called by the commission was R Avraham Yitzchak Kook. "Rabbi," asked one of the commission members, "what's the big fuss over the Wall? All I see is a bunch of rocks one on top of another." "Just as there are hearts which are made of stone," replied R' Kook, "so are there stones which have a heart."

R' Yerucham Levovitz would say: If a man tells me that he is unable to study Torah because he does not have any sefarim available to him, I am simply unable to remain in his presence. Hashem gave you a mind. Think!

The Chafetz Chaim once asked a certain maggid to speak to a group about the prohibition against lashon hara. When the maggid returned, he told the Chafetz Chaim, "I spoke to them for two hours on the topic, but I doubt if I accomplished anything." "That's not true," said the Chafetz Chaim. "At the very least, during the two hours they listened to you, no one spoke lashon hara."

When R' Benzion of Bobov came to Cracow, his enthusiastic chassidim wanted to unharness the horses pulling his carriage and pull the carriage themselves. R' Benzion said to them, "My entire life I have spent trying to convert horses into human beings, and now you are trying to convert human beings into horses."