not persecute, that are vilified and do not retort,
that act in love, and are cheerful even in suffering, they are the
lovers of God.--Bless God for the good as well as the evil. When thou
hearest of a death, say, "Blessed be the righteous Judge."--Life is like
unto a fleeting shadow. Is it the shadow of a tower or of a bird? It is
the shadow of a bird in its flight. Away flies the bird, and neither
bird nor shadow remains behind.--Repentance and good works are the aim
of all earthly wisdom.--Even the just will not have so high a place in
heaven as the truly repentant.--He whose learning surpasses his good
works is like a tree with many branches and few roots, which a
wind-storm uproots and casts to the ground. But he whose good works
surpass his learning is like a tree with few branches and many roots;
all the winds of heaven cannot move it from its place.--There are three
crowns: the crown of the Law, the crown of the priesthood, the crown of
kingship. But greater than all is the crown of a good name.--Four there
are that cannot enter Paradise: the scoffer, the liar, the hypocrite,
and the backbiter.--Beat the gods, and the priests will
tremble.--Contrition is better than many flagellations.--When the
pitcher falls upon the stone, woe unto the pitcher; when the stone falls
upon the pitcher, woe unto the pitcher; whatever betides, woe unto the
pitcher.--The place does not honor the man, the man honors the
place.--He who humbles himself will be exalted; he who exalts himself
will be humbled,--Whosoever pursues greatness, from him will greatness
flee; whosoever flees from greatness, him will greatness
pursue.--Charity is as important as all other virtues combined.--Be
tender and yielding like a reed, not hard and proud like a cedar.--The
hypocrite will not see God.--It is not sufficient to be innocent before
God; we must show our innocence to the world.--The works encouraged by a
good man are better than those he executes.--Woe unto him that practices
usury, he shall not live; whithersoever he goes, he carries injustice
and death.

The same Talmud that fills chapter after chapter with minute legal
details and hairsplitting debates outlines with a few strokes the most
ideal conception of life, worth more than theories and systems of
religious philosophy. A Haggada passage says: Six hundred and thirteen
injunctions were given by Moses to the people of Israel. David reduced
them to eleven; the prophet Isaiah classified the