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We’re laughing our heads off:
None of us wears a top-hat
We just go around with heads—or without heads—
But the Rabbi of Uman
Holds up a mirror to the sun.
We laugh our heads off
When a gang comes…
Contributor:
Leyb Kvitko
Date:
1923
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I heard from the venerable rabbinic scholar, R. Nahman, an interpretation of the words of [the Besht] that one should intend in every word that he utters submissiveness…
Contributor:
Jacob Joseph of Polnoye
Places:
Polonnoye, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
(Polonne, Ukraine)
Date:
1780
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In order to understand what is katnut (“smallness”) and what is gadlut (“greatness”), consider this example: If one studies Torah without understanding, he is in a state of…
Contributor:
Ba‘al Shem Tov
Places:
Międzyboż, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
(Medzhybizh, Ukraine)
Date:
1793
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Now, aside from the fact that it is altogether impossible to interpret the matter of tzimtzum literally, for that would attribute corporeal events to the…
Contributor:
Shneur Zalman of Liady
Places:
Lyady, Russian Empire
(Lyady, Belarus)
Date:
1797
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Indeed, what is necessary is precisely to “cast away the mind,” because it is necessary to cast aside all rational processes and serve God simply. This is because a person’s deeds should outweigh his…
Contributor:
Nachman of Bratslav
Places:
Bratslav, Russian Empire
(Bratslav, Ukraine)
Date:
1809
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Devekut requires that there be no impediment between man and God; only then is devekut possible. As in the parable of the Besht, it is impossible to join silver coins together…
Contributor:
Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk
Places:
Vitebsk, Russian Empire
(Vitebsk, Belarus)
Date:
1814
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Anyone familiar with our Russian Poland knows what Jews mean by a small shtetl, a little town.
A small shtetl has a few small cabins, and a fair every other Sunday. The Jews deal in liquor, grain…
Contributor:
Israel Aksenfeld
Places:
Date:
1861
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As a general rule, however, the spirit and illuminating power of the zaddik affect and inspire only those of his generation who are favorably disposed toward him. They have…
Contributor:
Isaac Judah Yehiel Safrin of Komarno
Places:
Komarno, Austrian Empire
(Komarno, Ukraine)
Date:
19th century
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Never have I been content with my narrow, dark, gloomy world, and always am I aware of the contrast between the great, beautiful world and my tiny, ugly world. And always I say, “The place is too…
Contributor:
Yitsḥak Twersky
Places:
Shpikov, Russian Empire
(Shpykiv, Ukraine)
Date:
1910
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During the weeks that Eleazar spent in pious contemplation in old Asia, the people of Barcelona took pains to persecute the Jews. It was they, once again, who made it hard for Spanish merchants to…
Contributor:
Else Lasker-Schüler
Places:
Berlin, Weimar Republic
(Berlin, Germany)
Date:
1921