Comment

As a rule, people don't like rules. We don't like restrictions; we don't like being told what to do

There are four approaches to understanding what the Torah is all about: a) it means what it says; b) it's all a metaphor; c) it should be read from the top down; or d) from the bottom up

The "That's How G-d Made Me" excuse, the "Sorry I Lost It" excuse, the "I'm Special" excuse, and the "What's the Use" excuse

The fatalist maintains that nothing that anyone does really makes a difference. The activist believes himself to be the master of his fate. The Jew is neither, and both.

It was an age of boors and ascetics, a time of conflict between body and soul. Then a master appeared. "Don't beat your beast," he taught, "don't overload him and don't abandon him. Help him"