179 Quotes About Judaism

The difference between the masculine and feminine spiritual constitution is represented by their respective roles in reproduction. The man is the giver while the woman is the receiver. The man gives to the woman, but she, in turn, produces much more than the man initiated. She receives but ultimately ends up creating and developing something complete. If masculinity is giving, femininity is receiving, developing, and completing.

Bruheem kol dumuyay eloha! Blessed are all God's self-portraits.

The religious Jew is to study Torah for the sake of studying Torah. Torah lishmah. The ingenuity of the edict, I realized was that it relieved you of the obligation to be qualified. You studied because you had to study, and those who taught had to take you as a student.

[...] there I was, trying to hold up my end in a city where you can't even buy a decent bagel. I don't mean to make it sound as if it's all about being Jewish, but that's another thing about Washington. It makes you feel really Jewish if that's what you are.

Let me tell you something: once before-- a long, long time ago--the people of Jerusalem were defeated. The first Temple, the one King Solomon built, was destroyed. The people were taken captive to Babylon. Do you know what the prophet Jeremiah told them?" [...] "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat the fruit. Marry and have sons and daughters." He paused, then continued, "in other words, live. Live... And remember.

How do we as artists question our sins in front of a greater audience? How do we as Jews show ourselves as flawed and complex human beings?

A person who is insufficiently honored as a child is destined to chase honor as an adult.

When we nurture, we need to do so from the deepest part of ourselves. Trying to fit into a "cookie-cutter" mold of nurturing will only frustrate and be harmful to both ourselves and our loved ones, cheating them of our full nurturing potential. To nurture is to be aware of our most true self and to give from that place. We make challah from a place of commitment to nourish ourselves and our families in a way that goes beyond mere physical feeding and watering.

We were not conspicuous Jews. We wore our Judaism as people do almost everywhere in the world: under the shirt, not hidden, but tucked away.