All men of Genius

I quite agree with Dr. Nordau’s assertion that all men of genius are insane, but Dr. Nordau forgets that all sane people are idiots. – Oscar Wilde

Unreason

The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing. - Pascal

Emor

Tumah does not mean defilement. It means that which distracts from eternity and infinity by making us forcibly aware of mortality, of the fact that we are physical beings in a physical world. The holy is the point at which heaven and earth meet, where, by intense focus and a complete absence of earthly concerns, we open up space and time to the sensed presence of God who is beyond space and time. – R. Jonathan Sacks

Ki Tissa

Ki Tissa - the words with which the Torah commands the census does not literally mean "counting," but rather "the elevation of one`s head", impressing upon us that when we realize that we count, our heads are lifted up and we are elevated, That realization, that we can impact on the destiny of the world, that our words and deeds have significance, charges us with responsibility and allows us to grow and become better people.

No sweet song

There is no sweet song that is not equally bitter, save that which is shallow and meaningless. - Rabbi M. M. Schneerson

Whole Stones

Rabbi Yochanan ben Yakkai said "It is written: 'You shall build the altar with whole (Shlemot) stones' -(Devarim 27:6)- stones which make peace (Shalom). Now, is this not obvious: If The Holy One, Blessed Be He, said of the altar stones, which cannot see, hear or speak, but help to make peace between Israel and their father in heaven, that we must not treat them harshly, how much more so of one who makes peace between man and wife, between one city and another, between one nation and another, between one kingdom and another, between one family and another, that no harm will befall him." Mekhilta: Shemot 20:22

Achieving your ambitions

Sometimes the best way of achieving you ambitions is to stop pursuing them and to let them pursue you. – R. Jonathan Sacks