Quotes from Alan Morinis

SOMEONE WHO WANTS to be greater than others should not dig a pit for his friend; rather he should build a hill for himself. —RABBI YISRAEL SALANTER (1810–1883)

Awaken to the good and give thanks.

IF WORRY COMES to your heart, take it as a warning from God who loves you. Examine your deeds and take counsel with those whose advice you seek. When you have fulfilled God's will, trust God and your serenity will return. —RABBI MENACHEM MENDEL LEFFIN (1749–1826)

ANGER IS A DESTRUCTIVE soul-trait. Just as scurvy is a disease of the body, so is anger a disease of the soul. —ORCHOT TZADDIKIM (1540)

In Pirkei Avot4 we learn that "the world stands on three things: on the Torah, on the service of God, and upon acts of loving-kindness.

TRUTH IS ONE of the very foundations upon which the world stands. As this is so, when you speak falsely it is as if you are nudging at the world's foundation. —RABBI MOSHE CHAIM LUZZATTO (1707–1746)

Gossip is passing on to a person the negative things someone else had said.

Who is rich?" and then answers, "He who rejoices in his own lot.

I have even heard holiness defined as the absence of self-interest.

A day should not pass without acts of loving-kindness, either with one's body, money, or soul.

Take time, be exact, unclutter the mind. —Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, the Alter of Kelm

Being a servant of God means striving to align my will to that of the Master. I desire to unify my will with God's will within my own life and to delight in that unification. Rabbi Gamliel used to say: "Do His will as if it were your will that He may do your will as if it were His will.

Contrast Moses, eved HaShem par excellence, who is described in the Shabbat Amidah prayers as "Moses will be happy with the gift of his portion because a faithful servant You have called him."10 Happy. A servant.

FEAR WITHOUT LOVE—surely there is here a deficiency of love; love without fear—there is nothing here at all. —RABBI YITZCHAK HUTNER (1906–1980)

THE SEISMOGRAPH HAS TAUGHT us that a tremor in any part of the world can be felt by a sufficiently sensitive instrument everywhere in the world. The same is true of a person's deeds. One should not think that his actions do not affect others. Everything one does in some way affects everyone else in the world. —RABBI YERUCHAM LEVOVITZ (1873–1936)

It is not enough to feel reverence; one must act reverently.

Equanimity is a quality of being centered in yourself, though at the same time being exquisitely sensitive to the forces that are at work all around, or else you will be vulnerable to being tossed around by the sorts of unexpected waves that crash in on every life.

As the Sages state: 'The desire for honor removes a man from the world.' However, the reverse is true concerning others, as the Sages said: 'Who is honored? He who honors others.'"7 Do not seek honor for yourself, but go out of your way to honor others.

WHEN SOMEONE SEES his neighbor acquiring some worldly property, whether some kind of food or clothing, or a house, or accumulating money, he works hard to get the same, because he thinks, "If my friend has this, I should also have it!" —ORCHOT TZADDIKIM (1540)

BEFORE A PERSON gives up his portion in the next world for others, let's see if he is willing to forgo some of his share in this world for others. —RABBI YOSEF YOZEL HURWITZ, THE ALTER OF NOVARDOK (1849–1919)

Rabbi Elyakim Krumbein puts it, "To fulfill the Torah means to grow as a person, and to grow truly as a person is tantamount to the fulfillment of Torah.

GRATITUDE is intellectually compelling and it is a very good trait—so why are we so often ungrateful? There are two reasons for this. The first is that a person's first impression is that everything comes by itself, and that it is all coming to him. The other reason is: when I receive good from someone and I recognize that good, I became indebted to him. —RABBI SHLOMO WOLBE (1914–2005)

As long as the candle is still burning, it is still possible to accomplish and to mend!

We humans have a tendency to always want more. Therefore it is easy to forget to feel grateful and happy with the good that we already have. We should strive to feel a joy that is complete. Lack of joy with what we have is destructive both physically and spiritually.