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Behold how greatly esteemed the meek are of God! He that is of an humble spirit is spoken of in Scripture as having offered all the sacrifices, for it said: "The sacrifices of God are a broken heart." Strive not after honor at the cost of a fellowman's shame.

Before you lie down in the evening, banish from your heart whatsover grudge you bear against a fellowman, saying: I forgive all that have offended me. Be thou rather of those that are cursed, not of those who curse; of them that are persecuted, not of them that persecute. Whosoever does not persecute them that persecute him; whosoever takes an offence in silence; he who does good because of love; he who is cheerful under his sufferings-they are the friends of God, and of them the Scripture says, "And they shall shine forth as does the sun at noon

day."

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"THOU shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart," means, thou shalt love Him with all the forces of thy nature, of thy physical as well as of thy spirtual nature. Thou shalt serve the LORD with an undivided heart; thou shalt serve Him by being at peace with thyself, thy sensual nature not striving against, but yielding willingly to, the command of thy spiritual

nature.

"Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy soul," means, even if he demands thy soul, requiring thee to yield thy life for his glory, thou shalt do it with love.

"Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy might," means, whatever measure he metes out to thee, be it joy or sorrow, thou shalt love Him. Fulfill the commandments of the LORD through love, for it is one thing to obey him through love and quite another thing through fear. Fear in love and love in fear. It is only towards God that fear and love may thus blend. Love therefore God as Abraham did, striving like him to spread the love of God among men. Endeavor to gain the love of men by departing from every sin and doing injustice to no man without distinction of nationality or creed.

"Thou shalt love the LORD thy God," is to be interpreted thus: Let thy conduct be such, that men will come to love God through thee.

Men praise and exalt him who not only searches the Law and knows its contents; but who also is just in all his dealings and kind towards all men. Of such a man they say: Blessed is he

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that knows the Law, blessed his father that has educated, blessed the teacher that has instructed him! Behold yon servant of God who knows and observes His commandments; how beautiful are his words, how lovely his ways! To him may be applied the words of Isaiah: "He said to me, Israel thou art my servant, through whom I am glorified."

"Kind and just is the LORD, therefore showeth He to sinners the way;" He is kind because He is just—just because He is kind.

"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;" this is the fundamental principle of religion. What thou wouldst not have others do unto thee, do not unto others, upon this rule rests the whole Law. He that wrests the right of the stranger, wrests also the right of the Most High. He that lifts up his hand against his fellowman, is a wicked man. He who puts his fellowman to shame in public, commits a sin as grievous as murder.

8. He that hates his fellowman is a brother to the murderer; for hatred oftentimes leads to murder. He that calumniates his fellowman denies God. Put no man to shame, lest thou be put to shame.

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Do battle for the right, though the object be but a penny's worth. The receiver of stolen goods is as bad as the thief.

Beware of partisan hatred and partisan passions, for on account of these sins was Jerusalem destroyed. Cling to the spirit rather than to the letter of the Law, Jerusalem was destroyed because its inhabitants stuck too tenaciously to the full letter of the Law.

Deception by means of words is as great a sin as deception practiced by means of acts. Thou shalt not deceive any human being even by merely keeping silent. To gain a man's good will by hiding the truth from him, is called stealing a man's heart.

To one who sinned and afterwards mended his ways, thou shalt not say: Remember thy former deeds.

An evil tongue does evil to three persons: to the calumniator, to him who listens to him, and to him who is maligned. Though the whole of the calumny is not believed, some part of it will always stick. Good and evil both come from the tongue: nothing is better than a good tongue, nothing worse than an evil tongue. Never call a man by his nickname.

Do not praise your fellowman overmuch, lest from praise you pass to fault-finding. For such are the ways of those that go about as talebearers. They begin by telling some good of a 15. fellowman and end by speaking evil of him. These four shall not appear before God: The mocker, the liar, the hypocrite, and the slanderer. Some sin against God alone, others sin only

against men; but the slanderer sins both against God and against men. Do not live near a pious fool.

16. He who accuses his fellow-man is first tried for his own offenses.

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TRUTH is the signet of God. Let your Yea be in truth and your Nay be in truth. Speak with your lips as you think in your heart. The Yea of the righteous is Yea and their Nay is Nay. If something is as clear to you as the bright moon, say it, if not, leave it unsaid.

Breach of faith is idolatry. If you say to a child, I will give. you something, keep your promise, otherwise you accustom it to tell lies. The righteous promise little and do much, the wicked promise much, and do not even a little.

Truth lasts, but falsehood vanishes. The liar is not believed even when he tells the truth; this is his worst punishment.

He that knows himself wrongly suspected, should by all means clear himself of that false suspicion. For it behooves us to stand pure both before God and men. It is our duty to unmask the hypocrites, for they disgrace the name of religion. If you see any wrong in your neighbor, take him to task. For he that could prevent his fellowman from doing wrong and failed to do So, shares in his guilt. Love without rebuke is no love.

Wherever flattery prevails, the morals become corrupted and the right is wrested. He that honors his neighbor on account of his money, will in the end part company with him in disgrace. Push no man away from you with both hands; while your left is pushing him away, your right should be receiving him back.

Don't blame your fellowman for faults which you yourself possess. For how shall he rebuke others who, if he says: Brother, pull out the mote that is in thine eye, may be answered: Cast first the beam out of thine own eye. Physician, cure thyself. Adorn thyself first and then adorn others. He that judges his fellowman in mercy will be judged by God in mercy. He that has harbored in his heart a false suspicion against his neighbor, should beg his pardon. To persevere in a quarrel, is to persevere in sin.

"Seek peace and pursue it;" seek peace with thyself, and strive after peace with others. Execute truth, justice and peace in your gates (Zech. viii; 16). These three are one and the same. Truth is.in justice; where justice prevails there is peace, and where peace dwells, there is justice.

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With the same measure that we mete withal it shall be measured to us again. He that forges arrows, may one day be killed by one of his own arrows. God visits punishment on no

man until his measure of guilt is full. The righteous, the men of pure lives, say: Blessed is our youth, that has not put our old age to shame. The repentant sinners say: Blessed is our old age, which has made atonement for our youth. Both say: Blessed is he who has never sinned, but as for him that has sinned, let him return, and mend his ways and be forgiven.

The repentant sinner in a certain sense stands on a higher moral plane than he that has never transgressed. Blessed is he that repents while still in the full vigor of manhood.

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He who says: I will sin and afterwards repent, will not be forgiven. It is not by sackcloth and fasting but by repentance and good works that forgiveness is obtained. The aim and end of all wisdom are repentance and good works. Even the most righteous shall not attain so high a place in Heaven as the truly repentant. Repent one day befor thy death." There was a king who bade all his servants to a great repast, but did not indicate the hour; some went home and put on their best garments and stood at the door of the palace; others said: There is ample time, the king will let us know beforehand. But the king summoned them of a sudden, and those who came in their best garments were well received, but the foolish ones who came in their sloveliness, were turned away in disgrace. Repent to-day lest to-morrow ye might be summoned.

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THE reward of good works is like dates: sweet and ripening late. When you hear of a death say: "Blessed be the righteous judge." When the righteous dies, it is the earth that loses. The lost jewel will always be a jewel, but the possessor who lost it-well may he weep. A myrtle even in the desert remains a myrtle.

Hospitality is the most important part of Divine worship. He who gives charity in secret is greater than Moses himself, Iron breaks the stone, fire melts iron, water extinguishes fire, the clouds drink up the water, a storm drives away the clouds. fear unmans man, wine dispels fear, sleep drives away wine, and death sweeps all away. But Solomon the wise said: " Charity

saves from Death."

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"If your God is a friend of the poor," asked a heathen of Rabbi Akiba, "why does he not support them?" "Their case,' said the sage, "is left in our hands, that we may thereby acquire merits and forgiveness of sin." "But what a merit it is!" the other replied. "Suppose I am angry with one of my slaves, and forbid him food and drink, and some one goes and gives it him furtively, shall I be much pleased?" "Not so," the other replied. "Suppose you are wroth with your only son and imprison him without food, and some good man has pity on the child, and saves him the pangs of hunger, would you be so very angry with the man? And we, if we are called servants of God, are also called his children."

Even when the gates of heaven are shut to prayer, they are open to tears. Prayer is Israel's only weapon, a weapon inherited from the fathers, a weapon tried in a thousand battles.

Prayer is the service of the heart which God requires of us. The gates of repentance are always open, the gates of prayer are never closed. Thou man of little faith, why raisest thou thy voice in prayer? When you pray lift up your heart to God, not your voice. Before prayer examine thy heart, whether it be in a prayerful mood; if thou art distracted pray not at all. Prayer without devotion is a body without a soul.

When you pray turn your eyes earthward, and heart your heavenward. Cleanse your heart from sin before you pray. Pray not for things which are past and done. Pray for your neighbor to the God of Mercy.

8. God will surely hear the prayer of him who prays for others though he himself stands in need of divine mercy,

9. He steals the rich gifts of this world who enjoys them without rendering thanks for them both to God and men. Though all prayers may cease, the prayer of thanksgiving shall never cease. 10. Be thou always as God-fearing in secret as thou appearest in public, acknowledging the truth, and harboring the truth in thy heart, and say every morning: LORD of the world, not in reliance upon my own righteousness, but trusting in Thine infinite mercy do I make supplication unto Thee.

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Blessed is he whose noble deeds go as mourners behind his bier. Blessed is he who, on departing from this earth, bequeaths a good name to his children. In the hour of death neither gold, nor silver, nor jewels will accompany man, but only the momory of his good deeds.

The righteous man is the splendor, the glory, the ornament of the place where he dwells. When he leaves it, away goes its splendor, its glory and ornament. The righteous are more glorious in their death even than in their life.