Quotes from Aharon Feldman

The Sages promise us that anyone who studies the Torah will derive spiritual purification from his studies (Berachos 16a).

Because anger is the ultimate expression of pride, anger and a feeling of closeness to God are mutually exclusive.

The Rabba bar Bar-Cganah stories and the Savvei DeVei Atuna riddles (Bava Basra 733a-74b and Bechoros 8b) consist of fantastic stories and cryptic debates which constitute what are probably the most enigmatic parts of the entire Talmud.

All evil was created by God to block out spirituality from the world so that man would be forced to struggle for it and therefore appreciate it more deeply.

Vilna Gaon was also an expert in nearly all secular wisdom of his time, for he felt that such knowledge enhanced the understanding of many aspects of Torah and Kabbalah; he even left several volumes which deal with mathematics and astronomy (personal testimony of the Vilna Gaon's children in the introduction of the Hebrew text of this book)/

Human endeavour is not competent to obtain success and wealth. Bread is not the possession of the wise nor wealth the possession of the astute (Kohelet 9:11). No one can be sure that his efforts will succeed as the Torah says many times over, it is God who decides who will be rich and who will be poor (Dvarim 28:12).

Man (???) is meant to be God's garden, his ???????, and bring forth a unique fruit. The fruit of his labors is a life of unselfish devotion to the service of God.

One cannot subordinate himself simultaneously to God and to his own idolized self. Thus the Sages say: Whoever becomes angry, [even if he is a prophet] the Devine Presence leaves him. (Pesachim 66b)

Do not malign the words of a sage even if they seem trivial, for they contain the loftiest wisdom.

Nothing demonstrates this more than man's intelligence: it has a capacity far beyond what would have been necessary in animal terms.

Lust drives the chariot of the yetzer hara; the seat on which it sits is pride.

The least among you [the Sages] has the capacity to revive the dead (Avodah Zarah 10b)