Hebrew Proverbs (001-100)

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Even bastards can be cleansed with money.

The lion dreads the gnat.

All that God does is done for the best.

No man tells lies at death's door.

Buttered bread always falls dry side up.

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The heart and the eye are the two agents of sin.

A thing learned in childhood is proven in old age.

There is no such thing as boneless meat.

All flatter a king.

Not everyone who sits in the seat of honor is master.

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Who drains his glass in a single gulp is deemed greedy.

Good deeds are done by good people.

The thief on the point of breaking
into a house calls on God for help.

A woman is not a lemon whose
quality you can judge at once.

It is best not to live in a city run by scholars.

❖

When you open a door, do not forget to close it,
and treat your mouth the same way.

Confession by the defendant is as good as a hundred witnesses.

Sometimes it is not the office that makes the man
but the man that makes the office.

A pregnant woman wants toasted snow.

Honor will come at the end.

❖

The absent are always to blame.

If my grandmother had wheels, she’d be a bus.

The talk of the child in the street
is that of his father or his mother.

Fortune is a wheel that turns with great speed.

Time works wonders.

❖

As you are at seven, so you are at seventy.

One drop of love can create a sea of tears.

Who serves two kings deceives one of them.

Even a weaver is a master in his own home.

The egg of today is better than the hen of tomorrow.

❖

A dog away from its accustomed
place barks not for seven years.

If you quarrel with the rabbi, make peace with the bartender.

Together with the shrub the cabbage is beaten.

Bad servants do the thing first and then seek counsel.

People will not lie about anything that can be found out.

❖

Words that come from the heart enter the heart.

He who has a lawsuit should go to a judge.

The cantor does not sing without a fee.

A scrap will not satisfy the lion.

Never waste good agony.

❖

Where the head goes, there goes the trunk.

Falsehood is common, truth uncommon.

The door which is not opened for charitable
purposes will be opened to the physician.

A word aptly spoken is like an apple of gold
in a setting of carved silver.

If velvet and silk hang in your closet, you can step out in rags.

❖

Those who live near a waterfall, do not hear its roar.

All delay is to the good.

If the lawsuit has been adjourned
overnight, the case is at an end.

Thread by thread the largest robe is woven.

Hard work never killed anyone.

❖

Uphill we always climb with caution, downhill we dash, carefree.

Bright eyes gladden the heart;
good news fattens the bones.

Show a dog a finger and he wants the whole hand.

With a good son-in-law you find a son,
with a bad one you lose your daughter, too.

Give someone nuts and he will throw the shells at you.

❖

The believer asks no questions,
while no answer can satisfy the unbeliever.

A person's desires grow day by day.

In time, even a bear can learn to dance.

Whatever you have to your discredit,
be the first to tell it.

Caution brings speed in the end.

❖

Sins hide not in your sleep but in your dreams.

A priest helps a priest.

If you sleep on a quarrel it becomes less serious.

There are three things you cannot hide;
coughing, poverty and love.

An old man in the house is a snare;
an old woman in the house is a treasure.

❖

Old friends, like old wines, don’t lose their flavor.

Who has the cash in his hand has the upper hand.

Gray hair is a glorious crown won by a righteous life.

The wheel always comes full circle.

A book gives knowledge, but it is
life that gives understanding.

❖

If a clever man is angry, his wisdom quits him.

Two together are luckier than one.

Any man surrounded by dwarfs,
looks like a giant.

Love is called the daughter of the skies
because it grows wings quickly.

Ugliness is the only guardian angel a woman has.

❖

If you go up to the roof, take your provisions with you.

When schnapps goes in, judgment goes out.

Even and angel cannot do two things at the same time.

The king of birds is the eagle.

He whom a serpent has bitten is terrified at a rope.

❖

Idleness leads to boredom.

There is no such thing as tasty medicine.

All cantors are fools, but not all fools are cantors.

Money buys everything but good sense.

When the sin is sweet, repentance is not so bitter.

❖

Every penny counts.

The camel went to seek horns, and the ears
which it possessed were cut off.

A book without a preface is like a body without a soul.

If the eyes of a bride are beautiful,
no need to examine the rest.

Too much good food is worse than too little bad food.

❖

Better to err than wittingly to sin.

Pride is unbecoming in women.

You cannot be a broom and remain clean.

He who rents one garden will eat birds;
who rents gardens, the birds will eat him.

The intelligent man is the one that knows
how to put two and two together.

❖

Admission by the defendant is worth a hundred witnesses.

Let the owner of the garden remove his own thistles.

When a dog is hungry it eats even dung.

Better one bird tied up than a hundred flying.

No bride is ugly on her wedding day.

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Hebrew Proverbs (101-200)

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When scholars vie, wisdom mounts.

If you are born an ass, you will die one.

Who steals from a thief goes unpunished.

From your lips to God’s ear.

The fly does not kill, but it does spoil.

❖

A fool is incurable.

If you want to be a barber, practice on someone else’s beard.

To be a critic is easier than to be a
n author.

As the garden, so the gardener.

Nobody throws away his money for no reason.

❖

Who cuts down good trees sees no profit.

Gold buys silver, but silver does not purchase gold.

The husband is master of the home if the wife is out-of-doors.

A gate once widened stays wide.

It is better to eat vegetables and fear no creditors,
than to eat duck and hide from them.

❖

When the shepherd is angry with his flock,
he appoints a blind sheep as leader.

Childhood is a crown of roses, old age a crown of thorns.

Some prefer vinegar and some prefer wine.

A golden key opens all gates.

If you lie with dogs, you get up with fleas.

❖

There can be no joy without food and drink.

Anxiety breaks a man's backbone.

No judge should sentence a person
he likes or one he dislikes.

While you're fire is burning,
go cut up your pumpkin and cook.

Boldness is royal power without a crown.

❖

Once a horse is born, someone will be found to ride it.

While the sandal is on your foot, tread down the thorns.

A bargain has charm for the customer.

Lust only longs for things forbidden.

Wisdom is more precious than pearls.

❖

I felt sorry I had no shoes until
I saw a man who had no feet.

The common soldiers do the fighting,
and the officers claim the victory.

A scholar who abandons study is like
a bird that strays from the nest.

In the hour of distress, a vow;
in the hour of release, forgetfulness.

We are too soon old, and too late wise.

❖

Cast no mud into the well from which you have drunk.

Peace is to man, what yeast is to dough.

With a little cash in hand you have the upper hand.

He who is in pain should go to the doctor.

The elephant is frightened of the gnat.

❖

A false witness is worthy of being cast to the dogs.

My pen is my harp and my lyre; my library
is my garden and my orchard.

When the hands are many, they can
break down the stoutest of walls.

Every pumpkin is known by its stem.

The Lord created two desires, one for good and one for evil.

❖

A proud man is unacceptable even to his own household.

If not for the light, there would be no shadow.

Two voices cannot enter one ear.

Better a sardine on the dish than a flounder in the sea.

Once a man repents, stop reminding him of what he did.

❖

Wine tops the list of all medicines.

Do not bargain when you are out of cash.

Serve wine to the man used to drinking it,
and greens to the gardener.

Who tells the truth loses his friends.

A man first builds a house and
afterwards brings in the furniture.

❖

No man dares to be rude to his creditor.

Youth is a crown of roses; old age a crown of willows.

If a thief finds nothing to steal, he thinks himself honest.

There is no book that has not something bad in it,
none that has not something good.

A bad woman is as hard as a harsh winter's day.

❖

Many old camels carry the hides of young ones.

When an old lady wants to feel happy, she recalls her dowry.

Every river has its own course.

Silence profits the wise and even more the fool.

A bribe blinds the clever, and how much more so the fool!

❖

if you have the money, your opinion is accepted.

There is one thing one cannot buy, one's parents.

Always marry for love, but it’s as easy to fall in love
with a rich person as a poor one.

Of two evils choose the lesser, of two women, the third.

Who follows his wife's counsel tumbles into hell.

❖

Gossip is silenced with gold.

The cloak is precious to its wearer.

A wife is one's heart's delight.

Knowledge acquired in childhood is not soon forgotten.

When the ox falls, its slayers are many.

❖

Confidence is half the victory.

Room can always be found for a delicacy.

You cannot chew with someone else’s teeth.

Don’t enter the forest if you fear the leaves.

Stains are not seen at night.

❖

Wine in, secret out.

All men are equal when they are underground.

One servant cannot serve two masters.

Tell your secret only to one in a thousand.

A graceful wife lends grace to her husband.

❖

If a farmer becomes a king, he will
still carry a basket on his back.

To get a gift means to return one.

A donkey that travels abroad will not return a horse.

No witness can become the judge.

Who has no brain needs brawn.

❖

Go out and see how the people act.

The pace of a donkey matches the oats it eats.

A pleasant home, a pleasant wife and
pleasant furnishings enlarge a man's mind.

If you stay at home you won't wear out your shoes.

Too many midwives kill the baby.

❖

Become not intoxicated and you will not sin.

Poverty follows the poor.

Words show the wit of a man, but actions shows his meaning.

He who pays his debt adds to his capital.

The mouth that forbids is the mouth that allows.

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Hebrew Proverbs (201-263)

❖

A dream which has not been interpreted
is like a letter unread.

New troubles make us forget the old.

While the thorn is still young it produces prickles.

First learn, then form opinions.

Speech is silver, silence is golden.

❖

A pretty face is half a dowry.

Flight is the beginning of collapse.

The more you add, the worse it gets.

You cannot draw water with a sieve.

Any time of the day is good for confession.

❖

Shame induces us to fear sin.

The truth stands up, a lie does not.

A snake deserves no pity.

In the cemetery, there is no division.

Violence in a house is like a worm on vegetables.

❖

All dishes need salt, but not all need spices.

One should not leap through a book
from its end to its beginning.

With two dogs they killed the lion.

He whose stomach is full increases deeds of evil.

The best game of dice is the one not played at all.

❖

In the time of rejoicing, rejoicing;
in the time of mourning, mourning.

When the kettle boils over, it overflows its own sides.

Cheap borsht is a blessing to the toothless.

So many hymns, and so few noodles.

A pot belonging to partners is neither hot nor cold.

❖

If we cannot do what we want, we must want what we can.

There is no wheat without chaff.

An old man in the home is a curse, an old woman a blessing.

Old and true love never rusts.

Whoever falls and gets up gains a step.

❖

Grief destroys even a hero.

The first day indeed a guest; the second,
a nuisance; the third, a pest.

A house where one lives against one's will is no house.

Half a fool is worse than a whole one.

The dog in his hunger swallows dung.

❖

You cannot set a watch upon chastity.

Breasts adorn a woman and uglify a man.

The heart of a man may be compared to a sausage;
no one can tell exactly what's inside.

A meal without salt is no meal.

Lust leads to love.

❖

When people meet, they speak.

As the camel, so the load.

Silence is good for the wise,
how much more so for the foolish.

A glutton for cake often loses the bread.

If the wife wears the breeches,
the husband must rock the cradle.

❖

The robber is expert in robbery.

A woman comes out not only to see but also to be seen.

A book without an index is
like a house that is bolted and barred.

Money makes even a bastard legal.

When a divorced man marries a divorced woman,
there are four opinions in the marriage bed.

❖

Every man carries his worth in his basket.

The sorcerer mutters but knows not what he mutters.

A door once shut will not easily open again.

If I dealt in candles, the sun wouldn't set;
if I dealt in shrouds, people would stop dying.

Truth stands, falsehood does not stand.

❖

Better the bite of a friend, than the kiss of an enemy.

Profit and loss are companions.

You can’t swap jokes with the Angel of Death.

Guests, like fish, begin to smell on the third day.

The clothes hide the blemish.

❖

A young pumpkin now is better than
a full grown one later on.

Hurry and eat, hurry and drink, for this world is like
a wedding feast from which we soon depart.

Do not hurry like the almond, first to bloom and last to ripen;
be like the mulberry, last to blossom and first to ripen.

❖❖❖

When God wants to punish an idiot, He teaches him a few words of Hebrew. ~ Yiddish Proverb [19358]

Hebrew in Stone, 2010
Photo by Boz Donovan

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16, POTD, Proverb of the Day,

Who is the bravest hero? He who turns his enemy into a friend. — Hebrew proverb

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