GEN1236 [A category of liars is] one who comes with cunning and words of guile to withhold good from its owner and direct it towards himself.   He does not steal from his fellowman that which is already his, nor rob it by force.  Rather, he sets his eyes on the good destined for the other, and he stalks it, taking possession of it through his false words. Alternatively, through his lies he maneuvers the other into giving it to him as a gift.   He is punished primarily for lying; nonetheless, the punishment for lying takes on greater severity when another’s loss is involved (even though [here] the punishment is not primarily for the loss incurred, since he did not deprive the other person of something that he already acquired).   This is as our Sages said Sanhedrin 92a [I.e. describing the severity of sinning through verbal manipulation], “One who speaks words of guild is as if he has served idols, as the pasuk says [this verse]. GATES 363-5  [See also TZADIK 385]

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GEN1258 The love of long life should take the form of one’s loving his days not for eating, drinking and indulging in pleasures in the days of his vanity, but from consideration of the fact that the labor of Torah and mitzvos is very great and that if he lived twice or four times as long as he would not be able to fulfill the demands of Torah and attain the goodly qualities by which a servant finds favor with his master.  He should thus love the days of his life, for through them he attains Divine service and the pure fear and love of the Blessed One.   He acquires substance in this world which he brings to the next world.   Through this world and its ephemeral days he attains the eternal world and eternal pleasure.   And he should always fear death and grow each day in purity and abnegation, thinking that he may not yet have achieved all of the perfection that he could have achieved; and each day he should increase love and fear for the Holy One Blessed be He.   But life without fear of Hashem is not considered life, and one must abhor and despise life which is contrary to the will of the Creator, Blessed be He, as expressed by Rivkah [this verse].  Therefore, in a situation which involves desecrating God’s name, one must not pity his life and one must always be ready to sacrifice himself for sanctification of the Name on behalf of all mitzvos, regardless of the degree of their severity.   TZADIK 117

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GEN1267 See [[GEN1279]] Genesis 28:20-21 if TZADIK 221-3

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GEN1275 It is written Psalms 119:136: “My eyes have shed streams of tears for not having observed Your Torah,” and Psalms 38:19: “For I will declare my transgression; I will worry over my sin.”   One should always nurture sorrow in his heart for what has passed and worry about the future and always be afraid that he might not fulfill the requirement of repentance, as it is written Proverbs 28:14: “Happy is he who fears always.”  Even if one happens to be meritorious and completely righteous, he must always fear that he might sin in the future.  As we find in the case of Yaakov, even though the Holy One Blessed be He told him [this verse]: “And I will guard you wherever you go,” he was afraid that he might come to sin [and invalidate the assurance].   And so did King David assay Psalms 27:13: “I cannot securely believe to see the good of Hashem in the land of the living.”   TZADIK 221-3

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GEN1388 A man should take care to be generous according to his means, to be magnanimous where magnanimity is called for, and miserly and withholding where it is not called for, weighing all in the scales of Torah.   He should learn from our father Yaakov, who was unparalleled in his frugality, as it is written [this verse]: “And Yaakov remained alone,” concerning which our Rabbis of blessed memory have said that he had returned for some small jars that he had forgotten, from which we learn that the wealth of the righteous is more precious to them than their bodies, because they do not stretch forth their hands to steal Chullin 91a.   Observe the extreme frugality of a man as rich as our father Yaakov, may peace be upon him, in returning for small jars.   Yet in another place we find that he was unparalleled in his lavishness, as our Rabbis of blessed memory expounded: “In my grave which I have dug [karisi] for myself” Genesis 50:5 – this teaches us that Yaakov took all the silver and gold that he had taken from the house of Lavan, made a pile [keri], and said to Esav: “Take this for your share in the Machpelah cave’” Exodus Rabbah 31:17.   Can anyone be more lavish than this?   Therefore, from this one should learn not to squander even a perutah vainly and needlessly.   And in the event of a mitzvah, such as the giving of charity and other mitzvos involving expenditure, such as the acquisition of a teacher, a friend, and books, one should spend lavishly in order to achieve exalted levels to return one’s soul to its place of purity where it will be bound up in the bond of eternal life, as it is written Samuel 1 25:29: “And the soul of my master will be bound up in the bond of life.”   TZADIK 323

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GEN1495 If one has [validly] related evil of him, he should not attempt to contradict the man who spoke against him nor hate him for revealing the thing, but he should humble himself before the Blessed Creator, Who revealed but a small part to afflict and chastise him to return to Him.   And if what was said about him is false, here too, he should not shame the speaker or be angry with him. It once happened that evil was spoken of one of the pious men, and when this became known to him, he sent a gift to the speaker, writing him: “You sent me a gift of your merits, and I am reciprocating with this gift that I am sending you.”   For on the Day of Judgment mitzvos are produced on behalf of many people who did not do them, and when they say: “But we did not do these,” they are told: “Those who spoke evil against you had performed these mitzvos, and they were taken from them and given to you.”   The wicked, likewise, are shown transgressions that they did not commit, and when they protest: “But we did not do these,” they are told: “These are the transgressions of those you slandered; they have been taken from them and added to yours.” This is the intent of Psalms 79:12: “And return to our neighbors seven-fold into their bosoms their insult with which they have insulted you, O Hashem.” For all who insult a righteous man it is as if they have insulted the Holy One Blessed be He, as the foes of Israel are referred to as the foes of Hashem in many places [in Scripture]. TZADIK 65

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GEN1516 Worry is a trait which is evil in most of its manifestations, and it shows on one’s face, as it is written [this verse], and Nechemiah 2:2: Why is your face fallen if you are not sick?”   One of the Sages said: “I do not find a trace of worry at all in those men of exalted spirit.” Worry over attaining anything in this world is extremely reprehensible and is not found at all in those who trust in Hashem and believe in Him.  … The worst of all worries is pursuing transgressions and worrying and suffering in not attaining all his heart’s desires, for all who worry and grieve over this world are very far from Torah, mitzvos, and prayer.   Therefore, one must take great heed to correct this trait and remove it from himself.  TZADIK 219

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GEN1522 Reflect that he who is in constant attendance upon the king does not clothe himself as one who is in his presence only at rare intervals.  If so, we, who are constantly in the presence of the King of kings, who sees our thoughts in private and in the open, and from whose omnipresence there is no escape –how much more so much we constantly reflect upon his greatness and resolve in our hearts to do His will and to adorn ourselves with our thoughts before Him!   TZADIK 335-6

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GEN1542 Mercy is an extremely noble trait. It is one of the thirteen traits attributed to the Holy One Blessed be He, as it is written Exodus 34:6: “Merciful and gracious.” All that one can do in cultivating this trait, he should exert himself to do.   Just as one would want to be pitied in his time of need, so should he pity others who are in need, as it is written Leviticus 19:18: “And you should love your fellowman as yourself.” The Creator, Blessed be He, dispensed of this trait to His righteous servants as a distinguishing characteristic, as we find with Yosef, whose “mercies were kindled” [this verse].  It befits the wise man that the trait of mercy and graciousness be implanted in his heart all of his days.  TZADIK 141

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EXOD38 … one should be zealous on God's behalf against sinners and evildoers--to war with them and chastise them--as our Rabbis of blessed memory have said (Sanhedrin 81b: "If one cohabits with an Aramean woman, zealots may strike him down." Moshe was zealous on God's behalf against the Egyptian, as it is written [this verse]: "And he smote the Egyptian." And so we find with Eliyahu, who said (I Melachim 19:10): "I have been zealous on behalf of Hashem, the God of hosts, for the Children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant." And it is so written of Pinchas (Bemidbar 25:11): "Because he was zealous for My sake in their midst." And the Blessed One rewarded him for this, as it is written (ibid.: 12): "Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace" and it is written (Devarim 1:17): "Do not be afraid of any man." One who fears the Blessed One will give his life for the sanctification of His name, as it is written (Shemos 32:26): "Whoever is for Hashem, let him come to me; and all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him." And it is written (Bemidbar 25:7): "And Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon the Priest saw, and he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand." All who fear Hashem and who are pure of heart are duty-bound to stir a zealousness on behalf of Hashem when they see "the hands of the princes and rulers in crime." Our Rabbis of blessed memory have said (Bereshis Rabbah 26:5): "Any breach which is not made by the great is not called a breach, as it is written (Ezra 9:2): 'And the hands of the princes and the rulers were in this crime first.'"

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