The Juggler and the King Quotes

“Man (אדם) is meant to be God's garden, his אֲדָמָה, and bring forth a unique fruit. The "fruit" of his labors is a life of unselfish devotion to the service of God.”
― Aharon Feldman, The Juggler and the King: The Jew and the Conquest of Evil: An Elaboration of the Vilna Gaon's Insights Into the Hidden Wisdom of the Sages

“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).”
― Aharon Feldman, The Juggler and the King: The Jew and the Conquest of Evil: An Elaboration of the Vilna Gaon's Insights Into the Hidden Wisdom of the Sages

“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.”
― Aharon Feldman, The Juggler and the King: The Jew and the Conquest of Evil: An Elaboration of the Vilna Gaon's Insights Into the Hidden Wisdom of the Sages

“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)”
― Aharon Feldman, The Juggler and the King: The Jew and the Conquest of Evil: An Elaboration of the Vilna Gaon's Insights Into the Hidden Wisdom of the Sages

“Because anger is the ultimate expression of pride, anger and a feeling of closeness to God are mutually exclusive.”
― Aharon Feldman, The Juggler and the King: The Jew and the Conquest of Evil: An Elaboration of the Vilna Gaon's Insights Into the Hidden Wisdom of the Sages

“The Sages promise us that anyone who studies the Torah will derive spiritual purification from his studies (Berachos 16a).”
― Aharon Feldman, The Juggler and the King: The Jew and the Conquest of Evil: An Elaboration of the Vilna Gaon's Insights Into the Hidden Wisdom of the Sages

“The least among you [the Sages] has the capacity to revive the dead (Avodah Zarah 10b)”
― Aharon Feldman, The Juggler and the King: The Jew and the Conquest of Evil: An Elaboration of the Vilna Gaon's Insights Into the Hidden Wisdom of the Sages

“Lust drives the chariot of the yetzer hara; the seat on which it sits is pride.”
― Aharon Feldman, The Juggler and the King: The Jew and the Conquest of Evil: An Elaboration of the Vilna Gaon's Insights Into the Hidden Wisdom of the Sages

“The Talmudic sage Rav Amram reached such a high level os spirituality that his evil inclination left him, the Talmud tells us that it did so "like a pillar of fire." (kiddushin 81a)”
― Aharon Feldman, The Juggler and the King: The Jew and the Conquest of Evil: An Elaboration of the Vilna Gaon's Insights Into the Hidden Wisdom of the Sages

“Nothing demonstrates this more than man's intelligence: it has a capacity far beyond what would have been necessary in animal terms.”
― Aharon Feldman, The Juggler and the King: The Jew and the Conquest of Evil: An Elaboration of the Vilna Gaon's Insights Into the Hidden Wisdom of the Sages

“The Gaon explains that the juggler in the first story in this book represents a man who has devoted himself entirely to materialism. Like a juggler who concerns himself with nothing else but throwing one ball after the other, materialistic man lives exclusively to juggle activities which afford him gratification. His life is a constant switch between the pursuit of fleshly pleasure and of status and prestige. The King of the universe observes all this with disappointment, for He created him for nobler ends. Finally, he passes judgement on the juggler's antics.”
― Aharon Feldman, The Juggler and the King: The Jew and the Conquest of Evil: An Elaboration of the Vilna Gaon's Insights Into the Hidden Wisdom of the Sages

“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)/”
― Aharon Feldman, The Juggler and the King: The Jew and the Conquest of Evil: An Elaboration of the Vilna Gaon's Insights Into the Hidden Wisdom of the Sages