227 Best Jewish Quotes About Leadership (2023)
1. The more schooling, the more wisdom.
2. “Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do You tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land You promised on oath to their ancestors? …I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how You are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me – if I have found favour in Your eyes – and do not let me face my own ruin.”
3. “Leadership demands two kinds of courage: the strength to take a risk, and the humility to admit when a risk fails.”
4. “Why do Jewish men die before their wives? They want to.” – Henny Youngman
5. Before you can lead, you must have a vision of the future and be able to communicate it to others.
6. “Whatever you choose to do, leave tracks. That means don’t do it just for yourself. You will want to leave the world a little better for your having lived.” – Ruth Bader Ginsberg
7. “You have to have faith, fantasy, hope, drive, determination, and the belief that tomorrow will be better.” – Magda Brown
8. “All the honor of the king’s daughter is within” (Psalms 45:14) was applied by the rabbis to explain the different natures of men and women. Men belonged in the marketplace; women were needed at home. Family was highly valued and life at home was mostly in mixed company, but much of communal life and most of the ritual observance were divided by gender. Men led the prayers, codified legal decisions, controlled the community chest, and dealt with the outside world. This impacted women’s sphere of influence, which tended to be in the private domain. Exceptions to this rule are mentioned throughout the Talmud: Beruryah (wife of R. Meir) and Imma Shalom (wife of R. Eliezer) were scholars in their own right whose interpretations are quoted, while the wife of Jonah the prophet went up to Jerusalem for the three festivals and Michal, daughter of King Saul, donned tefillin.
9. “This is one of the goals of the Jewish way of living: to experience commonplace deeds as spiritual adventures, to feel the hidden love and wisdom in all things.” – Abraham Joshua Heschel