When one comes to comfort a young widow, he does not mean to perform a good deed.

More Yiddish Proverbs

• Some people are electrifying; they light up a room when they leave.
• Better a steady dime than a rare dollar.
• Better an honest slap in the face than an insincere kiss.
• You are ushered in according to your dress; shown out according to your brains.
• Men would not be richer for being miserly; generosity does not make a man poorer.
• If it must always be better, it can never be good enough.
• You never lose a false coin.
• Confidence is half of victory.
• Better to die upright than to live on your knees.
• Prayers go up and blessings come down.
• You cannot hold your head high with your hand out.
• The rabbi drinks the wine and asks the others to be happy.
• If things are not as you wish, wish them as they are.
• Walk straight and you will not fall.
• When you have left a country, you have left everyone.
• When the time comes for you to live, there aren’t enough years.
• Many complain of their looks, but none of their brains.
• The nearer to the synagogue, the farther from God.
• Give me, Lord, my daily bread, I will get my own brandy.
• Money buys everything but good sense.
• Let it be worse, so long as it’s a change.
• With money in your pocket, you are wise, handsome and you sing well too.
• The heart of a man may be compared to a sausage; no one can tell exactly what’s inside.
• By day they’re ready to divorce, by night they’re ready for bed.
• Beware of still water, a still dog, and a still enemy.
• Who wins first, loses last.
• Better to hear curses than to be pitied.