“Shammai would say, ‘Make your Torah fixed. Say little and do much. And receive every human with an expression of beautiful faces .'”

-Chapters of the Fathers; Chapter 1 Verse 15

Shammai was an eminent Jewish scholar of the 1st century, a colleague of Hillel the Elder and a contemporary of Jesus of Nazareth, who, if he knew of him, he would have known by his Hebrew  name, Yeshua.(Joshua).

Shammai was a friendly, modest man personally but strict religiously. His school of teaching was overshadowed in Jewish  practice by his colleague and theological opponent Hillel. But this brief teaching by Shammai speaks volumes and is my favorite among the pithy quotes of the Sages.

“Make your Torah fixed”: In other words, make my spiritual study a fixture of my life, a daily practice, a regular feature of my day, like brushing my teeth or washing my face. Even a small discipline, done daily, like putting away a little each week for savings,  pays enormous long term dividends in my personal growth.

“Say little and do much”: Let my actions speak for me. Be modest in promises and big in fulfillment. Like the Nike slogan”Just Do It!’

“And receive every human with the expression of beautiful faces”:  If the eye is the window to the soul, as the saying goes, how much more so the whole face! Before someone can clearly hear us speak, they can see our face from a long ways off.  How do i want to “face” the  people in my life? Can I see the goodness- the G!Dness- in them, and let my own face reflect that back? The Persian poet Rumi chides his companion: “You have my face right here, and you gaze at flowers?!” Can I see the wonder, the miracle of every person I encounter? (Even the ones I don’t care for so much?)

What can I do today to support my practice, to let my actions speak louder than my words, and to greet everyone with the beauty we all carry?

Joe Laur is a father, husband, artist, builder, naturalist, consultant, and EcoKosher mashgiach. He lives with his wife Sara in western Massachusetts, where he serves as head groundskeeper and resident singer songwriter. Send him your favorite teaching quote for commentary. He can be reached at joe.laur@joelaur.com.