Jessica Gribetz has compiled this snappy and accessible compendium of wise words from the ancient resources of the Bible, the Talmud, Hasidic teachers, all the way through to the contemporary scene with material by Grace Paley, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Nora Ephron, and Jules Feiffer.

Gribetz has organized the thoughts and stories into 18 categories aimed at conveying the full spectrum of Jewish life including on being Jewish; ethics; friendship, love, and marriage; food; health; death and mourning; wisdom and learning; and art and creativity.

Here is a sample of the material in Wise Words:

• "Experience is a good school, but the fees are high."
— Heinrich Heine

• "Sometimes small things lead to great joys."
— S. J. Agnon

• "He who has fed a stranger may have fed an angel."
— Talmud

• "Say little and do much."
— Ethics of the Fathers

• "Love is everything that enhances, widens, and enriches our life."
— Franz Kafka

• "There are halls in heaven that open only to the voice of song."
— Zohar