Let My People Know

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz:” A donkey.”

In Jewish law, someone who is a gifted scholar but does not behave properly is considered a despicable human being.

The Talmud calls a person who is merely erudite “a book-carrying donkey,” or “a basket full of books.”

Carrying books rather than straw does not make a donkey any less a donkey.

–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz