Virtually all of male Jewry participated in a perpetual seminar on the Torah and the Talmud. Even the cobblers. Even the tailors. The drovers and dig… - Leo Rosten

The shnorrer was no fool, please note, no simpleton. He often had read a good deal, could quote from the Talmud, and was quick on the verbal draw. Shnorrers were “regulars” in the synagogue and, between prayers, took part in long discussions of theology with their benefactors. The status points involved here are too delicate for Newtonian physics, or Parsonian sociology,* to handle. (Certain Hindu and Oriental groups recognize the beggar in the same way.)

Chutzpa is that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.

Words must surely be counted among the most powerful drugs man ever invented.