"In all God's creation there is not a single object without a purpose." Providence. "Man should ever say: Whatever the All-merciful doeth is for the best." "Who hath bread for to-day and feareth for the morrow, is a man of little faith." "God adjusts the burden to the camel." "We cannot comprehend either the prosperity of the wicked or the suffering of the righteous." Rabbi Akiba was alone in the wilderness at night with but a lamp to study the Law, a rooster to waken him, and an ass to carry him. He was inhospitably driven from a village in which he asked shelter, and had to camp in the open fields. A wind blew out his light so that he could not study; a wolf destroyed his rooster; a lion devoured his ass. But at the occurrence of each calamity, he still said: "Praised be God, whate'er He does is for the best." Entering the village next morning, he found its inhabitants slain by robbers. Complete the providential application. There is no mediator between Israel and God. "If misfortune befalls a man, let him not cry to Michael or Gabriel, but let him come unto Me: everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." God scattered Israel through the world that the Gentile might learn the purity of Jewish teaching. Prayer. "Prayer without devotion is body without breath." "Better little prayer with devotion than much, without." "He who asks God for his neighbor what he needs for himself, his own wants will be first answered." "Blessed be the mother who sends her children to the House of Prayer." (See prayer and sacrifice, page 188.) Righteousness. "Who gains the approval of good men, may hope for that of Heaven." "One should conduct himself as carefully before man as before God." "What shall man do to live; kill his (lower) self. What shall man do to die; sustain his (lower) self." "The righteous are greater in death than in life." "A good man lost to his age is like a lost pearl. The pearl remains a pearl wherever it may be; only the owner feels its loss." "Alas for him who mistakes branch for tree, shadow for substance." "To him who lacks nobility of heart, nobility of blood is of no avail." "Good men promise little and do much; wicked men promise much and no nothing." "There are three classes of friends of God; the wronged who seek not revenge; workers for the love of God; cheerful sufferers." "The righteous need no monuments, their deeds are their monuments." "Three names are given to a man: the first by his parents, the second by the world, the third by his works." "The best preacher is the heart, the best teacher time, the best book the world, the best friend God."