Usury Unpopularity the Reasons Asala

Polish Proverbs, by Joanne Asala. 2002

Old Polish Wisdom. Insights Into the Unpopularity of Usury, Widely Practiced by Jews

This small book (64 pages) packs a wallop! Some of my favorite Polish proverbs are:

“In church, at the inn, and in the grave, all men are equal.” (p. 23)

“You should fear the Lord and you should fear him who has no fear of the Lord.” (p. 25)

“Mother’s voice is God’s voice.” (p. 28)

“Every vixen praises her own tail.” (p. 35). (I remember a different version from childhood: “Every cat praises its own tail.”)

“There is no rose without thorns.” (p. 38)

“A guest sees more in an hour than the host in a year.” (p. 46)

“He who lends money to a friend makes an enemy.” (p. 48) [This proverb says a lot about what happened when Jews turned to usury, and practiced usury for so many generations. It was not exactly a good foundation for Polish-Jewish relations.]

“A good listener makes a good teacher.” (p. 59)

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A list is provided of books of proverbs for further reading.