Money is the world's curse.
May the Lord smite me with it. And may I never recover.
Fiddler on the Roof quotes
Page 2 of 3Your daughter has a quick and witty tongue.
Yes, the wit she gets from me, as the good book says...
The good book can wait, it's time for Sabbath.
The tongue she gets from her mother.
As Abraham said, "I am a stranger in a strange land..."
Mendel Moses said that.
Ah. Well, as King David said, "I am slow of speech, and slow of tongue."
Mendel That was also Moses.
For a man who was slow of tongue, he talked a lot.
Pardon me, Lazar Wolfe, but how can a little cow keep you company?
Lazar Wolfe
"Little Cow"?! is that what you call her?!
What else am I to call her? She is a cow!
Lazar Wolfe
What are you talking about?
No, what are you talking about?
Lazar Wolfe
No, what are you talking about?
No, what are you talking about?
Lazar Wolfe
No, what are you talking about?
The new milk cow you want to buy from me!
Lazar Wolfe
[bursts out laughing]
A milk cow! A milk cow so I won't be lonely!
Thank you, your honor. You are a good man. If I may say so, it's too bad you're not a Jew.
Constable [laughs]
That's what I like about you, Tevye. You're always joking.
Unknown
(gestures at different people)
He's right, and he's right? They can't both be right.
You know, you are also right.
Villager An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.
Very good. That way the whole world will be blind and toothless.
[Opening lines]
A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask, why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous? Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: Tradition!
[to Chava]
As the good book says "Each shall seek his own kind". In other words a bird may love a fish but where would they build a home together?
[to God]
I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can't You choose someone else?
[to God]
It may sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not. After all, with Your help, I'm starving to death.
[to God]
Sometimes I wonder, when it gets too quiet up there, if You are thinking, "What kind of mischief can I play on My friend Tevye?"