I thought it was קניית ספרים תרבה חכמה Spoiler: the first is a Talmudic quote, Masechta Bava Basra (21a), meaning that the jealousy of scribes promotes wisdom; the second is a pun on the first meaning that the buying of books promotes wisdom.
Seriously, I believe that in many fields a friendly rivalry can improve quality. -- Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz http://mason.gmu.edu/~smetz3 עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל חַי נֵ֣צַח יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לֹ֥א יְשַׁקֵּ֖ר ________________________________________ From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <[email protected]> on behalf of David Spiegel <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, September 9, 2025 2:03 PM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: Re: A heartfelt request External Message: Use Caution קנאת סופרים תרבה חכמה On 2025-09-09 11:00, Seymour J Metz wrote: > That depends on what you mean by rivalry. I used to exchange code with a > departed colleague whom I dearly missed, and we would seek to outdo each > other, but we never sniped at each other or lied about each others positions. > That sort of rivalry is certainly positive. > > -- > Shmuel (Seymour J.) Metz > http://mason.gmu.edu/~smetz3 > עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל חַי > נֵ֣צַח יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לֹ֥א יְשַׁקֵּ֖ר > > > > > ________________________________________ > From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <[email protected]> on behalf of > z/OS scheduler <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, September 9, 2025 8:34 AM > To: [email protected] <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: A heartfelt request > > > External Message: Use Caution > > > Not to start a war, but I have been, obviously with different names as I > move companies and retired, on this list and others since 1990, and have > never found rivalry negative. If the US and USSR weren't competing to get > to the moon 1st, who knows if we would even have reached the noon if the > rivalry was not there... > > Just my 10cent's worth... > > Op do 28 aug 2025 om 19:52 schreef Mike Kerford-Byrnes <[email protected]>: > >> Messrs Metz and Perryman >> >> >> >> Having been on this list (and IBM-Main) for many years, I have appreciated >> the many contributions that you have both made. They have been informative >> and, in some cases, proved directly useful. You should both be proud of >> them. >> >> >> >> However, it is not for those contributions that you are likely to be >> remembered in the years to come. It is for the irritating and petty (at >> least to me) squabbles in which you indulge, where each of you seems to be >> trying to out-do the other in terms of insult and/or bad manners. It does >> you no credit and the list(s) gain absolutely nothing from them. >> >> >> >> By all means keep up your list-related contributions - I am sure I am not >> alone in my appreciation of them. >> >> >> >> You are not the first to indulge in this behaviour, but I sincerely hope >> you >> will be the last, and that you will both CEASE and DESIST. The list(s) >> will >> be the better for it if you do and, I suspect, your own self respect will >> be >> improved. >> >> >> >> Sincerely >> >> >> >> Mike Kerford-Byrnes >> >> >> >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, >> send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN >> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, > send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, > send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
