Whoever fears the word of the Lord is not anxious about the love of his wife or the delight of his children, but only with the darts of fire of the heavenly flame. … and every man who has the spirit of wisdom and understanding is not concerned with the pleasures of the world … and he does not speak of idle things.

Translated by Elliot Wolfson, “Martyrdom, Eroticism and Asceticism in Twelfth Century Ashkenazi Piety,” in Jews and Christians in Twelfth Century Europe, 171-220. Edited by J. van Engen and M. Signer, Notre Dame- University of Notre Dame Press, 2001.