The mystics, knowing that man is involved in a hidden history of the cosmos, endeavor to awake from the drowsiness and apathy and to regain the state of wakefulness for their enchanted souls.
ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHELWise criticism always begins with self-criticism.
More Abraham Joshua Heschel Quotes
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When I marched with Martin Luther King in Selma, I felt my legs were praying.
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Aeons hence, when of many of our cherished theories only shreds will remain, that cosmic tapestry will continue to shine.
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The awe of God is wisdom.
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Prayer begins where our power ends.
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Time is an essential dimension of existence defiant of man’s power, and truth reigns in supreme majesty, unrivaled, inimitable, and can never be defeated.
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We may not know whether our understanding is correct, or whether our sentiments are noble, but the air of the day surrounds us like spring which spreads over the land without our aid or notice.
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Man is naturally self-centered and he is inclined to regard expediency as the supreme standard for what is right and wrong.
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God is not a hypothesis derived from logical assumptions, but an immediate insight, self-evident as light. He is not something to be sought in the darkness with the light of reason. He is the light.
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The opposite of good is not evil, the opposite of good is indifference.
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Proximity to the crowd, to the majority view, spells the death of creativity. For a soul can create only when alone, and some are chosen for the flowering that takes place in the dark avenues of night.
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Judaism teaches us to be attached to holiness in time; to learn how to consecrate sanctuaries that emerge from the magnificent stream of a year.
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Life is not meaningful…unle ss it is serving an end beyond itself; unless it is of value to someone else.
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Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods.
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You must build your life as if it were a work of art.
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The primary purpose of prayer is not to make requests. The primary purpose is to praise, to sing, to chant. Because the essence of prayer is a song, and man cannot live without a song.
ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL