“I came to the conclusion that I am free to choose my own suffering. But I am not free to consent to someone else’s suffering.”

We must choose between the violence of adults and the smiles of children. Between the ugliness of hate and the will to oppose it. Between inflicting suffering and humiliation on our fellow man and offering him the solidarity and hope he deserves.

Even in darkness it is possible to create light.

Our obligation is to give meaning to life and in doing so to overcome the passive, indifferent life.

There is much to be done, there is much that can be done… one person of integrity can make a difference.

Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate – healthy virile hate – for what the German personifies and for what persists in the German.

Bite your lips, little brother…Don’t cry. Keep your anger, your hate, for another day, for later. The day will come but not now…Wait. Clench your teeth and wait.

Only the guilty are guilty: the children of killers are not killers, but children.

Every moment contains a spark of eternity.

For us it’s not easy to be conformist, I cannot stand to be conformist, I don’t accept what it is, I like to say no. If I see an injustice I scream.

For nearly 3,500 years Exodus has left such an imprint on people’s memories that I cannot imagine it had been invented just as a legend or a tale.

you can do something. You can, even for one person Don’t turn away; help. Because those who suffer, often suffer not because of the person or the group that inflicts the suffering; they seem to suffer because nobody cares.

This is the role of writers: to turn their tears into a story – and perhaps into a prayer.

Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.

A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.

In the face of suffering, one has no right to turn away, not to see.

To remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all.

Life is so short. I would rather sing one song than interpret the thousand.

It may be normal, darling; but I’d rather be natural.

Let me be unambiguous. I prefer not to be photographed.

I realized either I was crazy or the world was crazy; and I picked on the world. And of course I was right.

It’s better to stand by someone’s side than by yourself

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

I’ll walk where my own nature would be leading: It vexes me to choose another guide: Where the grey flocks in ferny glens are feeding; Where the wild wind blows on the mountain-side.

Some people choose not to engage the battle and then don’t seek out that kind of success. And others do.