Abraham Joshua Heschel Quotes

One of the major symptoms of the general crisis existent in our world today is our lack of sensitivity to words.

Awareness of the divine begins with wonder.

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.

God is not nice. God is not an uncle. God is an earthquake.

Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods.

The opposite of good is not evil, the opposite of good is indifference.

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.

The liturgical movement must become a revolutionary movement seeking to overthrow the forces that continue to destroy the promise, the hope, the vision.

But the affection and care for the old, the incurable, the helpless are the true gold mines of a culture.

Self-respect is the root of discipline