Abraham Joshua Heschel Quotes

A collection of quotes by Abraham Joshua Heschel.

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) was a prominent Jewish theologian, philosopher, and civil rights activist. Born in Poland, he completed his studies in Berlin and became a rabbi. After the rise of Nazism, Heschel moved to the United States, where he taught at Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. He played a significant role in the American Civil Rights Movement, marching alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and advocating for racial equality. Heschel's writings, such as "The Sabbath" and "God in Search of Man," explored the depths of spirituality and the moral imperative to combat injustice.

Racism is man's gravest threat to man - the maximum of hatre

Racism is man's gravest threat to man - the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason.

Abraham Joshua Heschel

Self-respect is the fruit of discipline the sense of dignity

Self-respect is the fruit of discipline the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.

Abraham Joshua Heschel

The idea of dependence is an explanation, whereas self-suffi

The idea of dependence is an explanation, whereas self-sufficiency is an unprecedented, nonanalogous concept in terms of what we know about life within nature. Is not self-sufficiency itself insufficient to explain self-sufficiency?

Abraham Joshua Heschel

Life Nature Self

The supremacy of expediency is being refuted by time and tru

The supremacy of expediency is being refuted by time and truth. 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.

Abraham Joshua Heschel

Time Truth Power Man Thetimes

We can never sneer at the stars, mock the dawn, or scoff at

We can never sneer at the stars, mock the dawn, or scoff at the totality of being.

Abraham Joshua Heschel

Life Appreciation Wonder

Man's sin is in his failure to live what he is. Being the ma

Man's sin is in his failure to live what he is. Being the master of the earth, man forgets that he is the servant of God.

Abraham Joshua Heschel

God is not a hypothesis derived from logical assumptions, bu

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.

Abraham Joshua Heschel

Worship is a way of seeing the world in the light of God.

Worship is a way of seeing the world in the light of God.

Abraham Joshua Heschel

A test of a people is how it behaves toward the old. It is e

A test of a people is how it behaves toward the old. It is easy to love children. Even tyrants and dictators make a point of being fond of children. But the affection and care for the old, the incurable, the helpless are the true gold mines of a culture.

Abraham Joshua Heschel

A religious man is a person who holds God and man in one tho

A religious man is a person who holds God and man in one thought at one time, at all times, who suffers harm done to others, whose greatest passion is compassion, whose greatest strength is love and defiance of despair.

Abraham Joshua Heschel