Never once in my life did I ask God for success or wisdom or power or fame. I asked for wonder, and he gave it to me. Abraham Joshua Heschel More Quotes by Abraham Joshua Heschel More Quotes From Abraham Joshua Heschel The true meaning of existence is disclosed in moments of living in the presence of God Abraham Joshua Heschel presence-of-god existence moments We worship God through our questions. Abraham Joshua Heschel worship-god worship Knowledge-like the sky- is never private property. No teacher has a right to withhold it from anyone who asks for it. Teaching is the art of sharing. Abraham Joshua Heschel teaching teacher art In the darkest night to be certain of the dawn...to go through Hell and to continue to trust in the goodness of God-this is the challenge and the way. Abraham Joshua Heschel faith challenges night In the midst of our applauding the feats of civilization, the Bible flings itself like a knife slashing our complacency; remind us that God, too, has a voice in history. Abraham Joshua Heschel knives voice civilization 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. Abraham Joshua Heschel creativity dark night Prayer is not a stratagem for occasional use, a refuge to resort to now and then. It is rather like an established residence for the innermost self. All things have a home: the bird has a nest, the fox has a hole, the bee has a hive. A soul without prayer is a soul without a home. Abraham Joshua Heschel self prayer home Trust is the core of human relationships, of gregariousness among men. Friendship, a puzzle to the syllogistic and critical mentality, is not based on experiments or tests of another person's qualities but on trust. It is not critical knowledge but a risk of the heart which initiates affection and preserves loyalty in our fellow men. Abraham Joshua Heschel loyalty heart men The higher goal of spiritual living is not to amass a wealth of information, but to face sacred moments. Abraham Joshua Heschel goal spiritual healing The essence of man is not what he is, but in what he is able to be. Abraham Joshua Heschel able essence men The time for the kingdom may be far off, but the task is plain: to retain our share in God in spite of peril and contempt. There is a war to wage against the vulgar, the glorification of the absurd, a war that is incessant, universal. Loyal to the presence of the ultimate in the common, we may be able to make it clear that man is more than man, that in doing the finite he may perceive the infinite . Abraham Joshua Heschel tasks men war Wonder or radical amazement is the chief characteristic of the religious man's attitude toward history and nature. Abraham Joshua Heschel religious faith attitude All that is left is to us is our being horrified at the loss of our sense of horror. Abraham Joshua Heschel left horror loss The Sabbath is not for the sake of the weekdays; the weekdays are for the sake of Sabbath. It is not an interlude but the climax of living. Abraham Joshua Heschel sabbath weekdays sake Faith opens our hearts for the entrance of the holy. It is almost as though God were thinking for us. Abraham Joshua Heschel holy heart thinking In prayer we shift the center of living from self-consciousness to self-surrender Abraham Joshua Heschel consciousness self prayer To become aware of the ineffable is to part company with words. Abraham Joshua Heschel ineffable company Our concern is not how to worship in the catacombs but how to remain human in the skyscrapers. Abraham Joshua Heschel skyscraper worship civilization There are no two hours alike. Every hour is unique and the only one given at the moment, exclusive and endlessly precious. 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. Abraham Joshua Heschel unique two years The course of life is unpredictable no one can write his autobiography in advance. Abraham Joshua Heschel future life-is writing
