How embarrassing for man to be the greatest miracle on earth and not to understand it! — Abraham Joshua Heschel Copy Share Image
Wonder or radical amazement is the chief characteristic of the religious man's attitude toward history and nature. — Abraham Joshua Heschel Copy Share Image
Our age is one in which usefulness is thought to be the chief merit of nature; in which the attainment of power,… — Abraham Joshua Heschel Copy Share Image
“the Sabbath is entirely independent of the month and unrelated to the moon.11 Its date is not determined by any event in… — Abraham Joshua Heschel Copy Share Image
Man's sin is in his failure to live what he is. Being the master of the earth, man forgets that he is… — Abraham Joshua Heschel Copy Share Image
The idea of dependence is an explanation, whereas self-sufficiency is an unprecedented, nonanalogous concept in terms of what we know about life… — Abraham Joshua Heschel Copy Share Image
“The primitive mind finds it hard to realize an idea without the aid of imagination, and it is the realm of space where imagination wields its sway. Of the gods it must have a visible image; where there is no image, there is no god. The reverence for the sacred image, for the sacred monument or place, is not only… — Abraham Joshua Heschel Copy Share
“There is a passion and drive for cruel deeds which only the awe and fear of God can soothe; there is a suffocating selfishness… — Abraham Joshua Heschel Copy Share Image
People of our time are losing the power of celebration. Instead of celebrating we seek to be amused or entertained. Celebration is an active state, an act of expressing reverence or appreciation. To be entertained is a passive state--it is to receive pleasure afforded by an amusing act or a spectacle… Celebration is a confrontation, giving attention to the transcendent… — Abraham Joshua Heschel Copy Share
Ultimately there is no power to narcissistic, self-indulgent thinking. Authentic thinking originates with an encounter with the world. — Abraham Joshua Heschel Copy Share Image
“Usually we regard as meaningful that which can be expressed, and as meaningless that which cannot be expressed. Yet, the equation of the meaningful… — Abraham Joshua Heschel Copy Share Image
Understanding God is not attained by calling into session all arguments for and against Him, in order to debate whether He is a reality… — Abraham Joshua Heschel Copy Share Image
Indifference to evil is more insidious than evil itself. It is a silent justification affording evil acceptability in society. — Abraham Joshua Heschel Copy Share Image
Religion has become an impersonal affair, an institutional loyalty. It survives on the level of activities rather than in the stillness of commitment. — Abraham Joshua Heschel Copy Share Image
