God in heaven sits on high and plays games with us. He has plenty to do up there, what with building worlds and then knocking them down again, breaking things up and then rebuilding them, and yet he can manage… — Shmuel Yosef Agnon Copy Share Image
It is not enough for a man to dwell in the Land of Israel, he must also pray to be free. — Shmuel Yosef Agnon Copy Share Image
Our sages of blessed memory have said that we must not enjoy any pleasure in this world without reciting a blessing. If we eat any food, or drink any beverage, we must recite a blessing over them before and after. If we breathe the scent of goodly grass, the fragrance of spices, the aroma of good fruits, we pronounce a… — Shmuel Yosef Agnon Copy Share
Who were my mentors in poetry and literature? This is a matter of opinion. Some see in my books the influences of authors whose names, in my ignorance, I have not even heard, while others see the influences of poets whose names I have heard but whose writings I have not read. And what is my opinion? From whom did… — Shmuel Yosef Agnon Copy Share
I am generally ashamed to walk out in new clothes. And why am I ashamed? Is it because I don't want to embarrass the… — Shmuel Yosef Agnon Copy Share Image
If I am proud of anything, it is that I have been granted the privilege of living in the land which God promised our… — Shmuel Yosef Agnon Copy Share Image
Our days on earth are like a shadow, and the time of our affliction is the length of our days. — Shmuel Yosef Agnon Copy Share Image
When I first began to combine letters other than Hebrew, I read every book in German that came my way, and from these I… — Shmuel Yosef Agnon Copy Share Image
The fate of the singers who, like my songs, went up in flame was also the fate of the books which I later wrote.… — Shmuel Yosef Agnon Copy Share Image
Not every man remembers the name of the cow which supplied him with each drop of milk he has drunk. — Shmuel Yosef Agnon Copy Share Image
But perhaps the truth newly discovered is itself only temporary and when new discoveries are made these truths too will be abandoned. But one… — Shmuel Yosef Agnon Copy Share Image
