--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I remembered the scene in the Bible when…" description: "\"“I remembered the scene in the Bible when Jacob asks Rachel for water and on hearing her speak the words that were prophesied for him, throws up his ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67f/andre-aciman-459_bible_i-remembered-the-scene-in-the-bible-when_1278716.jpg" --- # I remembered the scene in the Bible when Jacob asks Rachel… ![“I remembered the scene in the Bible when Jacob asks Rachel for water and on hearing her speak the words that were prophesied for him, throws up his hands to heaven and kisses the ground by the well. Me Jewish, Celan Jewish, Oliver Jewish—we were in a half ghetto, half oasis, in an otherwise cruel…” quote by André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67f/andre-aciman-459_bible_i-remembered-the-scene-in-the-bible-when_1278716.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67f/andre-aciman-459_bible_i-remembered-the-scene-in-the-bible-when_1278716.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67f/andre-aciman-459_bible_i-remembered-the-scene-in-the-bible-when_1278716.jpg) > ““I remembered the scene in the Bible when Jacob asks Rachel for water and on hearing her speak the words that were prophesied for him, throws up his hands to heaven and kisses the ground by the well. Me Jewish, Celan Jewish, Oliver Jewish—we were in a half ghetto, half oasis, in an otherwise cruel and unflinching world where fuddling around strangers suddenly stops, where we misread no one and no one misjudges us, where one person simply knows the other and knows him so thoroughly that to be taken away from such intimacy is galut,Hebrew word for exile and dispersal. Was he my home, then, my homecoming? You are my homecoming. When I’m with you and we’re well together, there is nothing more I want. You make me like who I am, who I become when you’re with me, Oliver. If there is any truth in the world, it lies when I’m with you, and if I find the courage to speak my truth to you one day, remind me to light a candle in thanksgiving at every altar in Rome. It never occurred to me that if one word word from him could make me so happy, another could just as easily crush me, that if I didn’t want to be unhappy, I should learn to beware of such small joys as well.”” [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on deep intimacy as a sanctuary amid a harsh world, equating love with homecoming and confronting the fragility of joy. **In simple terms:** Love feels like home and truth. Key Takeaway Cherish intimate connections, beware of fleeting joy. Themes love identity homecoming Mood poignant introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - cultural diaspora - personal healing - creative expression Key Concepts existentialism memory spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How does love define your sense of home? - What safeguards protect you from heartbreak? A Different Perspective Intense love can cause vulnerability and pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Homecoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homecoming/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Small joys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-joys/) ## Related quotes > [“Why didn't Jacob simply refuse to go along with this bold, obvious swindle? Again, Robert Alter's insights are invaluable. When Jacob asks, 'Why have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/why-didn-t-jacob-simply-refuse-to-go-along-with-this-bold-obvious/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“It never occurred to me that if one word from him could make me so happy, another could just as easily crush me, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/it-never-occurred-to-me-that-if-one-word-from-him-could-make-me-so/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Was he my home, then, my homecoming? You are my homecoming. When I’m with you and we’re well together, there is nothing more I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/was-he-my-home-then-my-homecoming-you-are-my-homecoming-when-i-m-with/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Was he my home, then, my homecoming? You are my homecoming. When I’m with you and we’re well together, there is nothing more I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/was-he-my-home-then-my-homecoming-you-are-my-homecoming-when-i-m-with-2/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“With 6 children Darya Alexandrovna could not be calm. One got sick, another might get sick, a third lacked something, a fourth showed signs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/with-6-children-darya-alexandrovna-could-not-be-calm-one-got-sick/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Happiness. We're tearing our hair out to try to find a definition of it, for heaven's sake. Is it joy? People will tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/happiness-we-re-tearing-our-hair-out-to-try-to-find-a-definition-of/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [Events bring you small joy, while # existence brings you bliss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/events-bring-you-small-joy-while-existence-brings-you-bliss/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [My son taught me a few tricks about card games and Rishona spent time painting with me. She would also make us dalgona coffee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rituparna-sengupta/my-son-taught-me-a-few-tricks-about-card-games-and-rishona-spent-time/) [Rituparna Sengupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rituparna-sengupta/) > [“We were hockey gypsies, heading down another gravel road every weekend, plowing into the heart of that magnificent northern landscape. We never gave a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagamese/we-were-hockey-gypsies-heading-down-another-gravel-road-every-weekend/) [Richard Wagamese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagamese/) > [One of the small joys that's easy to miss in London is the blue plaques on buildings. These are put up to commemorate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/one-of-the-small-joys-that-s-easy-to-miss-in-london-is-the-blue/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [It is of the small joys and little pleasures that the greatest of our days are built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-anne-radmacher/it-is-of-the-small-joys-and-little-pleasures-that-the-greatest-of-our/) [Mary Anne Radmacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-anne-radmacher/) > [“...those children were already beginning to repay her care by affording her small joys. These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/those-children-were-already-beginning-to-repay-her-care-by-affording/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Everyone, some sooner than others, must endure his or her own personal 'hell on earth.' It is important to keep searching for the small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-some-sooner-than-others-must-endure-his-or-her-own-personal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The enthusiastic massacre began once more. She did love the children. Children were one of her small joys, even when they were fiends to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/the-enthusiastic-massacre-began-once-more-she-did-love-the-children/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [I prefer hanging out with my small group of friends, maybe head to the beach once in three months, pursue my hobbies, and just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naga-chaitanya/i-prefer-hanging-out-with-my-small-group-of-friends-maybe-head-to-the/) [Naga Chaitanya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naga-chaitanya/) ## More by André Aciman > [Don't all writers have a hidden nerve, call it a secret chamber, something irreducibly theirs, which stirs their prose and makes it tick and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/don-t-all-writers-have-a-hidden-nerve-call-it-a-secret-chamber/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I wanted him to remember the morning on Monet's berm when I'd kissed him not the first but the second time and given him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-wanted-him-to-remember-the-morning-on-monet-s-berm-when-i-d-kissed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Rituals are how we step into our private field of dreams, a small Elysium all our own. 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I wanted him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/well-since-you-re-not-going-to-do-anything-with-me-can-you-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“This is heaven.” And I wouldn’t hear him say another word for at least an hour. There was nothing I loved more in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/this-is-heaven-and-i-wouldn-t-hear-him-say-another-word-for-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“He loved the sticky taste. What had I done? I told him and pointed to the bruised evidence sitting on my desk. “Let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/he-loved-the-sticky-taste-what-had-i-done-i-told-him-and-pointed-to/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“When had they separated us, you and me, Oliver? And why did I know it, and why didn't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/when-had-they-separated-us-you-and-me-oliver-and-why-did-i-know-it/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“As we were swimming back, he asked as though it were an afterthought, “Are you going to hold last night against me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/as-we-were-swimming-back-he-asked-as-though-it-were-an-afterthought/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“To be with you. To be with you, Oliver. With or without my bathing suit. To be with you on my bed. In your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/to-be-with-you-to-be-with-you-oliver-with-or-without-my-bathing-suit/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I thought I could ever want another living soul, gently, softly, and, with the kindness one Jew extends to another, work his way into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-thought-i-could-ever-want-another-living-soul-gently-softly-and/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Oliver: But there's the catch: you're still twenty years younger than those gathered around you, which is why I can be twenty-four in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/oliver-but-there-s-the-catch-you-re-still-twenty-years-younger-than/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [I cannot write if there is a sense of plenitude. I have to hypothesize that there is a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-cannot-write-if-there-is-a-sense-of-plenitude-i-have-to-hypothesize/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) [Explore all 527 André Aciman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More Bible quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“God hates Hell. 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You are my homecoming. When I’m with you and we’re well together, there is nothing more I want. You make me like who I am, who I become when you’re with me, Oliver. If there is any truth in the world, it lies when I’m with you, and if I find the courage to speak my truth to you one day, remind me to light a candle in thanksgiving at every altar in Rome. 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