--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My ambition really was, even as a child…" description: "\"My ambition really was, even as a child, to be a writer, a commentator, and a teacher, but a teacher of Talmud.\" — Elie Wiesel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/elie-wiesel-341_ambition_my-ambition-really-was-even-as-a-child-t_2704732.png" --- # My ambition really was, even as a child, to be a writer, a… ![“My ambition really was, even as a child, to be a writer, a commentator, and a teacher, but a teacher of Talmud.” quote by Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/elie-wiesel-341_ambition_my-ambition-really-was-even-as-a-child-t_2704732.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/elie-wiesel-341_ambition_my-ambition-really-was-even-as-a-child-t_2704732.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/elie-wiesel-341_ambition_my-ambition-really-was-even-as-a-child-t_2704732.png) > “My ambition really was, even as a child, to be a writer, a commentator, and a teacher, but a teacher of Talmud.” [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He aspired from childhood to write, comment, and teach, especially Talmudic studies. **In simple terms:** Childhood ambition to be writer, commentator, Talmud teacher. Key Takeaway Pursue both creative and scholarly paths. Themes education writing religion mentorship Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - Teaching Talmud - writing articles - public speaking - community education Key Concepts Talmudic scholarship public discourse Questions to Reflect On - How can one integrate academic rigor with broader communication? - What obstacles arise when teaching complex religious texts? A Different Perspective Balancing scholarly depth with public engagement can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Ambition Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition-really-2440287/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Commentator Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commentator-teacher-2760019/) [Commentators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commentators/) [Mentorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mentorship/) [My ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-ambition/) [Talmud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talmud/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Teacher Talmud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher-talmud-2760018/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The Bible is interpreted by the Talmud. Except, in Rabbinic tradition, a Talmudic law has the weight of the Biblical law. Sometimes we say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-bible-is-interpreted-by-the-talmud-except-in-rabbinic-tradition-a/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [In Jewish tradition the Talmud is said to have been given on Sinai.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/in-jewish-tradition-the-talmud-is-said-to-have-been-given-on-sinai/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I find ambition really attractive too - if someone's good at something they love doing. I want someone who is driven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-styles/i-find-ambition-really-attractive-too-if-someone-s-good-at-something/) [Harry Styles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-styles/) > [It was the most earnest ambition I ever had…Not that I ever really wanted to be a preacher, but because it never occurred to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-was-the-most-earnest-ambition-i-ever-had-not-that-i-ever-really/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I think the word for me is survival, not ambition. I'm really a lucky man. I've always accepted whatever I was in, whether it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-ho/i-think-the-word-for-me-is-survival-not-ambition-i-m-really-a-lucky/) [Don Ho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-ho/) > [I was never somebody who grew up going, 'I really want to be a singer in a band,' and I never had any ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-apple/i-was-never-somebody-who-grew-up-going-i-really-want-to-be-a-singer/) [Fiona Apple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-apple/) > [I always sang and I always wrote...it's just having that ambition. You really can't let go of your dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-carey/i-always-sang-and-i-always-wrote-it-s-just-having-that-ambition-you/) [Mariah Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-carey/) > [I had immense ambition to become a really valuable actress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luise-rainer/i-had-immense-ambition-to-become-a-really-valuable-actress/) [Luise Rainer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luise-rainer/) > [ \[ Rabbi Shlomo ben Isaac\] was the greatest commentator \[of the Bible\] we ever had. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/rabbi-shlomo-ben-isaac-was-the-greatest-commentator-of-the-bible-we/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [My approach is not a scientific approach. For that, we have greater minds than mine. My approach is: I am in the possession of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/my-approach-is-not-a-scientific-approach-for-that-we-have-greater/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Rav Hisda nodded. “Despite the dangers, people continue to travel, often for long distances. This is what you would inscribe on an amulet for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-anton/rav-hisda-nodded-despite-the-dangers-people-continue-to-travel-often/) [Maggie Anton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-anton/) > [“There is a moment in the tractate Menahot when the Rabbis imagine what takes place when Moses ascends Mount Sinai to receive the Torah.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-rosen/there-is-a-moment-in-the-tractate-menahot-when-the-rabbis-imagine/) [Jonathan Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-rosen/) > [The Talmud: Heart's Blood of the Jewish Faith...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-wouk/the-talmud-heart-s-blood-of-the-jewish-faith/) [Herman Wouk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-wouk/) > [“The Talmud says that “blessed is He who has created all these to serve me.” German politician Julius Streicher said, “It is an open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-charles/the-talmud-says-that-blessed-is-he-who-has-created-all-these-to-serve/) [H.W. Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-charles/) > [The Talmud derives its authority from the position held by the ancient (Pharisee) academies. The teachers of those academies, both of Babylonia and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-finkelstein/the-talmud-derives-its-authority-from-the-position-held-by-the/) [Louis Finkelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-finkelstein/) ## More by Elie Wiesel > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [One more stab to the heart, one more reason to hate. One less reason to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/one-more-stab-to-the-heart-one-more-reason-to-hate-one-less-reason-to/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“What all these victims need above all is to know that they are not alone; that we are not forgetting them, that when their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/what-all-these-victims-need-above-all-is-to-know-that-they-are-not/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I feel that books, just like people, have a destiny. Some invite sorrow, others joy, some both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-feel-that-books-just-like-people-have-a-destiny-some-invite-sorrow/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [ \[Chinese\] are a huge empire now, you'll soon be - in a few years two billion people in the world. So, you should be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/chinese-are-a-huge-empire-now-you-ll-soon-be-in-a-few-years-two/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Did I write it so as not to go mad or, on the contrary, to go mad in order to understand the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-i-write-it-so-as-not-to-go-mad-or-on-the-contrary-to-go-mad-in/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Take the story of Cain and Abel. Why were we given that story? Scientifically, you may have an explanation for it, but I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/take-the-story-of-cain-and-abel-why-were-we-given-that-story/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures; peace is our gift to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/mankind-must-remember-that-peace-is-not-god-s-gift-to-his-creatures/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [The world? The world is not interested in us. Today, everything is possible, even the crematoria...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-world-the-world-is-not-interested-in-us-today-everything-is/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-question-possessed-a-power-that-was-lost-in-the-answer/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [His cold eyes stared at me. At last, he said wearily: "I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He alone has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/his-cold-eyes-stared-at-me-at-last-he-said-wearily-i-have-more-faith/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [As you know, I describe Shirat ha-Yam as part of an epic story that has qualities of history and which also has qualities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/as-you-know-i-describe-shirat-ha-yam-as-part-of-an-epic-story-that/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate -healthy virile hate- for what the German personifies and for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-jew-somewhere-in-his-being-should-set-apart-a-zone-of-hate/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Did hope help us to survive, or not? Too many families clung to it all through the war, thus falling into the enemy's trap.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-hope-help-us-to-survive-or-not-too-many-families-clung-to-it-all/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) [Explore all 662 Elie Wiesel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My ambition really was, even as a child, to be a writer, a commentator, and a teacher, but a teacher of Talmud.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elie Wiesel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/my-ambition-really-was-even-as-a-child-to-be-a-writer-a-commentator/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/my-ambition-really-was-even-as-a-child-to-be-a-writer-a-commentator/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/elie-wiesel-341_ambition_my-ambition-really-was-even-as-a-child-t_2704732.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/elie-wiesel-341_ambition_my-ambition-really-was-even-as-a-child-t_2704732.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/elie-wiesel-341_ambition_my-ambition-really-was-even-as-a-child-t_2704732.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My ambition really was, even as a child, to be a writer, a commentator, and a teacher, but a teacher of…” — Elie Wiesel", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elie Wiesel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My ambition really was, even as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/my-ambition-really-was-even-as-a-child-to-be-a-writer-a-commentator/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/my-ambition-really-was-even-as-a-child-to-be-a-writer-a-commentator/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```