Quotations

"Mankind will not perish for want of information, but only for want of appreciation."

— Abraham Joshua Heschel, Polish-born American rabbi, born 1907

"Prayer cannot bring water to parched fields, or mend a broken bridge, or rebuild a ruined city; but prayer can water an arid soul, mend a broken heart, and rebuild a weakened will."

— Abraham Joshua Heschel, Polish-American rabbi, born 1907

"It is gratefulness which makes the soul great."

— Abraham Joshua Heschel, Polish-American rabbi, born 1907

"Prayer may not save us, but prayer makes us worth of saving."

— Abraham J. Heschel, Polish-born American rabbi, born 1907

"The world presents itself in two ways to me. The world as a thing I own, the world as a mystery I face. What I own is a trifle, what I face is sublime. I am careful not to waste what I own; I must learn not to miss what I face."

— Abraham Joshua Heschel, Polish-American rabbi, born 1907

"Judaism teaches us to be attached to holiness in time, to attached to sacred events, to learn how to consecrate sanctuaries that emerge from the magnificent stream of year. The Sabbaths are our great cathedrals; and our Holy of Holies is a shrine that neither the Romans nor the Germans were able to burn."

— Abraham Joshua Heschel, Polish-American rabbi, born 1907

"Some of us think holding on makes us strong but sometimes it is letting go."

— Hermann Hesse, German-Swiss author, born 1877

"As a body everyone is single, as a soul never."

— Hermann Hesse, German-Swiss author, born 1877

"Land! An island! We devoured it greedily with our eyes and woke the others, who tumbled out drowsily and stared in all directions as if they thought our bow was about to run on to a beach. Screaming seabirds formed a bridge across the sky in the direction of the distant island, which stood out sharper against the horizon as the red background widened and turned gold with the approach of the sun and the full daylight."

— Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian adventurer, born 1914

"Borders --I have never seen one. But I have heard they exist in the minds of some people."

— Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian adventurer, born 1914

"It says in the Bible, in plain words, that God made a self-portrait. He created man in His own image - man and woman - for God is Love. Why should we start thinking of a god up in the clouds with wings, if He dwells within us in the spirit of Love?"

— Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian adventurer, born 1914

"In my experience, it is rarer to find a really happy person in a circle of millionaires than among vagabonds."

— Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian adventurer, born 1914

"The best kind of comedy to me is when you make people laugh at things they've never laughed at, and also take a light into the darkened corners of people's minds, exposing them to the light."

— Bill Hicks, American comedian, born 1961

"The world is like a ride at an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it, you think it’s real."

— Bill Hicks, American comedian, born 1961