The real bond between two generations is the insights they share, the appreciation they have in common, the moments of inner experience in which they meet.

A.J. Heschel, To Grow in Wisdom, in The Insecurity Of Freedom, GSF, p. 83

Humanity can thrive only when challenged

Humanity can thrive only when challenged, when called upon to answer new demands, to reach out for new heights.

A.J. Heschel, Religion and Race, in The Insecurity of Freedom, FS&G, p. 97

האנושות אינה יכולה לצמוח אלא כאשר היא מאותגרת, כאשר היא נקראת לתת תשובה לדרישות חדשות, להושיט את ידה לפסגות חדשות.

א.י. השל, דת וגזע, בספר "אלוהים מאמין באדם", בהוצאת כנרת זמורה-ביתן, דביר, בתרגום ובעריכת דרור בונדי, עמ' 42

double *

We are all very poor, very naked, and rather absurd in our misery and in our success.

A. J. Heschel.  Prayer as Discipline, in The Insecurity of Freedom, FS&G, p  257

It is not the prize-fighter or the millionaire  but the fragile old man or our mother whom we find venerable.

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux  p. 26

We may be skeptical as to whether the world is perfect. Yet, even its imperfection admitted, the preciousness of its grandeur is beyond question. 

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux  p. 22

The idea of unity is not only one upon which the ultimate justification of philosophical, ethical and religious universalism depends, but also one which is still beyond the grasp of most people.

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux  p. 111

spiritually on edge

Only those who know how to live spiritually on edge will be able to go  beyond the shore without longing for the certainties established on the artificial rock of our speculation.

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux  p. 58

The art of awareness of God, the art of sensing His presence in our daily lives cannot be learned off-hand.

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux  p. 88

Without cleanliness of will the mind is impervious to the relevance of God.

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux  p. 87

Concepts, words must not become screens, they must be regarded as windows.

A.J. Heschel, God in Search of Man, FSG, p. 116

The most pressing and most ignored of problems - how to live - will not be solved through teaching sagacious rules.

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux  p. 183

Authentic faith is more than an echo of a tradition. It is a creative situation, an event. For God is not always silent, and man is not always blind.

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux  p. 165

...religion is not a feeling for something that is, but an answer to Him who is asking us to live in a certain way.

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux  p. 175

The existence of the world is the most unlikely, the most unbelievable fact.

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux  p. 58

Faith is not insurance, but a constant effort, constant listening to the eternal voice.

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux  p. 174

Faith is real only when it is not one-sided but reciprocal.

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux p. 174

In the realm of spirit only he who is a pioneer is able to be an heir.

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux  p. 164

Much of what the Bible demands can be comprised in one word: Remember.

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux p. 162

Truth has nothing to fear from reason.

A.J.Heschel, Man is Not Alone, Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc p. 172