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Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel Quotes

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Famous Elie Wiesel Quotes

“... True, we are often too weak to stop injustices; but the least we can do is to protest against them. True, we are too poor to eliminate hunger; but in feeding one child, we protest against hunger. True, we are too timid and powerless to take on all the guards of all the political prisons in the world; but in offering our solidarity to one prisoner we denounce all the tormentors. True, we are powerless against death; but as long as we help one man, one woman, one child live one hour longer in safety and dignity, we affirm man's [woman's] right to live.”

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Book:Sages and Dreamers: Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Portraits and Legends
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“One day - I remember it was a Sabbath afternoon - I came to the synagogue with a book in my hand. I saw a commentary on the Bible by a certain Rabbi Moshe Dessauer, better known as Moses Mendelssohn. An elderly man came up to me - I was then maybe 10 or 12. "What are you studying?" he said. "Dessauer's commentaries," I said. So he gave me a slap on my face.”

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Author:Elie Wiesel
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“How can one explain the attraction terror holds for some minds — and why for intellectuals? . . .In a totalitarian and terrorist regime, man is no longer a unique being with infinite possibilities and limitless choices but a number, a puppet, with just this difference — numbers and puppets are not susceptible to fear.”

MenMindChoicesDifferencesNumbersPossibilityUniqueInfiniteTerrorAttractionTerroristRegimesLimitlessPuppetsSusceptibleInfinite Possibilities
Author:Elie Wiesel
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“Remember also that it is not knowledge but the yearning for knowledge that makes for a complete, accomplished man. Such a man does not stand still but perseveres in the face of adversity, nor does he remain untouched by the pain cause by absence. On the contrary, he recognizes himself in each cry, uttered or repressed, in the smallest rift, in the most pressing need.”

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Author:Elie Wiesel
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“In the beginning was belief, foolish belief, and faith, empty faith, and illusion, the terrible illusion. ... We believed in God, had faith in man, and lived with the illusion that in each one of us is a sacred spark from the fire of the shekinah, that each one carried in his eyes and in his soul the sign of God. This was the source—if not the cause—of all our misfortune.”

IfsMenSoulEyeBeliefCausesFireSourceTerribleIllusionEmptySacredFoolishHis EyesMisfortunesSparks
Author:Elie Wiesel
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“I shall never forget Juliek. How could I forget this concert given before an audience of the dead and dying? Even today, when I hear that particular piece by Beethoven, my eyes close and out of the darkness emerges the pale and melancholy face of my Polish comrade bidding farewell to an audience of dying men.”

MenEyeTodayFacesGivenForgetDarknessAudiencePiecesDyingParticularMelancholyNever ForgetConcertsPaleFarewellPolishComradeBidding
Book:Night
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“Night is purer than day; it is better for thinking and loving and dreaming. At night everything is more intense, more true. The echo of words that have been spoken during the day takes on a new and deeper meaning. The tragedy of man is that he doesn't know how to distinguish between day and night. He says things at night that should only be said by day.”

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Book:Dawn
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“And I, the for­mer mys­tic, was think­ing: Yes, man is stronger, greater than God. When Adam and Eve de­ceived You, You chased them from par­adise. When You were dis­pleased by Noah’s generation, You brought down the Flood. When Sodom lost Your fa­vour, You caused the heav­ens to rain down fire and damna­tion. But look at these men whom You have be­trayed, al­low­ing them to be tortured, slaugh­tered, gassed, and burned, what do they do? They pray be­fore You! They praise Your name!”

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Author:Elie Wiesel
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“I still believe in man in spite of man. I believe in language even though it has been wounded, deformed, and perverted by the enemies of mankind. And I continue to cling to words because it is up to us to transform them into instruments of comprehension rather than contempt. It is up to us to choose whether we wish to use them to curse or to heal, to wound or to console.”

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Book:Open Heart
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“Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Whenever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of the universe.”

MenLifeInspirationalHumansSometimesMomentsPoliticalReligionUniverseNationsWomenViewsRaceDangerDignityHuman RightsProtectionHuman LifeBordersThat MomentInterfereSensitivityPersecutionIrrelevantHuman DignityPersecutedJeopardyCenter Of The UniversePolitical ViewCenterednessNational Borders
Book:From the Kingdom of Memory: Reminiscences
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