Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Elie Wiesel

Quote by Elie Wiesel

“I am looking for the word which is there and shouldn't be there. I wonder, why is it there? Or I look for problems: the Akedah [the Binding of Isaac - Genesis 22]. It still baffles me. Each time I read it - and I read it at least twice a year - each time I discover new layers in it. Always. So this is of more concern to me than the minimalists.”

Quote by Elie Wiesel

Create image

Author

Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel

A renowned Jewish author and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Elie Wiesel is known for his profound literary achievements and for recording and spreading the history of the Holocaust as a survivor. His works deeply reveal the terror of the Nazi Holocaust and the universal nature of human suffering. more

You May Also Like

“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 approaching it from the scientific point of view. I'm saying: Why do we need that? It's a sordid story, a depressing story, a dark story. Why should I believe that I'm a descendant of either Cain or Abel? Thank God there is a third son! [Genesis 4:25]”

NeedsShouldBelieveMayStoriesGivenI BelieveDarkViewsSonThirdsPoint Of ViewExplanationThank GodDepressingShould IGenesisDescendantsCainAbelCain And Abel
Author:Elie Wiesel
Create image

“I may be a descendant of Seth. I say to myself, What does [the story of Cain and Abel] teach me? So I go back to all the interpretations in the Talmud, which to me are a source of pleasure and joy. Then I say, maybe this story is not for then; maybe it's for now! It's possible for brothers to kill one another in civil wars. But most important, whoever kills, kills his brother. That's a moral conclusion that may not be there; but that must be my conclusion. Otherwise, why read it? Whoever kills, kills his brother.”

MayDoeImportantWarStoriesJoyPleasureMoralTeachBrotherSourceConclusionCivil WarInterpretationDescendantsCainAbelCain And Abel
Author:Elie Wiesel
Create image

“My approach is not a scientific approach. For that, we have greater minds than mine. My approach is: I am in the possession of a text, it has survived so many centuries, and it is my task, my pleasure, to try to decipher it and find all the things that have been said about these few words by generations and generations of commentators. That is what I'm doing. I don't innovate anything. I'm just repeating.”

TryingMindHas BeensSaidPleasureGreaterGenerationsCenturyMinesApproachTasksPossessionSurvivedCommentatorsFew WordsDecipher
Author:Elie Wiesel
Create image