The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
Elie WieselRead
In my tradition, one must wait until one has learned a lot of Bible and Talmud and the Prophets to handle mysticism. This isn't instant coffee. There is no instant mysticism.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True understanding and mastery of spirituality requires time and study.
Elie Wiesel emphasizes the importance of a deep and thorough understanding of religious texts before delving into the complexities of mysticism. He argues that spiritual insights cannot be rushed or acquired instantaneously, as they demand patience and rigorous learning.
Themes
MysticismWisdomLearningSpiritualityPatience
In practice
Example use cases
During a sermon, when discussing the depth of spiritual practices.
More from Elie Wiesel
All quotes →With every cell of my being and with every fiber of my memory I oppose the death penalty in all forms. I do not believe any civilized society should be at the service of death. I don't think it's human to become an agent of the angel of death.
Elie WieselRead
Certain things, certain events, seem inexplicable only for a time: up to the moment when the veil is torn aside.
Elie WieselRead
We're alone, but we are capable of communicating to one another both our loneliness and our desire to break through it. You say, 'I'm alone.' Someone answers, 'I'm alone too.' There's a shift in the scale of power. A bridge is thrown between the two abysses.
Elie WieselRead
No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has escaped the kingdom of night.
Elie WieselRead
My loyalty to my people, to our people, and to Israel comes first and prevents me from saying anything critical of Israel outside Israel… As a Jew I see my role as a melitz yosher, a defender of Israel: I defend even her mistakes… I must identify with whatever Israel does – even with her errors.
Elie WieselRead
Similar quotes
Follow your passion, we’re often told. But how do you find your passion? Let me put it another way: what is it that breaks your heart about the world? It’s there that you begin to find what moves you. If you want to find your passion, surrender to your heartbreak. Your heartbreak points towards a truer north — and it’s the difficult journey towards it that is, in the truest sense, no mere passing idyllic infatuation, but enduring, tempestuous passion.
Umair HaqueRead
Let the gentle bush dig its root deep and spread upward to split one boulder.
Carl SandburgRead
We cannot control the evil tongues of others; but a good life enables us to disregard them.
Cato The ElderRead
Everybody is ambitious. The question is whether he is ambitious to be or ambitious to do.
Jean MonnetRead
When the past is forgotten, the present is unforgettable
Martin AmisRead
You solve it as you get older, when you reach the point where you've tasted so much that you can somehow sacrifice certain things more easily, and you have a more tolerant view of things like possessiveness (your own) and a broader acceptance of the pains and the losses.
Ted HughesRead