624 Quotes by Elie Wiesel

My ambition really was, even as a child, to be a writer, a commentator, and a teacher, but a teacher of Talmud.

My good friends, we are all waiting. We are waiting, if not for the Messiah, as such, we are waiting for the messianic moment. And the messianic moment is what each and every one of us tries to build, meaning a certain area of humanity that links us to all those who are human and, therefore, desperately trying to fight despair as humanly as possible and-I hope-with some measure of success.

There are victories of the soul and spirit. Sometimes, even if you lose, you win.

Whoever survives a test, whatever it may be, must tell the story. That is his duty.

In my lifetime I was to write only one book, this would be the one. Just as the past Lingers in the present, all my writings after night, including those that deal with biblical, Talmudic, or Hasidic themes, profoundly bear it's stamp, and cannot be understood if one has not read this very first of my works. Why did I write it? Did I write it so as not to go mad or, on the contrary, to go mad in order to understand the nature of the madness, the immense, terrifying madness that had erupted in history and in the conscience of mankind?

Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of the universe.

It may well be that our means are fairly limited and our possibilities restricted when it comes to applying pressure on our government But is this a reason to do nothing? Despair is nor an answer Neither is resignation Resignation only leads to indifference, which is not merely a sin but a punishment.

I feel that books, just like people, have a destiny. Some invite sorrow, others joy, some both.

There is much to be done, there is much that can be done... one person of integrity can make a difference...