The Yiddish mentality is not haughty. It does not take victory for granted. It does not demand and command but it muddles through, sneaks by, smuggles itself amidst the powers of destruction, knowing somewhere that God's plan for Creation is still at the very beginning.

Doubt is part of all religion. All the religious thinkers were doubters.

No doubt the world is entirely an imaginary world, but it is only once removed from the true world.

The analysis of character is the highest human entertainment.

The pessimism of the creative person is not decadence but a mighty passion for the redemption of man.

The genuine writer cannot ignore the fact that the family is losing its spiritual foundation.

As often as Herman had witnessed the slaughter of animals and fish, he always had the same thought: in their behavior toward creatures, all men were Nazis.