There is a quiet humor in Yiddish and a gratitude for every day of life, every crumb of success, each encounter of love... In a figurative way, Yiddish is the wise and humble language of us all, the idiom of a frightened and hopeful humanity.

When a human kills an animal for food, he is neglecting his own hunger for justice. Man prays for mercy, but is unwilling to extend it to others. Why should man then expect mercy from God? It's unfair to expect something that you are not willing to give.

If you keep saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet.

When a human being kills an animal for food, he is neglecting his own hunger for justice.

While facts never become obsolete or stale, commentaries always do.

But if we have people who have the power to tell a story, there will always be readers.

A story to me must have some surprise...I must have a passion to write the story.