10 Great Jewish and Israeli Quotes

Photo: www.judaism-guide.com.

The Jewish people are known as the people of the book.  For me, as a Jew, a father, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, a proud Zionist, and a Betari there are so many quotes which I enjoy and guide me in business and life  and I wanted to share them.

Anyone who has ever visited my Public Relations Firm sees the walls filled with quotes.

As follows are some of my favorite Jewish and Israel quotes:

·        “Am Yisrael Chai” (The Jewish People Live):  A beautiful rendition of this exists in a BBC recording from April 1945 of survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.  Survivors sang what would become the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah and ended with “Am Yisrael Chai.”  Through it all the Jewish people live.

·        “If I am not for myself who will be for me? Yet, if I am for myself only, what am I? And if not now, when?” (Simply act.  Don’t think and fret too much. Act and get things done.) – the Jewish scholar, Hillel

·        “All the world is a very narrow bridge, and the most important thing is not to fear at all.” “If you won’t be better tomorrow than you were today, then what do you need tomorrow for?” -  Rabbi Nachman of Breslov

·        “Ani ma’amin be-emunah shelemah” (“I believe with perfect faith”) – Rendition of Maimonides’ thirteen-point version of the Jewish principles of faith

·        “If you were there and the Romans or the Babylonians were about to destroy Jerusalem and you had the power to do something about it, would you sit and mourn and cry? Or would you turn the world upside down to change history? So what is stopping you? Overturn the world today!” – Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Chabad Rabbi

·        “…If statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky way. properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world, in all the ages; and had done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it.” “All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?” -  Mark Twain, Harper’s Magazine, 1899

·        “One man’s candle is light for many”  – Talmud on Shabbat

·        “The truth is that if Israel were to put down its arms there would be no more Israel. If the Arabs were to put down their arms there would be no more war.” - Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

·        “And when a Jew comes to us, especially a young Jew, he stands up and announces before the whole world: `I demand justice, and if I do not get it, the world will be transformed into a wasteland. In a place where I am a king among other kings – there the idea of progress will be realised. But if it is my fate to be cast outside of the framework, then I do not care if the rest of you go up in flames. And I will even help with this. There is no redemption for the world if I have no part in it. In the beginning, God created my demand. This stance, whether or not one finds it attractive, is a stance worth living, suffering and fighting for.” (This teaches me to always fight for what is right and do the right thing – Believe in yourself and persevere). -  Ze`ev Jabotinsky, August 1940

·        “People often avoid making decisions out of fear of making a mistake.  Actually, the failure to make decisions is one of life’s biggest mistakes.”  – Rabbi Noah Weinberg

(If you enjoyed this, you may also enjoy reading The Top 10 Living Tough Jews, Top 10 Jewish celebrity role models, or the Top 10 Living Communicators Who Influence Change.)

Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, a leading PR firm and author of PR Book “For Immediate Release.”

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