I have one talent, and that is the capacity to be tremendously surprised, surprised at life, at ideas. This is to me the supreme Hasidic imperative: Don't be old. Don't be stale.

We are closer to God when we are asking questions than when we think we have the answers.

Racism is man's gravest threat to man - the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason.

Prayer cannot bring water to parched fields, or mend a broken bridge, or rebuild a ruined city; but prayer can water an arid soul, mend a broken heart, and rebuild a weakened will.

Remember that there is meaning beyond absurdity. Know that every deed counts, that every word is power...Above all, remember that you must build your life as if it were a work of art.

In any free society where terrible wrongs exist, some are guilty - all are responsible.

When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.

The opposite of good is not evil, the opposite of good is indifference.

Indifference to evil is more insidious than evil itself. It is a silent justification affording evil acceptability in society.

When I marched with Martin Luther King in Selma, I felt my legs were praying.

Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.

Science, my boy, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.

True champions, like the sun, cannot be eclipsed for long.

What we don't know can't hurt us.

Go idea machine on your doubts.

When people talk about you behind your back, they're not just behind you, they're beneath you.

It's not an act, it's just my way.

Don't send me no letter, cause I can't read.

I sincerely hope that I shall always be a credit to my race and the motion picture industry.

To me, music is no joke and it's not for sale.

Girls have a way of knowing or feeling what you feel, but they usually like to hear it also.