Quotes about Humanity

The only people who have no bad tendencies are dead—either literally or figuratively. To be fully alive, indeed to be fully human, is to have dark tendencies. These are among the aspects of our nature that make us most human and give us our character and passions.

God rested from all his work which he created to do/make. The last word, this last 'to do' is for us, we are the partners in the completion of creation, it's not done yet.

We live in a world in which people can do unbelievably beautiful or unbelievably horrible things to other people. And if those horrible acts argue against the existence of God, then the beautify acts must argue for God's existence.

The human being is here to redeem the world.

One reason is the subject of the Torah is all mankind, not just the Jews. That, too, is a major feature of the Torah and this commentary.

We are fragile creatures, and it is from this weakness, not despite it, that we discover the possibility of true joy.

You show your humanity by how you see yourself not as apart from others but from your connection to others.

What about evil, you may ask? Aren't some people just evil, just monsters, and aren't such people just unforgivable? I do believe there are monstrous and evil acts, but I do not believe those who commit such acts are monsters or evil. To relegate someone to the level of monster is to deny that person's ability to change and to take away that person's accountability for his or her actions and behavior.

We are wired to be caring for the other and generous to one another. We shrivel when we are not able to interact. I mean that is part of the reason why solitary confinement is such a horrendous punishment. We depend on the other in order for us to be fully who we are. (...) The concept of Ubuntu says: A person is a person through other persons.

We are always at our best when compassion enables us to recognize the unique pressures and singular stories of the people on the other side of our conflicts.

Cultivate your forgiveness with your friends, with your family, with strangers, and with yourself. Remind yourself that every person you encounter carries a sorrow and a struggle. Recognize that we all share a fundamental humanity.

A person is a person because she recognizes others as persons.