“There is no better point of entry to the religious experience than the Sabbath, for all its apparent ordinariness. Because of its ordinariness. The extraordinariness of the Sabbath lies in its being commonplace.”

“Heschel calls the Sabbath a cathedral in time.”

“The Sabbath, I said, is not only an idea. It is also something you keep. With other people. You can’t just extract lessons from it.”

“The religious Jew is to study Torah for the sake of studying Torah. Torah lishmah. The ingenuity of the edict, I realized was that it relieved you of the obligation to be qualified. You studied because you had to study, and those who taught had to take you as a student.”

“the day is all about getting connected.”

“Because,” he said quietly as she stood up, “until you walked into it, this was an ordinary garden.”Puzzled, Elizabeth tipped her head. “What is it now?” “Heaven.”

“In extraordinary times, the ordinary takes on a glow and wonder all of its own”