25 Powerful Quotes from the Kotzker Rebbe That Still Inspire Today

The 22nd of Shevat, marks the yahrzeit of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgenstern of Kotzk (1787 – 22 Shevat 5619 / January 27, 1859). Rabbi Menachem Mendel was the founder of Kotzk Chassidut, renowned for his razor-sharp intellect, penetrating sayings, uncompromising leadership, and unique path in divine service.

A disciple of the Chozeh of Lublin, the Yid HaKadosh, and Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Pshischa, the Kotzker Rebbe became one of the most profound voices in Chassidic thought. Following is a selection of his famous teachings:

1. ​“There is nothing like a river of water for purity — but when it freezes, you can engrave an idol on it.”

2. “I would never want to serve a God whose ways could be fully understood by the intellect of any mortal.”

3. “Perhaps I too could resurrect the dead — but I preferred to resurrect the living.”

4. “‘You shall be holy people to Me’ — let your holiness be human, reasonable, and acceptable to others.”

5. “Silence — the most beautiful of sounds.”

6. On the verse “On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life” (Bereishit 3:14): “Is this a curse? It seems like a blessing — no need to search for food! Rather, the curse was that God said to him: ‘Eat and indulge — but I never want to hear your voice again!’”

7. ​“Words that come from the heart enter the heart — even the heart from which they were spoken.”

8. “Hold on to this rule: whoever does not see God everywhere, does not see Him anywhere.”

9. ​“It is enough for a person to open in his heart the tiniest opening of repentance, like the eye of a needle — provided he feels it like a real sting in living flesh, not like a needle in dead flesh.”

10. “When a Jew opens his eyes in the morning and says ‘Modeh Ani,’ he should pause for a moment to consider who is the ‘I’ and who is the ‘before You.’”

11. “There is nothing more whole than a broken heart; nothing louder than silence; nothing straighter than a crooked ladder.”

12. “Can one leap to Heaven in one jump?!”

13. “This entire world is not worth even a single sigh.”

14. “Where is God found? — In every place we allow Him to enter.”

15. ​“One does not call out to God in a loud voice, but quietly — from the heart and from its innermost depths.”

16. “When a person has something to cry out about, and wants to cry out, but cannot — that is the greatest cry.”

17. ​“A person’s freedom is greater than Torah study itself. One must labor over the story of our freedom and the Exodus from Egypt — even more than over a difficult Talmudic sugya.”

18. “The body finds it easier to endure fasts and afflictions than to accept the yoke of Heaven.”

19. “The greater the soul of a person, the greater the external shells that surround him. Like a precious gemstone — the more precious it is, the larger and thicker the casing in which it is set.”

20. On the verse “He who increases knowledge increases pain” (Kohelet 1:18): “So what? It is worthwhile for a person to increase pain — as long as he increases knowledge.”

21. “Not only one who hates his fellow is called wicked — one who hates himself is also called wicked.”

22. “Instead of adding stringencies to halacha, better to add awe to one’s actions.”

23. “A perfectly righteous person who never tasted sin also needs mercy — lest he take credit for himself and fall into pride, which is the gravest sin of all.”

24. “All traits require intention — except humility. For humility that comes with intention is no longer humility.”

25. On the verse “The people saw, and they trembled, and stood from afar” (Shemot 20:15): “A person may see, he may tremble, he may be shaken — and still stand far away.”