Ancestry Strength Quotes

It is in the roots, not the branches, that a tree’s greatest strength lies.

Beauty without vanity, Strength without insolence, Courage without ferocity, All the virtues of man, without his vices... The Dog Beautiful

In the midst of this display of statesmanship, eloquence, cleverness, and exalted ambition, Alcibiades live d a life full of prodigious luxury, drunkenness, debauchery, and insolence. He was effeminate in his dress and would walk through the market-place trailing his long purple robes, and he spent extravagantly. He had the decks of his trireme scut away to allow him to sleep more comfortably, and his bedding was slung on cords, rather than spread on the hard planks. He had a golden shield made for him, which was emblazoned not with any ancestral device, but with the figure of Eros armed with a thunderbolt. The leading men of Athens watched all this with disgust and indignation and they were deeply disturbed by his contemptuous and lawless behavior, which seemed to them monstrous and suggested the habits of the tyrant. The people's feelings towards him have been very aptly expressed by Aristophanes in the line: "They long for him, they hate him, they cannot do without him..." The fact was that his voluntary donations, the public shows he supported, his unrivaled munificence to the state, the fame of his ancestry, the power of his oratory and his physical strength and beauty... all combined to make the Athenians forgive him everything else, and they were constantly finding euphemisms for his lapses and putting them down to youthful high spirits and honorable ambition.

My one ambition is to get all Americans to realize that they are, and must continue to be, the greatest Race on the face of this old Earth, and second, to realize that whatever apparent Differences there may be among us, in wealth, knowledge, skill, ancestry or strength—though, of course, all this does not apply to people who are racially different from us—we are all brothers, bound together in the great and wonderful bond of National Unity, for which we should all be very glad.

wicked ecclesiastics who show the worst example to the people,” and, above all, nobles who empty the purses of the poor by their extravagance, and disdain them for “lowness of blod or foulenesse of body,” for deformed shape of body or limb, for dullness of wit and uncunning of craft, and deign not to speak to them, and who are themselves stuffed with pride—of ancestry, fortune, gentility, possessions, power, comeliness, strength, children, treasure—“prowde in lokynge, prowde in spekyng,… prowde in goinge, standynge and sytting.” All would be drawn by fiends to Hell on the Day of Judgment.

The tyranny of caste is that we are judged on the very things we cannot change: a chemical in the epidermis, the shape of one’s facial features, the signposts on our bodies of gender and ancestry—superficial differences that have nothing to do with who we are inside. The caste system in America is four hundred years old and will not be dismantled by a single law or any one person, no matter how powerful. We have seen in the years since the civil rights era that laws, like the Voting Rights Act of 1965, can be weakened if there is not the collective will to maintain them. A caste system persists in part because we, each and every one of us, allow it to exist—in large and small ways, in our everyday actions, in how we elevate or demean, embrace or exclude, on the basis of the meaning attached to people’s physical traits. If enough people buy into the lie of natural hierarchy, then it becomes the truth or is assumed to be. Once awakened, we then have a choice. We can be born to the dominant caste but choose not to dominate. We can be born to a subordinated caste but resist the box others force upon us. And all of us can sharpen our powers of discernment to see past the external and to value the character of a person rather than demean those who are already marginalized or worship those born to false pedestals. We need not bristle when those deemed subordinate break free, but rejoice that here may be one more human being who can add their true strengths to humanity. The goal of this work has not been to resolve all of the problems of a millennia-old phenomenon, but to cast a light onto its history, its consequences, and its presence in our everyday lives and to express hopes for its resolution. A housing inspector does not make the repairs on the building he has examined. It is for the owners, meaning each of us, to correct the ruptures we have inherited. The fact is that the bottom caste, though it bears much of the burden of the hierarchy, did not create the caste system, and the bottom caste alone cannot fix it. The challenge has long been that many in the dominant caste, who are in a better position to fix caste inequity, have often been least likely to want to. Caste is a disease, and none of us is immune. It is as if alcoholism is encoded into the country’s DNA, and can never be declared fully cured. It is like a cancer that goes into remission only to return when the immune system of the body politic is weakened.

The whole of your earthly life is one long challenge and test. You are the centre of a battlefield in which all the forces of your being wage constant war. You have within you all the elements of strength and weakness, the remnants of the animal ancestry which are part of your physical evolution, and the divine potentialities that are the concomitants of your birth as a spark of the Great Spirit.

Do you know what strength is - forgetting sleep, romance, money I keep working without rest to unite the humans, that's my strength - a single mother working day and night so her child can have a bright future, that's her strength - a street vendor working hard since dawn for his family, that's his strength. Do you have such a strength of your own? Your ancestry, your family money, your material possessions - putting aside all these, what is your own true strength?

The foolish families worry over blood. I care nothing for purity of family or ancestry. That is a vain thing. I care only for strength. What a man can do to other men, women.

Writer and Authors (2) The Foundations of a Legacy: Ancestry and Continuity In a unique move, the book also traces the family’s ancestral lines—the Gottesman, Schlesinger, Dushinsky, and Gestetner families among them. While some parts of the book were intended primarily for family, Gottesman notes how valuable it is to see that his father’s strength came from deep generational roots. “The path my father chose wasn’t new—it was one our ancestors built.” Lessons for All: What Today’s Readers Can Take Away Although originally written for a Torah-observant audience, Gottesman was surprised and humbled to find that secular readers have also connected with the book’s themes of resilience, gratitude, and faith. In a world facing moral confusion and rising antisemitism, this story serves as a reminder of the human capacity to rebuild and to believe. Whether you are connected to the Holocaust through family history, are seeking spiritual inspiration, or are simply moved by stories of courage, The Life and Legacy of Rabbi Aryeh Leibish Gottesman ZT”L offers timeless wisdom. Final Reflections: A Legacy That Lives On Amrom Gottesman’s journey to publish this deeply personal work wasn’t easy. It took years, rewrites, emotional revisits, and a dedication to preserving tone and authenticity. But the result is a work of lasting value—one that not only honors the past but lights the way forward. As Gottesman urges others: “Write and give over to your children. It doesn’t have to be professional—just write. Once you start, you’ll see there’s plenty to give over.

An interview with Writer and Authors Honoring a Torah Giant: A Conversation with Amrom Gottesman on Preserving a Sacred Legacy In a heartfelt and profoundly personal interview with Writers and Authors, Amrom Gottesman opens up about the creation of his book, The Life and Legacy of Rabbi Aryeh Leibish Gottesman ZT”L—a work that goes beyond biography to become a bridge between generations, faith traditions, and historical understanding. Through emotional recollection and meticulous research, Gottesman captures the enduring spirit of his father—a Holocaust survivor, Torah scholar, and humble man of unwavering devotion—and brings to light stories that deserve to be known by far more than just family. A Son’s Mission: Preserving Memory with Purpose Gottesman, who was uniquely close to his father both in Torah study and life, felt a powerful responsibility to pass on his father’s legacy—not only to his own children and grandchildren, but to a broader Torah-observant audience. His father’s humility often masked the depth of his kindness, wisdom, and spiritual strength, but Amrom saw it firsthand. “I felt I had the obligation to commit to this project,” Gottesman explains, “thus affording future generations the full picture of who their Zaidy was.” Faith in the Face of Unimaginable Horror One of the most stirring elements of the book is the recounting of Rabbi Gottesman’s survival of the Holocaust, particularly the largely undocumented train transport from Dachau—a chapter of history nearly lost to time. By incorporating firsthand testimony from a fellow survivor, this moment becomes a powerful new contribution to Holocaust history and memory. Gottesman also shares insights from his father’s teachings that illuminate the human spirit’s ability to rebuild even after devastation, drawing comparisons between the Midrashic tale of Noah and the rebirth of Torah life after the Holocaust. More Than a Survivor: A Life of Torah and Love Far beyond recounting suffering, the biography paints a portrait of Rabbi Aryeh Leibish Gottesman as a man of remarkable discipline, perseverance, and love of Torah. From studying 18 hours a day post-war, to working by day and learning by night, he embodied spiritual tenacity and unwavering faith in God’s goodness—even when the world seemed shattered. As one reader review on Amazon movingly shared: “I found myself inspired to reflect on my own faith and the legacy that I want to leave behind.” The Foundations of a Legacy: Ancestry an