“The ultimate truth is not to be found in space but in time. God is closer to time than to space. Do you hear me? An important beginning for religious reflection is to ponder the meaning of time. And I suggest to you that in Judaism, time is very important, tremendously important. Now what is time? If I may very briefly suggest a few definitions, I would say time is continuous creation. Time is God’s presence in the world of space. Time is holy. The present moment is the presence of God. Therefore I ought to have reverence, all the time, for the presence of time. In a very deep sense, Judaism is a religion of time. It tells you what to do with the moment. Judaism as a religion may be defined as a sanctification of time. Every moment is a great opportunity for sanctification, for goodness, for service. Every moment. God is present in time. If you want to search for God, don’t necessarily go to the peak of a mountain or to the depth of a forest, just ponder the moment and the mystery of time. So I say to you that the real piety of a Jew is related to his sensitivity of time. Every moment is holy, and therefore calls upon us to respond to it, the way it really is.  It’s so marvelous to be alive. It is such a joy to be a contemporary of God. But very few of us pay attention to it, right? That’s the meaning of existence; to be aware that one is being a contemporary of God. And every moment is an opportunity, and endless opportunities, to do the good, to accomplish, and to be creative. The true image of man is to be understood in time. A human being is not a piece of body in space. He is time. Time is a great mystery. And the dignity of man is in his being is time. Man lives in space, but he is time.”
– Abraham Joshua Heschel, a transcription of the audio recording below.