Meditation Services for Humanistic Jews (1976), p17 

The eyes of man scan the universe and search for beauty in distant places. The starry heavens excite our amazement and lead us to adoration. Mountains and seas in their vastness excite the respect of reverence. Yet all of these wonders in their individual splendor are less magnificent than the person who observes them. For they are the lifeless fixtures of a universe insensitive to its own glory.  

 

But the infinitesimal speck of mass, space and time that defines each one of us is the marvel of our world. We are not only seen, we see. We are not only understood, we understand. We are not only controlled, we control. We are more than the servants of destiny. We are the masters of choice and destination. The universe is no fixed creation which allows us the freedom of surrender. It is a plastic challenge that invites us to mold and form it to our human need. The tribute of honor belongs to what is ultimately beautiful. And what is ultimately beautiful is the vision of man fulfilled in all his greatness.