The Romans had their legislators and gladiators, the Greeks their oracles and philosophers. As for the Jews, they had their prophets. Did they reveal the future? No. The present occupied them more deeply than the future. What they did was unravel the significance of the present so as to understand its consequences for the future. In so doing, they praised virtue and condemned the cheap seduction of evil. Their mission consisted of trying to reunite the people of Israel and the God of Israel.
Elie Wiesel –Filled with Fire and Light: Portraits and Legends from the Bible, Talmud, and Hasidic World p.4
The Sea Is Not Full 