by Talia Lang

Five Quotes That Will Increase Your Chutzpah

From the JAP to zaftig to the belle juive, there are no end of Jewish stereotypes. Chutzpadik is probably one of the least painful, and incidentally one of the most gender-neutral. Here are 5 quotes from Jewish women, words that embody chutzpah in its most inspiring and hopeful forms.

“I’ve been described as a tough and noisy woman, a prize fighter, a man-hater, you name it. They call me Battling Bella, Mother Courage, and a Jewish mother with more complaints than Portnoy. There are those who say I’m impatient, impetuous, uppity, rude, profane, brash, and overbearing. Whether I’m any of those things, or all of them, you can decide for yourself. But whatever I am —and this ought to be made very clear—I am a very serious woman.” – Bella Abzug 

“The more we practice risking to leap, the more proficient we become, the more our fears melt away, and we grow ever stronger in the doing.” – Gloria Feldt

“One thing we need at a time like this is for people to feel empowered and angry. We need people to be alert and thinking for themselves and connected to each other and connected to that sense of hope and empowerment and radical chutzpah that the founding generation had and intended us to have.” – Naomi Wolf

“Do not do this work by yourself. Step forward, get involved and then exercise your power to mobilize, to organize, to convince others. Be inclusive, build a community of activists…We need hope, the ingredient that keeps us going when we might otherwise quit. And don’t forget the fun. The end doesn’t justify the means; the means are the ends. If we want joy and friendship and laughter at the end of the struggle, then we must have them along the way.” – Ruth Messinger

“What inspires me most of all is hope and the possibility of change. There’s always a new approach to try; some possibility opening up that didn’t exist before. I am fueled by optimism and anger in equal measures.” – Jaclyn Friedman