"The Ba'al Shem Tov...taught them that the purpose of man is to make his life holy--every aspect of his life: eating, drinking, praying, sleeping. God is everywhere, he told them, and if it seems at times that He is hidden from us, it is only beause we have not yet learned to seek Him correctly. Evil is like a hard shell. Within this shell is the spark of God, is goodness. How do we penetrate the shell? By sincere and honest prayer, by being happy and by loving all people...no man is so sinful that he cannot be purified by love and understanding."

-Chaim Potok, The Chosen (pg. 110)