Anavah Hero: Albert Einstein Two interesting facts about Einstein: first, he never wore socks. He said, “When I was young, I found out that the big toe always ends up making a hole in the sock. So I stopped wearing socks.” Second, he could take off his vest without removing his jacket. It was his favorite trick. Early Life Albert Einstein was born at Württemberg, Germany, on March 14, 1879. In 1933 he gave up his citizenship for political reasons and moved to America. In 1933 Hilter came to power and the Nazi era began. Einstein became a professor of theoretical physics at Princeton. He became a United States citizen in 1940. Zionism Einstein was a Zionist. After World War II he was offered the presidency of the State of Israel, but he said no. Einstein wrote to Abba Eban and said, “All my life I have dealt with objective matters; hence I lack both the experience to deal properly with people and to carry out official functions.” It was a humble response.
After the war Einstein wrote, “I made one great mistake in my life…when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was some justification — the danger that the Germans would make them.” Einstein was able to admit that he was wrong. This was part of being a scientist. He said, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
Physics Albert Einstein spent his life trying to figure out how the universe works. He used to say, “God doesn’t play dice with the universe.” In other words, there are rules by which the world was created. He believed it was our job to figure them out.
Humility
The Atom Bomb
We can see Einstein’s humility in his words. As a very famous person he said things like “The only way to escape the corruptible effects of praise is to go on working.” Also, “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” Despite all of his fame, despite all of his importance, Einstein saw himself as a simple man, a scientist. He lived a life of anavah.
Albert Einstein did not directly participate in the creation of the atomic bomb, but he was important to its development. His greatest role in the invention of the atomic bomb was the signing of a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt urging that the bomb be built because the Nazis were working on their own bomb.
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