A quotation at the right moment is like bread in a famine.

This saying is generally attributed to Yiddish folk tradition rather than to a single identifiable author or text. It reflects the centrality of proverbs, aphorisms, and learned references in Ashkenazi Jewish culture, where a well-chosen line from scripture, rabbinic literature, or popular wisdom could carry authority, comfort, or persuasive force in conversation. The image of “bread in a famine” draws on lived historical experience in Eastern Europe, where poverty and periodic scarcity were real, and where words—especially timely, apt words—were valued as practical tools for endurance, counsel, and communal cohesion.

The proverb praises not quotation as ornament but as timely aid. A “quotation at the right moment” can clarify a dilemma, steady someone in distress, or cut through confusion with shared wisdom—much as bread, the most basic staple, sustains life when resources are scarce. The comparison implies that language has a kind of moral and emotional nourishment: when circumstances are dire, the right words can restore perspective, offer solidarity, or prompt decisive action. It also hints at the social power of shared texts and sayings: a quotation works best when speaker and listener recognize it as common cultural currency.