Abraham Joshua Heschel: Exploring His Life
and Thought
Author: Edited by John C. Merkle
Publisher:
New York:
Macmillan Publishing Co., A Division of Macmillan, Inc. & Collier Macmillan
Publishers-London
171 pages, including index,
Hardcover
Reviewed by Rev. Garth
Wehrfritz-Hanson
This festschrift of sorts is
comprised of several essays written by Jewish, Protestant and Roman Catholic
scholars, who in some way knew Abraham Joshua Heschel and were inspired by his
life and work.
It is divided into four parts: Part One:
Remembering Abraham Joshua Heschel; Part Two: Heschel As Biblical Theologian;
Part Three: Heschel As Philosopher And Poet; and Part Four: Heschel As Social
Critic And Ecumenist.
In the opening essay by Samuel H. Dresner,
“Heschel the Man,” Dresner suggests that Heschel appealed to and was respected
by all three monotheistic faiths, as well as: Blacks, the aged, the “Six
Million” who perished in the Shoah, and the Russian Jews.
Dresner regards Heschel as a prophet, a shalem—i.e. a complete, whole person,
and a zaddik—i.e. a Hasidic master.
Citing Heschel’s The Insecurity of Freedom: Essays on Human Existence, Dresner
includes gems like this on Heschel’s critique of religion: “Religion has
declined,” he told religious leaders, “not because it was refuted, but because
it became irrelevant, dull, oppressive, insipid….When religion speaks only in
the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion, its message
becomes meaningless.” (p. 23)
In Ursula M. Niebuhr’s essay, “Notes on a
Friendship Abraham Joshua Heschel and Reinhold Niebuhr,” she includes this
thought-provoking quote, which Heschel had written in his important book, The Prophets: “Prophecy is a sham unless
it is experienced as a word of God swooping down on man (sic) and converting
him (sic) into a prophet.” (p. 40) Another quote Niebuhr includes from
Heschel’s God In Search of Man: A
Philosophy of Judaism on awe: “Awe enables us…to sense in small things the
beginnings of infinite significance, to sense the ultimate in the common and
the simple.” (p. 41) Such an understanding of awe reminds this reviewer of how
many Christians view the Incarnation.
In Bernhard W. Anderson’s essay,
“Coexistence With God Heschel’s Exposition of Biblical Theology,” he includes a
couple of amazing quotes epitomizing Heschel’s gift as a creative scholar and
poet. As Heschel puts it, speaking out of and to the Jewish community, “every
one of us has stood at the foot of Sinai” in the presence of the Holy God who
speaks and calls for us to answer. “Only in moments when we are able to share
in the spirit of awe that fills the world are we able to understand what
happened to Israel at Sinai.” (p. 52)
The Bible he says, is “holiness in words,
that is, these human words are the vehicles that God uses to establish relations with a people. It is as if God took
these Hebrew words and breathed into them of His power, and the words became a
live wire charged with His spirit. To this very day they are hyphens between
heaven and earth.” (p. 54) As a reviewer somewhat biased towards hyphens, this
definitely resonates. “The Bible,” he says, “is not a book to be read but a
drama in which to participate.” In this drama, it is God who takes the
initiative. (p. 54) Many Christians would also agree with Heschel here.
In each of the other essays, the authors in
their own unique way, pay tribute to Heschel by sharing stories, anecdotes,
insights, etc., on how Heschel influenced them; how much they appreciated his
friendship; and how his academic works inspired their own scholarship; and how
his faith was a manifestation in acts of loving kindness, which inspired and
motivated others to go and do likewise; in response to the awe, mystery, beauty
and love of God’s grace.
