How to Be

Abraham Joshua Heschel

Abraham Joshua Heschel (11 January 1907 – 23 December 1972) was a Polish-born American rabbi, considered by many to be one of the most significant Jewish theologians of the 20th century.

Additional Abraham Joshua Heschel Quotes

“Only those who are spiritually imitators, only people who are afraid to be grateful and too weak to be loyal, have nothing but the present moment. The mark of nobility is inherited possession. To a noble person it is a holy joy to remember, an overwhelming thrill to be grateful, while to a person whose character is neither rich nor strong, gratitude is a most painful sensation. The secret of wisdom is never to get lost in a momentary mood or passion, never to forget a friendship over a momentary grievance, never to lose sight of the lasting values over a transitory episode.”

–Abraham Joshua Heschel [Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: Essays (1997), “The Holy Dimension”, p. 334

“He who is satisfied has never truly craved, and he who craves for the light of God neglects his ease for ardor, his life for love, knowing that contentment is the shadow not the light. The great yearning that sweeps eternity is a yearning to praise, a yearning to serve. And when the waves of that yearning swell in our souls all the barriers are pushed aside: the crust of callousness, the hysteria of vanity, the orgies of arrogance. For it is not the I that trembles alone, it is not a stir out of my soul but an eternal flutter that sweeps us all. No code, no law, even the law of God, can set a pattern for all of our living. It is not enough to have the right ideas. For the will, not reason, has the executive power in the realm of living. The will is stronger than reason and does not blindly submit to the dictates of rational principles. Reason may force the mind to accept intellectually its conclusions. Yet what is the power that will make me love to do what I ought to do?”

–Man Is Not Alone : A Philosophy Of Religion (1951), Ch. 24 : The Great Yearning; The Yearning for Spiritual Living

Abraham Joshua Heschel and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Susannah Heschel, Prof. of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College and daughter of Abraham Joshua Heschel, discusses her father’s relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a philosophy of Jewish political action. From Center for Jewish History, NYC.

–Heschel & King – Susannah Heschel [Video link in Resources]

Heschel authored pioneering studies in modern theology, medieval Jewish philosophy, and Biblical and Talmudic literature Heschel saw the teachings of the Hebrew prophets as a clarion call for social action in the United States and worked for civil rights and against the Vietnam War. The famous picture of him marching arm in arm with Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1965 Selma [Alabama] Civil Rights March became a symbol of the cooperation possible between Blacks and Jews in America. Heschel famously said after that march, that he felt that “his legs were praying.”

–The Heschel Center for Sustainability [Link in Resources]