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jimmacsyr's review
5.0
Rabbi Heschel is one of the two writers who inspire me to be a better Jew every time I read their material
thepermageek's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
While I found most of the individual essays, speeches, & interviews in this book to be quite profound, the overall flow of the book felt a tad disjointed; that is, it was a little jarring to read Heschel's thoughts on an immediate, in-the-world issue (ie: anti-Black racism, the Vietnam war, Jewish-Christian relations) next to, say, his thoughts on some obscure issue of rabbinic theology.
I would still highly recommend this book to anyone who's already interested in Abraham Joshua Heschel, I just suggest this one as the first foray into his work.
I would still highly recommend this book to anyone who's already interested in Abraham Joshua Heschel, I just suggest this one as the first foray into his work.
dave37's review
4.0
Inspiring, thought-provoking essays pulled from all periods of Rabbi Heschel's life. I connected most with his social justice works, but found plenty of inspiration from his strictly religious ones as well.
Many of the essays date from the time leading up to or immediately following the establishment of Israel, and are written for a Jewish audience. While I have some basic knowledge of Judaism, I was out of my element with a lot of the terminology, and had to go off to look things up repeatedly. As I continue to educate myself about other faiths, I anticipate returning to these essays with a better framework, as I can't help but feel I missed out on quite a bit. Despite these personal difficulties, Rabbi Heschel's incorporation of his incredibly strong faith into every aspect of his life was inspiring to read, and provided a very fertile ground for exploring the relationship between my own faith and my life.
Many of the essays date from the time leading up to or immediately following the establishment of Israel, and are written for a Jewish audience. While I have some basic knowledge of Judaism, I was out of my element with a lot of the terminology, and had to go off to look things up repeatedly. As I continue to educate myself about other faiths, I anticipate returning to these essays with a better framework, as I can't help but feel I missed out on quite a bit. Despite these personal difficulties, Rabbi Heschel's incorporation of his incredibly strong faith into every aspect of his life was inspiring to read, and provided a very fertile ground for exploring the relationship between my own faith and my life.
shiradest's review
4.0
I am surprised, not to read of his call for such a thing, but at never having heard of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel's call for the creation of an office to oversee the moral behavior of United States armed forces in times of war. I see that modern Rabbis were not the first to have to justify their speaking out on political matters, either (as one rabbi recently argued for being allowed, over the objections of congregants, to give sermons on political topics).
I am also dismayed to learn that even as early as 1965 it was clear that war crimes were taking place in Vietnam, but I love the closing sentence of Rabbi Heschel's essay on The reasons for my involvement in the Peace Movement: "For all the majesty of the office of the President of the United States, he cannot claim greater majesty than God Himself."
(a bit like the scene in the first episode of Muhteşem Yüzyıl (Turkish pronunciation: [muhteˈʃɛm ˈjyzjɯl], English: The Magnificent Century)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhte%C5%9Fem_Y%C3%BCzy%C4%B1l
in which his new subjects shout at the incoming Sultan to remember that he is not above God. Nice!)
I am also dismayed to learn that even as early as 1965 it was clear that war crimes were taking place in Vietnam, but I love the closing sentence of Rabbi Heschel's essay on The reasons for my involvement in the Peace Movement: "For all the majesty of the office of the President of the United States, he cannot claim greater majesty than God Himself."
(a bit like the scene in the first episode of Muhteşem Yüzyıl (Turkish pronunciation: [muhteˈʃɛm ˈjyzjɯl], English: The Magnificent Century)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhte%C5%9Fem_Y%C3%BCzy%C4%B1l
in which his new subjects shout at the incoming Sultan to remember that he is not above God. Nice!)
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