A review by m_h_
Man's Quest for God by Abraham Joshua Heschel
4.0
It feels good to stretch my brain again. Heschel's writing is dense at times, but he also writes so fluidly that it's hard to not get caught up in his tidal waves of inspiration. His main points about praying as a sense of duty versus praying for the actual revealing of one's self to God are fascinating.
"To pray is to take notice of the wonder" is probably the best summation. My personal belief is that I can take notice of the wonder via methods alternate to praying, but this was still a really interesting read. All in all, Heschel seems concerned with empty prayer. He attempts to reconcile the idea of boring congregations who rush through prayers ("devotional sterility") and the idea of becoming out of practice with the act of praying.
Heschel believes that the purpose of worship is to "expand the presence of God in the world" and focuses on "acts of wonder" and "radical amazement" to pave the path of prayer. He views prayer as a time to "disregard [his] ego for at least a moment." I also find solace in those moments where I can successfully think beyond my daily realities and look at the beauty in the world - to be amazed by it and wonder at its existence and be inspired and moved deeply by it.
Regarding the fact that prayer is a commandment, Heschel writes, "To say that the mitzvoth have meaning is less accurate than saying that they lead us to wells of emergent meaning, to experiences which are full of hidden brilliance of the holy, suddenly blazing in our thoughts." I just really loved that last bit.
The fifth part about symbolism was probably my favorite part of this book. I loved the ins and outs of that discussion. I think I will revisit it frequently.
I will be reading some Jewish theology texts as well as my anti-racist books - bear with me.
"To pray is to take notice of the wonder" is probably the best summation. My personal belief is that I can take notice of the wonder via methods alternate to praying, but this was still a really interesting read. All in all, Heschel seems concerned with empty prayer. He attempts to reconcile the idea of boring congregations who rush through prayers ("devotional sterility") and the idea of becoming out of practice with the act of praying.
Heschel believes that the purpose of worship is to "expand the presence of God in the world" and focuses on "acts of wonder" and "radical amazement" to pave the path of prayer. He views prayer as a time to "disregard [his] ego for at least a moment." I also find solace in those moments where I can successfully think beyond my daily realities and look at the beauty in the world - to be amazed by it and wonder at its existence and be inspired and moved deeply by it.
Regarding the fact that prayer is a commandment, Heschel writes, "To say that the mitzvoth have meaning is less accurate than saying that they lead us to wells of emergent meaning, to experiences which are full of hidden brilliance of the holy, suddenly blazing in our thoughts." I just really loved that last bit.
The fifth part about symbolism was probably my favorite part of this book. I loved the ins and outs of that discussion. I think I will revisit it frequently.
I will be reading some Jewish theology texts as well as my anti-racist books - bear with me.