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A Passion for Truth

A Passion for Truth (1973)

This book was published posthumously and is significantly autobiographical. It compares and contrasts the life and thought of the enigmatic Hasidic Rebbe Menahem Mendl of Kotzk with that of the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. A secondary contrast that is that between the Baal Shem Tov (considered the founder of Hasidism) and the Kotzker Rebbe, a duality that Heschel maps onto the mind and soul.

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The rhythm of the week (and my own sanity!) is shaped by this practice. Casper ter Kuile Every Word Has Power: The Poetry of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel His thought illuminates my way and gives me hope that at the end of the tunnel, there is light. Dr. Dror Bondi
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Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity

Book Cover-Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity, with bright image of trees

Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: Essays (1996)

This collection of essays, compiled and edited by Heschel’s daughter Dr. Susannah Heschel, touches on Heschel’s moral and spiritual reflections on various topics, such as social justice, ethical responsibility, and the moral challenges of the modern world. Heschel’s impassioned voice encourages readers to embrace moral grandeur and spiritual audacity in their lives.

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Heschel’s confidence in the power of the tradition was a constant example throughout his life. Rabbi David Wolpe I 'met' Rabbi Heschel in 1987, when the prison rabbi where I was incarcerated, Rabbi Mel Silverman, introduced me. Rabbi Mark Borovitz Meeting Pope Paul VI
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Heavenly Torah

Heavenly Torah: As Refracted Through the Generations (2005)

This work is a translation (with commentary for the reader) of Heschel’s three-volume work in Hebrew on the different theologies (Torah Min Hashamayim) of the Rabbis of the Talmudic period and how those theologies lived on and confronted one another in later periods. The first two volumes of the original work were published in 1962 and 1965, respectively. The third Hebrew volume was published posthumously in 1990. The English translation by Rabbi Gordon Tucker was published in 2005.

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He offered me an urgency that I hadn't felt in my Judaism before then. Rabbi Jill Jacobs He was given the gift of prophecy but also the gift of language to translate into human terms the divine concern. Rabbi Ernesto Yattah Heschel's life was a life of prophetic agitation in which he saw his role as pushing the Jewish community beyond their comfort zones. Rabbi Aryeh Cohen
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The Insecurity of Freedom

Book cover-The Insecurity of Freedom, black jacket with white text.

The Insecurity of Freedom (1966)

This collection of essays explores a range of theological, philosophical, and ethical topics. The essays reflect Heschel’s deep concern for the moral challenges of the time, particularly in the context of the Vietnam War and the broader social and political issues of the 1960s.

The central theme of the book revolves around the tension between freedom and security. Heschel examines the complex relationship between individual freedom and the responsibilities it entails. He discusses the moral dilemmas faced by individuals in a society marked by injustice, violence, and ethical uncertainties.

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Heschel in Ottawa, 1968 or 1969, Exploring "Shabbat as Spiritual Sanctuary" Man's Quest for God Heschel’s emphasis on the need for “text-people,” prompted me to know that his life of learning, inspiration, and activism was Torah. Rabbi Elie Spitz