Orly Erez Likhovski

I was inspired by the Jewish concept of working for social change.

Israel Religious Action Center
Israel
A Jewish Perspective

How did Heschel and his thinking inspire your work, religious life, or civic engagement?

I was inspired by the Jewish concept of working for social change, promoting equality and dignity in the name of the Judaism. This is especially vital these days when the Israeli government is espousing a very narrow version of Judaism that is completely opposite to what Heschel believed in.

What of Heschel lives in you?

The image of Heschel marching in Selma together with Martin Luther King, Jr., is powerful and is on my mind when we march for peace and coexistence in Jerusalem or when we march with Torah scrolls at the entrance to the Western Wall.

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Shabbat could be seen as this big hurdle and limitation. Heschel offers a framework to say Shabbat is not a bad thing. Yoni Oppenheim He offered me an urgency that I hadn't felt in my Judaism before then. Rabbi Jill Jacobs I 'met' Rabbi Heschel in 1987, when the prison rabbi where I was incarcerated, Rabbi Mel Silverman, introduced me. Rabbi Mark Borovitz