Quotes by Abraham Joshua Heschel

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) — Jüdischer Theologe · Judentum · USA

Abraham Joshua Heschel war ein aus Polen stammender jüdischer Religionsphilosoph, Theologe und Rabbiner, der nach seiner Flucht vor der nationalsozialistischen Verfolgung ab 1945 am Jewish Theological Seminary in New York lehrte. Er verband traditionelle jüdische Mystik mit moderner Philosophie und engagierte sich öffentlichkeitswirksam in der US-Bürgerrechtsbewegung sowie im interreligiösen Dialog, was ihm in Teilen des orthodoxen Judentums und bei konservativen Zeitgenossen Kritik einbrachte. Für Bibelleser erschließt sein Werk die leidenschaftliche Anteilnahme Gottes am Menschen („göttliches Pathos“) und verbindet biblische Spiritualität untrennbar mit gesellschaftlicher Verantwortung für Gerechtigkeit.

Era: The 20th Century

Recurring topics: Meaning & Identity, God, Jesus & the Holy Spirit, Wisdom & Understanding, Ethical Questions, Faith & Trust, Prayer & Silence, Justice & Commitment, Growth & Character

Quotes by Abraham Joshua Heschel

The Sabbaths are our great cathedrals; and our Holy of Holies is a shrine that neither the Romans nor the Germans were able to burn.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

I felt my feet were praying.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

We are closer to God when we are asking questions than when we think we have the answers.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

There is a realm of time where the goal is not to have but to be, not to own but to give, not to control but to share, not to subdue but to be in accord.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

The meaning of the Sabbath is to celebrate time rather than space. Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

The strength of faith is in silence, and in words that hibernate and wait.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

Some are guilty, but all are responsible.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

Man is a messenger who forgot the message.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

It is an act of evil to accept the state of evil as either inevitable or final.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

The opposite of freedom is not determinism, but hardness of heart.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

The beginning of awe is wonder, and the beginning of wisdom is awe.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

The issue of prayer is not prayer; the issue of prayer is God.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

There is immense silent agony in the world, and the task of man is to be a voice for the plundered poor, to prevent the desecration of the soul and the violation of our dream of honesty.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

The self is not the hub but the spoke of the revolving wheel.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

God's special concern is not for the mighty and the successful, but for the lowly and the downtrodden, for the stranger and the poor, for the widow and the orphan.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

Religion is critique of all satisfaction. Its end is joy, but its beginning is discontent.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

We do not step out of the world when we pray; we merely see the world in a different setting.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

Worship is a way of seeing the world in the light of God.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

It is precisely the function of prayer to shift the center of living from self-consciousness to self-surrender.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

I have one talent, and that is the capacity to be tremendously surprised, surprised at life, at ideas.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

To be or not to be is not the question. The vital question is: how to be and how not to be?
Abraham Joshua Heschel

Pagans exalt sacred things, the Prophets extol sacred deeds.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

The Biblical words about the genesis of heaven and earth are not words of information but words of appreciation.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

Freedom is not a natural disposition, but God's precious gift to man.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

One must forget many clichés in order to behold a single image.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

Don't be old. Don't be stale.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

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