Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: Essays [Paperback]

Abraham Joshua Heschel (Author), Susannah Heschel (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 1997

This first collection of Heschel's essays - compiled, edited and with an introduction by his daughter Susannah Heschel, is a stunning reminder of the virtuosity of one of the most well respected minds in Judaic studies.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Susannah Heschel has compiled, edited, and written a biographical introduction to this first collection of the essays of her father, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-72), a noted scholar and theologian but also an activist in civil rights and antiwar causes. Although best known until now for such influential books as Man Is Not Alone, God in Search of Man, and Man's Quest for God, all written in the 1950s, Heschel also wrote theological essays and popular articles on social and political issues. In clear but dense prose, the theological essays celebrate the religious culture of pre-World War II Eastern European Jews, stressing the spiritual and mystical dimensions. Recommended for academic libraries with Judaica and theology collections.?Harry Frumerman, formerly with Hunter Coll., New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907^-72), a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York in the 1940s and 1950s, fled eastern Europe in 1939, leaving the Hasidic Jewish world in which he was raised--a world soon to be destroyed in the Holocaust. His most important books were Man Is Not Alone (1951), The Sabbath (1951), God in Search of Man (1952), and Man's Quest for God (1954), masterpieces of religious thought. This collection of Heschel's essays has been compiled, edited, and introduced by his daughter, Susannah Heschel, a Case Western Reserve University professor. She has divided the essays into five groups: "Existence and Celebration," "No Time for Neutrality," "Toward a Just Society," "No Religion Is an Island," and "The Holy Dimension." The essays cover all aspects of Judaism; words of compassion and mercy from the most widely revered American rabbi and spiritual teacher of his generation. An appendix includes two interviews with Heschel. George Cohen --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (May 16, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374524955
• ISBN-13: 978-0374524951
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #234,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > Theology

More About the Author

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-72), one of the foremost Jewish savants of our time, was internationally known as scholar, author, activist, and theologian.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Work!, July 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: Essays (Paperback)

A warm yet intellectual compilation of that great thinker. To the Heschel Scholar, it once again proves the undeniable fact, that though he was liberal in his political views, his views on Judaism were deeply rooted in his pious Chassidic ancestry. This book like Heschel's classic "The Earth Is The Lord's" makes you wonder if Heschel - though a faculty member at JTS, is to be considered a "Conservative Jew"? or perhaps it is time to acknowledge that he may have been an Orthodox one after all. All in all a wonderful, warm book for all people of all persuasions.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars partially timely; classic Heschel, August 10, 2005

By 

C. D. Hoffman "hypercritical" (new york, ny United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: Essays (Paperback)

Mostly addresses and lectures aimed at specific issues to specific audiences and constituencies.

Nevertheless, there is a core of brilliance in every work. And, more importantly, there are some very enduring lessons.

The material on interfaith dialogue is possibly the only clear, Halachically correct yet openminded approach ever presented. He

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Heschel, July 5, 2010

By 

Corbin Dozier "Artist/Designer" (Pawleys Island, SC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: Essays (Paperback)

Although I have read many of Heschel's books, this one is the most precise and compact collection of his thoughts and wisdom.