Abraham was born into a family of well-known rabbis, so his life path was already set. He was raised as a Jew and believed that Judaism was the best way to live. He became a teacher, which is a good job, and over time he came to his own ideas about what spirituality and religion really mean. He spent a lot of time studying the old Jewish books Talmud and Torah and was a member of the reformed Jewish cult. Reform Judaism was a new way to look at the rules of the Jewish faith that were already in place. It was based on traditional ideas but gave them a modern twist. Herschel says that the only way to meet the divine is to help people. He also thought that the only way to have a relationship with God was to do good things. As part of a social cause, he protested against the unfair treatment of black people in the United States during the Civil War. Having been hurt by war, he was very angry about the attack on Vietnam. During his time at the “Jewish Theological Seminary,” he wrote a lot about Jewish philosophy. The works were about many different parts of Judaism, like Kabbalah and Halakhah (The Jewish Law). Read on to learn more about Heschel’s life and works.
Early years and childhood
Abraham Joshua Heschel was born in Warsaw, Poland, on January 11, 1907. He came from a long line of important Hasidic families in Europe. He was one of his parents Moshe Mordechai and Reizel Perlow’s six children. Mordechai, the children’s father, died in 1916. He had been sick with the flu.
In keeping with family traditions, Joshua went to a traditional Jewish school called “Yeshiva” for his education. Later, in 1934, he got his doctorate in formal Semicha (Rabbi Ordination) from the “University of Berlin.” He also studied theology at the “Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums” (Higher Institute for Jewish Studies), a Berlin-based school.
Abraham Heschel’s Career
In 1933, he started his career with a poetry group called “Jung Vilna.” In the traditional Jewish language, they wrote a book of poems called “Der Shem Hamefoyrosh: Mentsch.” He gave this collection of Yiddish songs to his father.
In 1937, Abraham was in charge of the “Judisches Lehrhaus” in Frankfurt, which was an important place for Jewish adults to learn. The goal of the organization was to teach young people about Judaism.
Before World War II started, when Germany was getting rid of all its Jews, the Rabbi was sent to Poland in 1938. He became a teacher at the “Institute for Jewish Studies,” where he taught about the ways of “Judaism” and “The Torah,” which is a Jewish religious book.
He was able to get from Poland to London before the Nazis came in 1939, but most of his family was killed or tortured by the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police force, during the war. Herschel was very upset by what happened, so he never went back to Germany or Poland again in his life.
After a short time in London, he moved to New York City in 1940 and taught at the “Hebrew Union College.” His relationship with the college’s faculty went back to when he was trying to leave Poland. Abraham got a visa thanks to Julian Morgenstern, who was President of the institute at the time.
This Rabbi was offered a job as a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) in New York City. After working at the “HUC” for five years, he moved to the “JTS” in 1946. He not only taught his students about Jewish ethics and mysticism, but he also wrote a lot about Jewish ethics and philosophy.
“The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man” and “Man is Not Alone: A Philosophy of Religion” were both published in 1951. “Sabbath” talks about the meaning of the Jewish sabbatical, while “Man Is Not Alone” looks at how Jews see God. He got to the heart of Judaism, which is that “God is One,” and explained why people need to be spiritual.
In 1955, this Rabbi put together a book called “God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism.” The theme of this book seemed to be the same as the theme of “Man is Not Alone.”
In this book, he talks about how helping people is more important than putting on a show of devotion to please the law.
Herschel studied the works of other prophets, especially German ones, for his Ph.D. thesis in German. In 1962, he published “The Prophets,” which was a summary of their works and ideas, along with his own thoughts on them.
“Torah from Heaven,” which was also published in 1962, compares the classic rabbinical writings to the rituals that make up Jewish law. It also looks into Jewish holy books like the Mishnah, the Talmud, and the Midrash.
In 1966, a book called, which was a translation of a collection of his essays from Hebrew to English, came out. This book, called “Prophetic Inspiration After the Prophets: Maimonides and Others,” showed how Judaism changed after the Holy Temple was destroyed. He talked about how prophecy could still happen even after the ancient prophets were thought to have stopped.
He was a Professor at “JTS” until he died too soon on December 23, 1972. During his career, he also fought for many social causes, such as getting rid of apartheid in South Africa during the Civil War. He also didn’t agree with the government’s decision to go to war with Vietnam.
Works of note
One of Heschel’s most important works is the book “Torah from Heaven,” in which he compares the two main ideas in Judaism. Jewish theology scholars have looked at this piece of writing and done research on it.
Personal History and Legacies
In 1946, Heschel and Sylvia Strauss got married. She made her living as a concert pianist.
In 1956, after 10 years of marriage, they were blessed with a daughter. Susannah Heschel, a well-known Jewish woman, and feminist, continued her father’s religious work.
Estimated Net worth
Abraham is one of the wealthiest philosophers and is on the list of the most well-known philosophers. Abraham Joshua Heschel has a net worth of about $1.5 million, according to our research, Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.