My powerful shudders speak to me about You.
Feelings within me wildly arouse prayer…
And I do not know, I do not understand how to call you.
The danger of unconscious longing
Frightens me. Cramped feelings in a narrow space
I choke from not-knowing. Save me – a word!
Rabbi Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel, "Need", 1930
2 comments:
Reb Akiva,
Considering that the mechaber held of certein beliefs of minus, how do you relate to finding Yiddishe inspiration from him?
Kol tuv!
P.S. Can you e-mail me your new e-mail address?
First of all, I'm not so sure that he held heretical beliefs. Please give me detail about what you mean. Lots of people make similar comments to yours about Heschel, but I have seen very little proof backing it up. Not to say that you're incorrect - I'd just like to see some real sources in his writings. Its not enough to simply say "he taught at JTS."
Secondly, even assuming he held some non-kosher beliefs, why does that make everything he said off limits? Rambam quotes non-Jewish philosophers all the time. And Rav Weinberger has said (I heard this in person, actually) that "it is a chiyuv derabbanan - maybe even deorasa - to read Viktor Frankl's book 'Man's Search for Meaning." Rav Weinberger said this despite the fact that Frankl married a Catholic and certainly held some non-kosher beliefs. So why can't I read and take inspiration from Heschel?
In truth, this is a longstanding debate between great Jews. The path of the Rambam vs. the those who will not quote from non-Orthodox thinkers. Its the old Hertz Chumash vs. Artscroll (though Artscroll won't even quote Rav Kook, which is criminal).
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