God in Search of Man : A Philosophy of Judaism

Dr. Marvin Wilson of Gordon College, the author of Our Father Abraham, recommended that I read Heschel, and particularly this book. He warned me that it was a “heavy” read, and not merely because of its length. This is a rich, profound, deep book--one that causes the reader often set it down and ponder what has been said. And it is a poetic book. Heschel had a way with words, and his writing style is something to marvel at. There are many well-turned phrases, proverbs, and excellent quotes to glean and remember.This is a Jewish book (the subtitle is “A Philosophy of Judaism”), yet I could help but think that Heschel knew that non-Jews, particularly Christians, would read it, and I found myself thinking that this is a book for all people of faith. I found myself disagreeing with very little. I was challenged and inspired by what I read. While Heschel rarely refers to the New Testament, in one chapter he disagrees with the Apostle Paul...but as I read, it became clear that Heschel was merely disagreeing with a misguided view of Paul.So what is covered? In 42 chapters--a lot, to include the nature of God and revelation, faith and works, mystery and wonder, sin and the problem of evil, the Law of God, and our response.An excerpt...“A Rabbi offered a parable. 'The Emperor extended his reign over a new province. Said his attendants to him: Issue some decrees upon the people. But the Emperor replied: Only after they have accepted my kingship, will I issue decrees. For if they do not accept my kingship, how will they carry out my decrees?' Likewise, God said to Israel, 'I am the Lord thy God.' And when they said to Him: 'Yes, yes,' He continued, 'Thou shalt have no other gods besides me. Asserting 'I believe...' will not make a person a Jew, just as asserting 'I believe in the United States' will make a person an American. Our relation to God is expressed in the accepting of an order that determines all of life.”

Such a blessing to read it.

Rather than simply praise Abraham Heschel's great insights, I thought I would give the reader a sampling of his ideas. Part of what follows are direct quotes, part is my summarizing and paraphrasing. I apologize for the length of this review, but he has many deep thoughts worth contemplating.**********************************************************************************When faith is replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain - its message becomes meaningless.... Religion is little more than a desiccated remnant when reduced to definitions, codes, and catechismsHypocrisy rather than heresy is the cause of spiritual decay.Theology starts with dogmas. Philosophy sees the problem first; theology has the answer in advance. Philosophy is a kind of thinking that has a beginning but no end; the problems outlive all solutions.The philosopher seeks "the good", the prophet seeks "the holy".The way to truth is an act of reason; the love of truth is an act of spirit. Reason withers without spirit....We need spirit in order to know what to do with science....Science seeks the truth about the universe; the spirit seeks a truth that is greater than the universe.God is waiting for man to seek Him. The grand premise of religion is that man is able to surpass himself.There are 3 ways to relate to the world. The Greeks learned in order to comprehend. The Hebrews learned in order to revere. Modern man learns in order to use - as if the sole purpose of the universe were to satisfy his needs. Knowledge is power; its purpose to help us exploit the world and others more efficiently. Such thinking abhors mystery and replaces God with man as its object of adoration. We are not only masters of the earth; our needs determine right and wrong.We teach children how to measure and weigh, but fail to teach them how to revere, how to sense wonder and awe. Modern man fell into the trap of believing all enigmas can be solved and wonder is a form of ignorance. Mankind will not perish for want of information, but for want of appreciation.What is, is more than what you see; we are unable to attain insight into the ultimate meaning and purpose of things. We live on the fringe of reality and hardly know how to reach the core. Inaccessible to us are the insights into the nature of ultimate reality. Even what is revealed is incomplete and in disguise.The extreme hidden-ness of God is a fact of constant awareness. The foundations of the world are not of this world. It is not our task to break the barriers, to penetrate the mysteries.Awe is an act of insight into a meaning greater than ourselves. Knowledge is fostered by curiosity; wisdom is fostered by awe. Awe is the awareness of transcendent meaning; loss of awe is a great blockage to insight.Religion is the result of what man does with his ultimate wonder, with the moments of awe, with the sense of mystery. Worship is man's act of relating himself to an ultimate meaning which can never be adequately expressed. Maimonides writes: "When our tongues desire to declare His greatness, all eloquence becomes impotence and imbecility."We are alone in the wilderness of the self, strangers in this silent universe in search of the voice of God.God is not the only problem which is inaccessible to science; the origin of reality remains illusive. The unknown God is but another name for the cosmic darkness."The ineffable" is a synonym for hidden meaning rather than for absence of meaning, a dimension so real and sublime that it stuns our ability to adore it. All creative thinking comes out of an encounter with the unknown. It is a fact of profound significance that we can sense more than we can say.The greatness of man does not lie in his ability to serve his ego and satisfy his needs, but to sacrifice his wants for the sake of the holy. Only saints are ultimately concerned with God. What concerns most of us is our ego.Only he who sanctifies himself a little is endowed with greater sanctity from above. All men are blind until God opens their eyes.Our quest for God is a return to God; we remember what we have forgotten.The Holy One makes Himself known to every one according to the heart's insight and capacity to receive divine wisdom.How do we know that He takes notice of our adoration? What gives us certainty that our insight is not a projection of our own soul? Faith is not easy. No decision of the will or desire to believe can secure it. Self-contentment, pride, callousness to the mystery stand in our way.Transcendence is the test of religious truth; genuine insight opens the heart and enables man to rise above himself.God is of no importance unless He is of supreme importance.From the fact that technology could solve some problems it was deduced that technology could solve all problems. Social reforms would cure all ills and banish all evils from the world. This proved a fallacy. Man has a drive for cruel deeds and suffocating selfishness which only awe and fear of God can soothe. Dogmas of man's self-sufficiency are doomed to failure.The grace of guidance may be bestowed upon those who pray for it in spite of their unworthiness. An unexpected spark of enlightenment may engender a flame.The cardinal sin in thinking about ultimate issues is literal mindedness. The meaning of revelation is given to those who are mystery-minded, not to those who are literal-minded. Nothing immersed in this world can see beyond it.Not all reality is material; not all acts are perceptible. That which is incomprehensible must not be considered unreal.The world as scrutinized and depicted by science is but a thin surface of the profoundly unknown.The God of the philosopher is a concept derived from abstract ideas. The God of the prophet is derived from acts and events.Socrates taught us that life without thinking is not worth living. The Bible taught us that life without commitment is not worth living.Not all that was conveyed to Moses was revealed to Israel. There is a yearning for that yet to be disclosed. Thus Judaism is based on a minimum of revelation and a maximum of interpretation.Right living is a way to right thinking. The heart is revealed in the deeds.Infinite are the consequences of our actions, yet finite is our wisdom.As surely as we are driven to live, we are driven to serve spiritual ends that surpass our own interests.God needs the work of man to fulfill His ends in the world.The goal of all performing is transforming the soul. A pious man is he who is greater than his rituals.The Torah contains both law and love. Law holds the world together; love brings it forward.Polarity is an essential trait of all things. Tension, contrast, contradiction, and paradox characterize all reality. The Zohar states: there is polarity in everything except God. For He is beyond all tension and every dichotomy.Living is not a private affair. Living is what man does with God's time, with God's world. The soul grows by noble deeds.To him who strives with heart and soul to give himself to God, the gates break open and he is able to achieve what is beyond his power.There is nothing in this world which is not a mixture of good and evil. The Biblical answer to evil is not "the good" but "the holy". It is an attempt to raise man to a higher level of existence, where man is not alone when confronted with evil.The world is in need of redemption. Man's task is to make the world worthy of ultimate redemption by his faith and works.The experience of bliss in doing the good is the greatest moment that mortals know.What is ghastly about evil is its ability to camouflage. Is piety ever detached from self-serving expediency? Austere soul-searching is essential. Job showed himself capable of selfless piety.Can a civilization glittering with fortunes actually be a stench of greedy self-interest rising to the sky? Can our religion just be another attempt to satisfy subconscious needs and wishes?The self is spiritually immature. It grows by concern for the well-being of others. This is the profound paradox and redeeming feature of human existence. There is no joy for the self within the self. Joy is found in giving rather than acquiring, in serving rather than taking. The mystery of the self is the power of self-transcendence.The Greeks said that men condemn injustice because they fear being its victim, not because they shrink from committing it. But it's also true that only he who understands justice for himself is capable of rendering it unto others.To purify the self we must begin with awareness of our inner enslavement to the ego. To be contrite at our failures is holier than being complacent in perfection. Avoid dwelling upon the self and concentrate upon the task. The road to pure intention is paved with good deeds.It is the grace of God that helps those who do everything which lies within their power to achieve what lies beyond their power.Nothing exists for its own sake, nothing is valid by its own right. What seems a purpose is but a station on the road.If a man is not more than human, he is less than human.

I am reading this now and I am very impressed with things the author has said. I am also amazed this book was written in 1955. The author immediately got my attention when I began reading and saw this: "It would be more honest to blame religion for it's own defeats. Religion declined not because it was refuted, but because it became irrelevant, dull oppressive, insipid."What I like about the author's views is that he doesn't like or promote dogma. However, I do detect some dogma sneaking into some of what he writes.Overall I like this book. It is formative and it touches on some truly deep things and points to the nature of what real religion might be.I recommend this book.

Brilliant Thinker. Yes, it is slow going. But he turns your mind with penetrating thoughts. Herschel is evidencethat God exists.If you haven't seen it, watch PBS documentary "Spiritual Audacity."

This book is great book that my book club is studying . It is very intelectual

Good read, deep revelations from a Jewish contextNeed to be digested slowly

I first bought this book for Kindle, but soon realised that it was far too important to be left in the nebulous world of the internet, and bought the paper copy as well. Almost every sentence provides material for deep thought, and opens up one's mind to a world of new understanding. Heschel has distilled centuries of wisdom from the Jewish Rabbis down the ages, together with his own immense understanding, and the book bountifully repays deep and careful study. I regard it as a treasury, the sort of book you want to keep with you all the time in order to be able to refer to it over and over again. Yet despite its profundity, it is an easy book as such to read. Heschel keeps his sentences and his chapters short, which means you never get bogged down. I'm so glad I found it, and would recommend it to anyone searching for truth.

amazing book,

Heschel was a Jewish Philosopher - which much of interest to say for the modern Christian. An excellent read.