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Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence
“Through Heschel, Held’s work reaches out more broadly to treat us to a profound discussion of the great issues in contemporary Jewish theology” (Arthur Green, Hebrew College Rabbinical School). Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) was a prolific scholar, impassioned theologian, and prominent activist who participated in the black civil rights movement and the campaign against the Vietnam War. He has been hailed as a hero, honored as a visionary, and endlessly quoted as a devotional writer. In this sympathetic, yet critical, examination, Shai Held elicits the overarching themes and unity of Heschel’s incisive and insightful thought. Focusing on the idea of transcendence—or the movement from self-centeredness to God-centeredness—Held puts Heschel into dialogue with contemporary Jewish thinkers, Christian theologians, devotional writers, and philosophers of religion. “Shai Held’s book is a master class in one of the most significant Jewish voices of our time.” —Tablet “In this lucid and elegant study, one of the keenest minds in Jewish theology in our time probes the vision of one of the most profound spiritual writers of the twentieth century, uncovering a unity that others have missed and shedding light not only on Heschel but also on the characteristically modern habits of mind that impede the knowledge of God. The book is especially valuable for the connections it draws with other philosophers, theologians, and spiritual writers, Jewish and Christian. Enthusiastically recommended!” —Jon D. Levenson, Harvard University “[A] thoughtful, illuminating new study of Heschel’s thought . . . It is one of the many virtues of Shai Held’s book that it helps us to place Heschel alongside not only Kaplan but Halevi, Horovitz, and Rav Nahman―as well as the Psalmist.” —Jewish Review of Books
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
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September 24, 2025
It was only the other month—no, wait—not even that far back! Weeks ago, if you can believe it, that I read a similar ‘intellectual biography’ of what can be considered Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, one of the most profound Jewish figures of the 20th’s century, more or less arch-nemesis: Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan. As someone whom when it comes to religion leans liberally, while I don’t exactly consider myself a ‘follower of Kaplan’, based on the information I got in that book, The Radical American Judaism of Mordecai M. Kaplan by Mel Scult, about both Kaplan and Heschel made me lean towards the former.
However, a book about Kaplan by a “follower of Kaplan” even though written with an academic focus is absolutely going to have a bias. Thus, to even things out—and to put my own allegiances to the test—I have now read what can be considered a perfect pair to even out the discussion. Coincidentally, Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence was written one year previously and published by the same institution, Indiana University Press. Thus, it is safe to say we’ve two books that should almost be neck-and-neck even: authors devoted to their subjects, the same peer review team, and both focusing on “so-called” non-Orthodox Jewish thought (quoted because while most anyone can consider Kaplan to not be Orthodox, Heschel is another matter). Both also for a time worked at the same institution.
One—Heschel--was in some ways the ‘young’ upstart (hard to imagine him even not having that big white beard but you’d be surprised!) whom compared to Kaplan at least took a more spiritual view of Judaism. But is this an accurate assumption? I write this paragraph and the one before it without even beginning this book. This is my challenge, if you will: to see if my “pre-game” thoughts are correct or not, to see which figure I align closer with (or perhaps I’ll end up liking them both the same!), and as usual, to always learn more about Yiddishkeit as the quest for knowledge is endless.
Let us begin…
...but before, one entry of note about Heschel from Kaplan’s diary (November 9th, 1945):
And with THAT, I—and you, whoever is reading this—will dive into Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence to see what makes Heschel what he is and equally important and perhaps more simple: whether this is a good book worthy of your time.
---
One of the biggest issues one encounters with Heschel is noted to some extent in the above diary entry by Kaplan: this man talks in ways that may be hard for normies like us to understand. And honestly, he isn’t too off I think. Heschel, like Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, seems to be big on making profound statements based on mirroring words. For example:
Sometimes there is wisdom in parsing these phrases, but I do think sometimes it could just be philosophizing for the sake of philosophizing. Thankfully, Shai Held, our author, parses through this and does prove that Heschel was not simply crafting witty one-liners one can make into motivational posters that line the walls of cubicles, but it was his modus operandi when putting pen to paper to craft out his unique Jewish theology. Still, it is tough at times and no shame if anyone has attempted to read directly from the source and threw up their hands in desperation after detecting the misfiring of multiple brain cells. We also can or maybe even should admit that some of these great minds were not great writers and it may be better to simply appreciate their thought systems rather than their actual literary output.
The Call of Transcendence is at times fascinating, at times frustrating, and at times as dense as Heschel’s own writing. There are deep dives into Christian theology that I found especially hard to parse (and as a Jew, I’ve nothing against it, but several pages of dissecting Evelyn Underhill somewhat felt out of place in a book about a rabbi). This book also contains an extreme amount of footnotes that sometimes felt unneeded and other times I really wish were just worked more naturally into the text itself. Continually jumping back and forth to read aside after aside even on an eReader is tedious (gosh how much more so with an actual book!). Nevertheless, these are all minor nitpicks. Shai Held did a tremendous job in attempting to provide insights into an especially hard to parse yet monumental Jewish mind.
Be it Kaplan, Heschel, Maimonides, or even Spinoza, for some, diving into the actual text of the authors may make more sense, but for those who truly think on another plane, I—someone a bit more simple-minded—prefer to first read about them, about what they wrote, their thoughts, and dare I say “explainers” before considering attempting the actual work. On one hand, calling The Call of Transcendence an “explainer” may be simplifying things too much, but make no mistake: this is not an easy book. Some chapters go deep, deep, deep into theology well beyond what I was expecting and trying to stay afloat when comparing some “Heschel Deep Cuts” with obscure (to me at least, right now) Christian theologians was tough, but I pulled through...and if I can do it, so can you.
At the end of the day, if I had to make a choice between Kaplan or Heschel, I’d throw my hat in with the former. Mysticism and opaque writing are weaknesses I have some issues relating to. But I still have gained immense insight for one of Judaism’s most unique thinkers of the last century and as usual, I learned a thing or two I didn’t know before and could feel on every page that the author passionately cared about his subject matter. It’s hard to pinpoint which denomination best could “claim” Heschel and Conservative given his years at JTS would make the most sense, but I’d feel pigeon-holing him anywhere would be an affront to his contributions to Yiddishkeit—or even humanity--as a whole.
3/5
However, a book about Kaplan by a “follower of Kaplan” even though written with an academic focus is absolutely going to have a bias. Thus, to even things out—and to put my own allegiances to the test—I have now read what can be considered a perfect pair to even out the discussion. Coincidentally, Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence was written one year previously and published by the same institution, Indiana University Press. Thus, it is safe to say we’ve two books that should almost be neck-and-neck even: authors devoted to their subjects, the same peer review team, and both focusing on “so-called” non-Orthodox Jewish thought (quoted because while most anyone can consider Kaplan to not be Orthodox, Heschel is another matter). Both also for a time worked at the same institution.
One—Heschel--was in some ways the ‘young’ upstart (hard to imagine him even not having that big white beard but you’d be surprised!) whom compared to Kaplan at least took a more spiritual view of Judaism. But is this an accurate assumption? I write this paragraph and the one before it without even beginning this book. This is my challenge, if you will: to see if my “pre-game” thoughts are correct or not, to see which figure I align closer with (or perhaps I’ll end up liking them both the same!), and as usual, to always learn more about Yiddishkeit as the quest for knowledge is endless.
Let us begin…
...but before, one entry of note about Heschel from Kaplan’s diary (November 9th, 1945):
“He (Heschel) is all I would want him to be both as a teacher and as an inspirational influence for an affirmative Judaism. But he is not of the type to confront problems and difficulties. As a romantic-mystic, he shies away from facts and tries to build his universe of discourse entirely with values.”
Scult, Mel. The Radical American Judaism of Mordecai M. Kaplan (The Modern Jewish Experience) (p. 213). Indiana University Press. Kindle Edition.
And with THAT, I—and you, whoever is reading this—will dive into Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence to see what makes Heschel what he is and equally important and perhaps more simple: whether this is a good book worthy of your time.
---
One of the biggest issues one encounters with Heschel is noted to some extent in the above diary entry by Kaplan: this man talks in ways that may be hard for normies like us to understand. And honestly, he isn’t too off I think. Heschel, like Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, seems to be big on making profound statements based on mirroring words. For example:
“God-awareness is not an act of God being known to man; it is the awareness of man’s being known by God. In thinking about Him we are thought by Him.”
“Radical insight . . . we realize that the question we ask is a question we are being asked; that man’s question about God is God’s question of man.” (both quotes from page 41)
Sometimes there is wisdom in parsing these phrases, but I do think sometimes it could just be philosophizing for the sake of philosophizing. Thankfully, Shai Held, our author, parses through this and does prove that Heschel was not simply crafting witty one-liners one can make into motivational posters that line the walls of cubicles, but it was his modus operandi when putting pen to paper to craft out his unique Jewish theology. Still, it is tough at times and no shame if anyone has attempted to read directly from the source and threw up their hands in desperation after detecting the misfiring of multiple brain cells. We also can or maybe even should admit that some of these great minds were not great writers and it may be better to simply appreciate their thought systems rather than their actual literary output.
The Call of Transcendence is at times fascinating, at times frustrating, and at times as dense as Heschel’s own writing. There are deep dives into Christian theology that I found especially hard to parse (and as a Jew, I’ve nothing against it, but several pages of dissecting Evelyn Underhill somewhat felt out of place in a book about a rabbi). This book also contains an extreme amount of footnotes that sometimes felt unneeded and other times I really wish were just worked more naturally into the text itself. Continually jumping back and forth to read aside after aside even on an eReader is tedious (gosh how much more so with an actual book!). Nevertheless, these are all minor nitpicks. Shai Held did a tremendous job in attempting to provide insights into an especially hard to parse yet monumental Jewish mind.
Be it Kaplan, Heschel, Maimonides, or even Spinoza, for some, diving into the actual text of the authors may make more sense, but for those who truly think on another plane, I—someone a bit more simple-minded—prefer to first read about them, about what they wrote, their thoughts, and dare I say “explainers” before considering attempting the actual work. On one hand, calling The Call of Transcendence an “explainer” may be simplifying things too much, but make no mistake: this is not an easy book. Some chapters go deep, deep, deep into theology well beyond what I was expecting and trying to stay afloat when comparing some “Heschel Deep Cuts” with obscure (to me at least, right now) Christian theologians was tough, but I pulled through...and if I can do it, so can you.
At the end of the day, if I had to make a choice between Kaplan or Heschel, I’d throw my hat in with the former. Mysticism and opaque writing are weaknesses I have some issues relating to. But I still have gained immense insight for one of Judaism’s most unique thinkers of the last century and as usual, I learned a thing or two I didn’t know before and could feel on every page that the author passionately cared about his subject matter. It’s hard to pinpoint which denomination best could “claim” Heschel and Conservative given his years at JTS would make the most sense, but I’d feel pigeon-holing him anywhere would be an affront to his contributions to Yiddishkeit—or even humanity--as a whole.
3/5
September 3, 2016
Not only am I perpetually inspired spiritually and poetically by Abraham Joshua Heschel, I now have Held's intoxicating book to UNDERSTAND him intellectually and theologically. This is no small accomplishment. Heschel's writing is labyrinthine, majestic, and recursive. Often contradictory too. Held does a PHENOMENAL job threading together statements from Heschel's oeuvre into a cogent philosophical, spiritual, and theological tapestry. This would have been laudatory enough given the complicated task; but the beauty of Held's book is that it maintains the poetry of Heschel's writing and thought---Held analyzes without violence, he demystifies without disillusioning. I recommend this strongly to anyone interested in Heschel or to students of modern Jewish philosophers like David Hartman, Yeshayahu Leibowitz, and Eliezer Berkovits.
December 27, 2016
I was raised Catholic, consider myself agnostic but am enrapt with Rabbi Heschel. This book makes it all the better to know him by. Studying the life and thoughts of this amazing person only makes me know what it means to be a better human and this study is one of the better ones on Heschel that I have read.
April 22, 2018
This book makes sense of Heschel and yet is willing to criticize him. A few of the topics Held discusses include:
*Heschel's explanation of the religious urge, which begins with wonder- not wonder at specific facts, but "the fact that there are facts at all." But Held admits that Heschel's evocation of experience is unlikely to be persuasive to one who is not already persuaded. He writes that "Heschel cannot always distinguish between an argument for faith and a description of faith."
*It logically follows that Heschel rejects the idea, held by some Christian thinkers, that original sin makes man incapable of an awareness of God. Heschel believes that humans are naturally wired to "respond to the call of God."
*Heschel's attitude towards revelation, which does not fit easily into the Orthodox/non-Orthodox dichotomy. He believes that the Torah and prophets are in some sense God-given, but is a bit vague on how this happened. He was less literal-minded than most Orthodox commentators, but on the other hand doesn't really discuss the Documentary Hypothesis (the view, common among academics, that the Torah is the product of many human hands). One reason Heschel is hard to categorize is that the issues that divide Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews (such as when Jewish law should change) aren't really issues he seems to have been interested in.
*Heschel's attitude towards the ultimate goal of Judaism (and perhaps of religion generally); he emphasizes the need for humans to transcend their own selfishness in pursuit of higher purposes.
*Heschel's explanation of the religious urge, which begins with wonder- not wonder at specific facts, but "the fact that there are facts at all." But Held admits that Heschel's evocation of experience is unlikely to be persuasive to one who is not already persuaded. He writes that "Heschel cannot always distinguish between an argument for faith and a description of faith."
*It logically follows that Heschel rejects the idea, held by some Christian thinkers, that original sin makes man incapable of an awareness of God. Heschel believes that humans are naturally wired to "respond to the call of God."
*Heschel's attitude towards revelation, which does not fit easily into the Orthodox/non-Orthodox dichotomy. He believes that the Torah and prophets are in some sense God-given, but is a bit vague on how this happened. He was less literal-minded than most Orthodox commentators, but on the other hand doesn't really discuss the Documentary Hypothesis (the view, common among academics, that the Torah is the product of many human hands). One reason Heschel is hard to categorize is that the issues that divide Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews (such as when Jewish law should change) aren't really issues he seems to have been interested in.
*Heschel's attitude towards the ultimate goal of Judaism (and perhaps of religion generally); he emphasizes the need for humans to transcend their own selfishness in pursuit of higher purposes.
October 10, 2019
I read the Open Access dissertation version of the book, which seemed pretty similar to the book, as far as I can tell (link). It's an excellent critical exposition of the views of the American Jewish theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel. From the conclusion chapter, a brief overview:
Chapter 5, titled "Awake, Why Sleepest Thou, O Lord?": Divine Silence and Human Protest in Heschel's Writings is particuarly great, and explores Heschel's presentation of a theodicy (1. Fear of being presumptuous 2. Epistemological humility 3. Humanity lacking moral credibility to carry out the questioning), while simulatenously showing how even Heschel recognized its inadequacy.
The most important critical aspect of Shai Held's book is his pressing Heschel on his lack of sensitivity to modern man's incapacity to believe: that while Heschel recognizes that modernity makes belief difficult, he doesn't address the person for whom lack of faith is a real option.
One question that bothers me is who is Heschel's imagined audience? Self-transcendence seems incredibly important for ethics (theoretically) and for getting modern man to look to others, but what if you are the one who needs aid? What if, for example, we switch from "man" to how women are already coerced into being too subservient to the wants of men? What if you're an opporessed person yourself? Is the ideal still to self-transcend and maybe care about others similarly oppressed? Heschel does have tools (unlike some of the mystics Held discusses) to deal with questions like these, since he insists that some degree of reflexive concern is important: "the satisfaction of man's legitimate needs is a blessing. There is no reason to maintain, then, that in all circumstances disregarding the self should be the norm." But the normative emphasis is entirely on self-transcendence, such that the knotty issue of how to distinguish virtuous reflexive concern from modernity's perilous self-centric autonomy goes unexplored.
…wonder is the opening, the portal within us that makes us receptive and potentially responsive to the call and the need of the other—whether God or our neighbor. The posture of wonder generates a dramatic re-orientation and a total reversal of consciousness. No longer subjects in search of meaning, we discover that meaning is objective, and that it envelops us. At a certain climactic moment, we cease to ask questions about God, and realize instead that God is always asking questions of us: "The more deeply we meditate, the more clearly we realize that the question we ask is a question we are asked; that man's question about God is God's question of man." In Heschel's vision, then, Cartesian philosophy is flipped on its head. The subject is no longer the subject, but as it were the object of God's knowledge. I no longer ask, but am asked; no longer strive to know, but to be known; no longer assert, but respond... Heschel begins with human consciousness not so that he can reflect it, but precisely so that he can re-orient and transform it. Heschel turns to the subject only to elicit its capacity for self-transcendence; the sovereignty of the self is systematically subverted with the realization that long before I decide to search for God, God has been in search of me.
To respond to God is, quite simply, to bring an end to callousness and indifference. …the God of the prophets is entirely different, profoundly affected by the cries of the oppressed and downtrodden. The God of Israel is a God of pathos and concern, and to worship this God—really to worship this God—is to have our indifference shattered, and our stubborn selfishness torn to shreds… Heschel's project is a call to self-transcendence, an attempt to move humanity beyond the self-enclosed prison of purely reflexive concern, and to help us develop (or, perhaps better, to recover) our capacity for transitive concern. It is this capacity, Heschel avers, that constitutes the very core of our humanity. Put differently, the idea of self-transcendence is the foundation, for Heschel, both of who God is and of who man could be. More, it is the dynamic principle that makes covenant possible: a God who transcends egocentricity summons man, who has the potential to transcend egocentricity in order to be His partner, to be “in travail with God's dreams and designs, with God's dream of a world redeemed, of reconciliation of heaven and earth, of a mankind which is truly His image, reflecting His wisdom, justice, and compassion.”
God's self-limitation means that God is vulnerable to the decisions human beings make, so much so that God's immanence depends on human self-transcendence. Human beings have the terrifying power to drive God into exile, and to cause God to hide His face, but we also have the awesome potential to solicit and enable God's return… this is, for Heschel, the heart of prayer: to overcome the ego so as to make space for God to re-enter the world. Since a mitzvah, as we have seen, is "a prayer in the form of a deed," all acts of worship are, at bottom, attempts to reestablish God's immanence. This is the most fundamental meaning of covenant: God seeks partners who will make it possible for Him to dwell within the world, and not just beyond it.
Chapter 5, titled "Awake, Why Sleepest Thou, O Lord?": Divine Silence and Human Protest in Heschel's Writings is particuarly great, and explores Heschel's presentation of a theodicy (1. Fear of being presumptuous 2. Epistemological humility 3. Humanity lacking moral credibility to carry out the questioning), while simulatenously showing how even Heschel recognized its inadequacy.
The most important critical aspect of Shai Held's book is his pressing Heschel on his lack of sensitivity to modern man's incapacity to believe: that while Heschel recognizes that modernity makes belief difficult, he doesn't address the person for whom lack of faith is a real option.
One question that bothers me is who is Heschel's imagined audience? Self-transcendence seems incredibly important for ethics (theoretically) and for getting modern man to look to others, but what if you are the one who needs aid? What if, for example, we switch from "man" to how women are already coerced into being too subservient to the wants of men? What if you're an opporessed person yourself? Is the ideal still to self-transcend and maybe care about others similarly oppressed? Heschel does have tools (unlike some of the mystics Held discusses) to deal with questions like these, since he insists that some degree of reflexive concern is important: "the satisfaction of man's legitimate needs is a blessing. There is no reason to maintain, then, that in all circumstances disregarding the self should be the norm." But the normative emphasis is entirely on self-transcendence, such that the knotty issue of how to distinguish virtuous reflexive concern from modernity's perilous self-centric autonomy goes unexplored.
May 24, 2020
Aspects of this book are magnificent, and the introduction and chapter on wonder and radical amazement have forever deepened my understanding of Heschel. Some chapters are overly academic for my interests, but overall an inspiring read.
September 18, 2017
For those of a theological bent this is a fantastic book.
October 14, 2014
I recently started reading Heschel, and this was exactly what I was looking for: a synoptic account and interpretation of his thought. It's clarified throughout in party by bringing Heschel into conversation with other thinkers, both Jewish and Christian. Held's avowed purpose is to offer a sympathetic, yet not uncritical, reading of Heschel and to show that he still has much to offer. I'd say he succeeds admirably.
decided-not-to-read
September 16, 2015I finally put aside this heavy (I'm referring to the writing, as well as the girth!) book... If I want to know more about Heschel, I'll go read some more of his own writing.
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