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Man's Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism
Dr Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907Chr(45)1972), professor of Ethics and Mysticism at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, was one of the outstanding philosophers and theologians of our time. Internationally acclaimed author, scholar, activist and theologian, Dr Heschel's classic, "Man's Quest for God", originally published in 1954, continues to be a significant contribution to contemporary Jewish literature. In his poetic and inspiring style, Heschel offers insights that speak deeply to the essence of prayer.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1954
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About the author
Abraham Joshua Heschel
77 books623 followersHeschel was a descendant of preeminent rabbinic families of Europe, both on his father's (Moshe Mordechai Heschel, who died of influenza in 1916) and mother's (Reizel Perlow Heschel) side, and a descendant of Rebbe Avrohom Yehoshua Heshl of Apt and other dynasties. He was the youngest of six children including his siblings: Sarah, Dvora Miriam, Esther Sima, Gittel, and Jacob. In his teens he received a traditional yeshiva education, and obtained traditional semicha, rabbinical ordination. He then studied at the University of Berlin, where he obtained his doctorate, and at the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums, where he earned a second liberal rabbinic ordination.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 10, 2023
The Sabbath is arguably Heschel’s best known work. Man’s Quest for God (Quest) deserves to be right up there as one of his best books. Quest is a content dense, concise book focusing on prayer and symbolism; The Sabbath is also concise yet dense in content. Drawing from many sources, including some Christian sources, Quest makes the case for meaningful prayer versus just going through the motions, even if it is halachically (is that a word?) correct.
Much like The Sabbath, I often had to read and re-read certain sections to grasp what Heschel was trying to convey. I imagine I will need to revisit this book more than once as I continue on my path of Judaism. Can’t recommend it enough.
Much like The Sabbath, I often had to read and re-read certain sections to grasp what Heschel was trying to convey. I imagine I will need to revisit this book more than once as I continue on my path of Judaism. Can’t recommend it enough.
June 27, 2016
One of the best books I ever read, if not the best. Heschel is one of the only writers I know who can truly explain how important words are. He understands what the Word is. And he uses words to build lyrical Truth. It was this book with its wonderful quotes about art, beauty, poetry, and faith; how those things were connected. A foundation that lead me to continue to pursue art and faith at the same time. Doing so, with an understanding that there was an inseparable connection-- no matter how many matrixes I came across which insisted in separation of the two.
"In prayer, as in poetry we turn to words, not to use them as signs for things, but to see the things in the light of the words. . . . In poetry, in prayer, the words speak. . . . In our own civilization, in which so much is being done for the cause of the liquidation of language, the realm of prayer is like an arsenal for the spirit, where words are kept clean, holy, full of power to inspire and to keep us spiritually alive. Out of that arsenal we get the strength to save our faith, our appreciation of things eternal, from vanishing away." ~Heschel
"In prayer, as in poetry we turn to words, not to use them as signs for things, but to see the things in the light of the words. . . . In poetry, in prayer, the words speak. . . . In our own civilization, in which so much is being done for the cause of the liquidation of language, the realm of prayer is like an arsenal for the spirit, where words are kept clean, holy, full of power to inspire and to keep us spiritually alive. Out of that arsenal we get the strength to save our faith, our appreciation of things eternal, from vanishing away." ~Heschel
September 25, 2013
The first half was more general, for those of any religious background, about the meaning of prayer and its importance in our lives. The second half of the book was more specifically for Jews, so of somewhat less interest to someone like me, raised Catholic, and a practicing Quaker; nevertheless, from an academic standpoint I enjoyed this as well.
October 2, 2016
This is actually the second time I've read this book. It's a difficult read but prompted some great and deep discussion in our book study class. I find myself thinking he's so profound and then I wonder "who thinks on this level?" This is a book to read in small pieces and digest.
November 13, 2009
As with 'The Sabbath' only more so with this book, I theologically disagree with some of Heschel's central tenets--in this case, his concept of God, the purpose of prayer, etc. I also think that he's being way too nit-picky in the symbolism section with calling something a symbol vs. having symbolic meaning. I recognize the difference, but sometimes he contradicts himself. Worth the read, though, if you're interested in this type of a topic.
November 26, 2011
Profound reflections on prayer,liturgy, worship and symbolism. This Catholic Christian learned a good deal from Rabbi Heschel's concise consideration of these topics.
June 25, 2023
Feels silly to try to rate or review Abraham Joshua Heschel on Goodreads but here we go. In articulating his frustrations with contemporary approaches to liturgy and prayer, Heschel eloquently and harshly puts words to feelings that I’ve been stewing in for years: “Temple attendance has become a service of the community rather than service of God… A synagogue in which men no longer aspire to prayer is not a compromise but a defeat.”
There are places where Heschel’s writing betrays subtle but profound differences in our fundamental theological beliefs that make me feels worlds away from the arguments he constructs. By and large, he writes from a place that seems to take for granted a universal religious experience: “Common to all men who pray is the certainty that prayer is an act which makes the heart audible to God. Who would pour his most precious hopes into an abyss?” — idk, I probably would. But there are many more moments where Heschel seems to doubt this certainty, expressing much more relatable nuances in his qualms: “What is God? An empty generality? An alibi? Some kind of an idea that we develop? I have been wrestling with the problem all my life as to whether I really mean God when I pray to Him, whether I have even succeeded in knowing what I am talking about and whom I am talking to. I still don’t know whether I serve God or I serve something else.”
I loved reading Man’s Quest for God precisely because of this blend of theological overconfidence and humble, probing ambivalence. Feeling the extremes of my (dis)agreement with Heschel’s approach to religion and prayer, both in theory and in daily life, pushed me to better articulate the fuzzy margins of my own practice and belief.
There are places where Heschel’s writing betrays subtle but profound differences in our fundamental theological beliefs that make me feels worlds away from the arguments he constructs. By and large, he writes from a place that seems to take for granted a universal religious experience: “Common to all men who pray is the certainty that prayer is an act which makes the heart audible to God. Who would pour his most precious hopes into an abyss?” — idk, I probably would. But there are many more moments where Heschel seems to doubt this certainty, expressing much more relatable nuances in his qualms: “What is God? An empty generality? An alibi? Some kind of an idea that we develop? I have been wrestling with the problem all my life as to whether I really mean God when I pray to Him, whether I have even succeeded in knowing what I am talking about and whom I am talking to. I still don’t know whether I serve God or I serve something else.”
I loved reading Man’s Quest for God precisely because of this blend of theological overconfidence and humble, probing ambivalence. Feeling the extremes of my (dis)agreement with Heschel’s approach to religion and prayer, both in theory and in daily life, pushed me to better articulate the fuzzy margins of my own practice and belief.
April 11, 2019
I read, and possess, this book with its original title, 'Quest for God', which I much preferred - non-sexist. What on earth what the publishers thinking? A major lapse in sensitivity on their part!
In any case the contents remain profound, consisting of a series of quite short but intense meditations on what it is to seek for God. Just one example is the 3-page-long section which explores the point that prayer is 'An Answer of the Whole Person'. The whole book is a treasure-chest of such thoughts.
In any case the contents remain profound, consisting of a series of quite short but intense meditations on what it is to seek for God. Just one example is the 3-page-long section which explores the point that prayer is 'An Answer of the Whole Person'. The whole book is a treasure-chest of such thoughts.
September 12, 2021
Een prachtig boek over het gebed, belicht vanuit het Jodendom. Het boek hoop ik nog eens te herlezen, het bevat veel diepe gedachten en inzichten. Een voorbeeld: 'Het doel van het gebed is ons onder Zijn aandacht te brengen, door Hem gehoord en verstaan te worden. Het doel is niet Hem te kennen, maar door Hem gekend te worden.' Het boek bestaat uit vijf hoofdstukken of essays. In het laatste essay over symboliek kraakt Heschel nog een aantal stevige noten die aan het denken zetten.
July 1, 2020
It feels good to stretch my brain again. Heschel's writing is dense at times, but he also writes so fluidly that it's hard to not get caught up in his tidal waves of inspiration. His main points about praying as a sense of duty versus praying for the actual revealing of one's self to God are fascinating.
"To pray is to take notice of the wonder" is probably the best summation. My personal belief is that I can take notice of the wonder via methods alternate to praying, but this was still a really interesting read. All in all, Heschel seems concerned with empty prayer. He attempts to reconcile the idea of boring congregations who rush through prayers ("devotional sterility") and the idea of becoming out of practice with the act of praying.
Heschel believes that the purpose of worship is to "expand the presence of God in the world" and focuses on "acts of wonder" and "radical amazement" to pave the path of prayer. He views prayer as a time to "disregard [his] ego for at least a moment." I also find solace in those moments where I can successfully think beyond my daily realities and look at the beauty in the world - to be amazed by it and wonder at its existence and be inspired and moved deeply by it.
Regarding the fact that prayer is a commandment, Heschel writes, "To say that the mitzvoth have meaning is less accurate than saying that they lead us to wells of emergent meaning, to experiences which are full of hidden brilliance of the holy, suddenly blazing in our thoughts." I just really loved that last bit.
The fifth part about symbolism was probably my favorite part of this book. I loved the ins and outs of that discussion. I think I will revisit it frequently.
I will be reading some Jewish theology texts as well as my anti-racist books - bear with me.
"To pray is to take notice of the wonder" is probably the best summation. My personal belief is that I can take notice of the wonder via methods alternate to praying, but this was still a really interesting read. All in all, Heschel seems concerned with empty prayer. He attempts to reconcile the idea of boring congregations who rush through prayers ("devotional sterility") and the idea of becoming out of practice with the act of praying.
Heschel believes that the purpose of worship is to "expand the presence of God in the world" and focuses on "acts of wonder" and "radical amazement" to pave the path of prayer. He views prayer as a time to "disregard [his] ego for at least a moment." I also find solace in those moments where I can successfully think beyond my daily realities and look at the beauty in the world - to be amazed by it and wonder at its existence and be inspired and moved deeply by it.
Regarding the fact that prayer is a commandment, Heschel writes, "To say that the mitzvoth have meaning is less accurate than saying that they lead us to wells of emergent meaning, to experiences which are full of hidden brilliance of the holy, suddenly blazing in our thoughts." I just really loved that last bit.
The fifth part about symbolism was probably my favorite part of this book. I loved the ins and outs of that discussion. I think I will revisit it frequently.
I will be reading some Jewish theology texts as well as my anti-racist books - bear with me.
July 19, 2024
A MASTERFUL BOOK BY THE PROFOUND THEOLOGIAN
Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading theologians and philosophers of the 20th century; he also participated in the civil rights movement with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (such as the march on Selma). He also wrote books such as 'The Prophets' and 'The Sabbath.'
He observed in the Preface to this 1954 book, "We stand in awe of many things; we do not know what we stand for... Prayer may not save us, but prayer makes us worth saving." Later, he suggests that prayer is "our humble answer to the inconceivable surprise of living." (Pg. 5)
He is critical of "praying by proxy," or "vicarious prayer": where, for example, a congregation has a rabbi or cantor who does the praying "for" them. (Pg. 50) The true source of prayer is not an emotion, but an insight: "It is the insight into the mystery of reality, the sense of the ineffable, that enables us to pray." (Pg. 62)
When discussing religious symbolism, he suggests that what is necessary "is not to have a symbol but to be a symbol." The divine symbolism of man is not in what he has, but in what he IS potentially; "he is able to be holy as God is holy." (Pg. 126) He notes our sense of "awareness of the ineffable... of not-knowing, of being puzzled, of wonder, or radical amazement." (Pg. 139)
Heschel's book is filled with a deep spirituality, and will be of considerable interest to anyone on a spiritual path.
Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading theologians and philosophers of the 20th century; he also participated in the civil rights movement with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (such as the march on Selma). He also wrote books such as 'The Prophets' and 'The Sabbath.'
He observed in the Preface to this 1954 book, "We stand in awe of many things; we do not know what we stand for... Prayer may not save us, but prayer makes us worth saving." Later, he suggests that prayer is "our humble answer to the inconceivable surprise of living." (Pg. 5)
He is critical of "praying by proxy," or "vicarious prayer": where, for example, a congregation has a rabbi or cantor who does the praying "for" them. (Pg. 50) The true source of prayer is not an emotion, but an insight: "It is the insight into the mystery of reality, the sense of the ineffable, that enables us to pray." (Pg. 62)
When discussing religious symbolism, he suggests that what is necessary "is not to have a symbol but to be a symbol." The divine symbolism of man is not in what he has, but in what he IS potentially; "he is able to be holy as God is holy." (Pg. 126) He notes our sense of "awareness of the ineffable... of not-knowing, of being puzzled, of wonder, or radical amazement." (Pg. 139)
Heschel's book is filled with a deep spirituality, and will be of considerable interest to anyone on a spiritual path.
December 31, 2022
This one took me almost a year to get through, as short as it is. A few pages at a time was all I could do. It is so rich, often profound, sometimes troubling, always thought-provoking. I really enjoyed reading it, though it was challenging. At times, his thinking and/or his writing is sublime:
"In a sense, prayer begins where expression ends. The words that reach our lips are often but waves of an overflowing stream touching the shore . . . The soul can only intimate its persistent striving, the riddle of its unhappiness, the strain of living twixt hope and fear. Where is the tree that can utter fully the silent passion of the soil? Words can only open the door, and we can only weep on the threshold of our incommunicable thirst after the incomprehensible."
What a mind, what a spirit. I will read more of Heschel. Although rooted in his Jewish faith and experience, I'd think any person of a spiritual bent would appreciate his insights.
"In a sense, prayer begins where expression ends. The words that reach our lips are often but waves of an overflowing stream touching the shore . . . The soul can only intimate its persistent striving, the riddle of its unhappiness, the strain of living twixt hope and fear. Where is the tree that can utter fully the silent passion of the soil? Words can only open the door, and we can only weep on the threshold of our incommunicable thirst after the incomprehensible."
What a mind, what a spirit. I will read more of Heschel. Although rooted in his Jewish faith and experience, I'd think any person of a spiritual bent would appreciate his insights.
January 30, 2025
I read this after seeing it referenced many times in another book (Religious But Not Religious by Jason E. Smith, which is FANTASTIC!!) I really enjoyed the biography of Heschel, written by his daughter at the beginning of the book. The actual book itself didn’t really make my heart sing. I see why it was quoted so often in my other book, which deals largely with religious symbolism… but it often seemed to be making the opposite point, that symbols are not as necessary and desirable as what Smith claims in his book. Maybe I just missed the point.
February 22, 2025
"God is of no importance unless He is of supreme importance."
Near the top of the list of Heschel's best books, he writes with poetic prose about the nature of prayer and God's relationship to humanity.
Is prayer just a ritual we perform? Where our words go into the void in hopes they will fall on the ears of a distant cosmic deity? If this is the case our prayers are meaningless.
Instead our belief that God is real and in need of man, that He desires to know us and us, Him intimately is the foundation that necessitates prayer.
Heschel writes "One cannot pray unless one has faith in his own ability to accost the infinite, merciful, eternal God.
The words must not fall off our lips like dead leaves in the autumn. They must rise like birds out of the heart into the vast expanse of eternity."
We must bring our whole selves to God in prayer. With intentional effort and expectation that the God of the universe hears us and will speak.
We must fight the modern tendency to reduce God to a symbol of philosophy. We have to refrain from sequestering God to a belief in our head, instead of an action and event that continues to transform our lives.
"The Shekinah is in exile, the world is corrupt, the universe itself is not at home...To pray, then, means to bring God back into the world, to establish his kingship, to let his glory prevail."
Our eyes have grown dark, but the spark remains. May we rekindle the flame of awareness of the mystery of God as we worship him from our hearts.
Near the top of the list of Heschel's best books, he writes with poetic prose about the nature of prayer and God's relationship to humanity.
Is prayer just a ritual we perform? Where our words go into the void in hopes they will fall on the ears of a distant cosmic deity? If this is the case our prayers are meaningless.
Instead our belief that God is real and in need of man, that He desires to know us and us, Him intimately is the foundation that necessitates prayer.
Heschel writes "One cannot pray unless one has faith in his own ability to accost the infinite, merciful, eternal God.
The words must not fall off our lips like dead leaves in the autumn. They must rise like birds out of the heart into the vast expanse of eternity."
We must bring our whole selves to God in prayer. With intentional effort and expectation that the God of the universe hears us and will speak.
We must fight the modern tendency to reduce God to a symbol of philosophy. We have to refrain from sequestering God to a belief in our head, instead of an action and event that continues to transform our lives.
"The Shekinah is in exile, the world is corrupt, the universe itself is not at home...To pray, then, means to bring God back into the world, to establish his kingship, to let his glory prevail."
Our eyes have grown dark, but the spark remains. May we rekindle the flame of awareness of the mystery of God as we worship him from our hearts.
December 15, 2012
First chapter nearly impenetrable, but now, 2/3 through, find the book exhilarating. Heschel's language (his unique use of "empathy" for example) is sometimes obfuscating, but his descriptions of the struggle for and triumph in prayer are thrilling. The book makes me understand why appearing at the synagogue for two days a year is deadly boring and meaningless, and why regular attendance and study and practice are so uplifting. Heschel is writing at a time approaching the Age of Aquarius (anything goes) and thus his insistence on rigid forms is understandable; if it weren't for the terrible misogyny of the orthodox practice, I might be there myself.
January 17, 2009
The first chapter of the book had me hooked. He is positively eloquent. There are some beautiful thoughts on prayer, on man's worth and purpose, and on God. He challenges my mind, and refreshes my spirit. I want to read everything he has written.
July 8, 2014
I'm not the first Christian to say that Heschel is a genius. This book inspired me and gave me much to think about. However, the topic of prayer, at times drug on and lost my interest (hence the three stars).
Don't get me wrong - the book is solid. It's thought-out and inspiring.
Don't get me wrong - the book is solid. It's thought-out and inspiring.
June 8, 2016
Loved this book. Much more than anything else I've read by Heschel. This is by far the most applicable work of religious philosophy I've read. Completely changed the way I pray. Not to be missed!
August 5, 2019
There isn’t much overlap in this book with his other writings. Thought provoking, challenging and bold. Vintage Heschel. 4.5 ⭐️
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews