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Heavenly Torah: As Refracted through the Generations
Known most widely for his role in the civil rights and peace movements of the 1960s, Abraham Joshua Heschel made major scholarly contributions to the fields of biblical studies, rabbinics, medieval Jewish philosophy, Hasidism, and mysticism. Yet his most ambitious scholarly achievement, his three-volume study of Rabbinic Judaism, is only now appearing in English. Heschel's great insight is that the world of rabbinic thought can be divided into two types or schools, those of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Ishmael, and that the historic disputes between the two are based on fundamental differences over the nature of revelation and religion. Furthermore, this disagreement constitutes a basic and necessary ongoing polarity within Judaism between immanence and transcendence, mysticism and rationalism, neo-Platonism and Aristotelianism. Heschel then goes on to show how these two fundamental theologies of revelation may be used to interpret a great number of topics central to Judaism.
848 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2004
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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 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 13, 2017
Reading this was an ambitious undertaking for me -- 814 pp. of heavy-duty & detailed Jewish rabbinic commentary! My motivation was the author, Abraham Joshua Heschel, whom I've admired for well over 50 years. Having read & enjoyed two others of his works, this one did not disappoint. As a Christian & a priest Heschel's dedication & passion for Torah touched me quite deeply, and -- full
disclosure -- because I happen to very much agree with his overall viewpoint. But I also found my own Scriptural & theological thinking challenged & enriched by this book. I found that it also helped deepen a greater sense of awareness & reverence in personal prayer.
Heschel wrote Heavenly Torah relatively quickly, between the late 1950's & 1962. His daughter, Susannah Heschel, remarks that "The rabbinic texts were all in his memory, he said, and they were simply pouring out." Remarkable! Ms. Heschel says that "he sought to demonstrate that a pluralism of religious views stands at the heart of rabbinic Judaism and was the source of Judaism's vitality and vigor."
In Chapter 34 the author, Abraham Heschel, speaks of the great Jewish Sages through the centuries commenting on "a great fundamental: the unity of Torah...How mightily did the Sages labor to preserve the unity of the Torah!" He talks about the two different ways in which Torah can be understood: 1) as a "simple composite", a unitary whole; and 2) as something that is one, yet also shows great multiplicity. Heschel explains that the school of Rabbi Akiva ben Joseph (3rd Generation) reflected the first understanding. "Just as the Giver is One, so is the receiver one." The second understanding came from the school of Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha (3rd Generation), who proposed that "general principles were given at Sinai, and details were provided in the Tent of Meeting", yet, though the Torah wasn't given at one time, nevertheless God remains unchangeable. The prophet in Israel was understood to be simply a partner with the Holy & Blessed One in prophecy. But the unity of the Torah "has its root in the unity of the Will revealed in it."
This whole book (actually published in 3 volumes) is Heschel's exploration of the relationship between two parts of the Torah: Halakhah & Aggadah. He describes Halakhah as the body of oral teaching which is about Jewish religious law. It has "power and might" and "is rooted in tradition." It concerns "the letter of the law". On the other hand, in Aggadah "there is grace and love"; it "speaks poetry; it is "the still, small voice." The challenge, according to Heschel, is how to apply both of these to human lives as Jewish people in a way that preserves utter faithfulness towards God, yet exercises love & mercy to everyone.
In the end, Heschel, though his own preferences are fairly clear, leaves it to the reader to reflect on and work out the application of the insights he has provided.
disclosure -- because I happen to very much agree with his overall viewpoint. But I also found my own Scriptural & theological thinking challenged & enriched by this book. I found that it also helped deepen a greater sense of awareness & reverence in personal prayer.
Heschel wrote Heavenly Torah relatively quickly, between the late 1950's & 1962. His daughter, Susannah Heschel, remarks that "The rabbinic texts were all in his memory, he said, and they were simply pouring out." Remarkable! Ms. Heschel says that "he sought to demonstrate that a pluralism of religious views stands at the heart of rabbinic Judaism and was the source of Judaism's vitality and vigor."
In Chapter 34 the author, Abraham Heschel, speaks of the great Jewish Sages through the centuries commenting on "a great fundamental: the unity of Torah...How mightily did the Sages labor to preserve the unity of the Torah!" He talks about the two different ways in which Torah can be understood: 1) as a "simple composite", a unitary whole; and 2) as something that is one, yet also shows great multiplicity. Heschel explains that the school of Rabbi Akiva ben Joseph (3rd Generation) reflected the first understanding. "Just as the Giver is One, so is the receiver one." The second understanding came from the school of Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha (3rd Generation), who proposed that "general principles were given at Sinai, and details were provided in the Tent of Meeting", yet, though the Torah wasn't given at one time, nevertheless God remains unchangeable. The prophet in Israel was understood to be simply a partner with the Holy & Blessed One in prophecy. But the unity of the Torah "has its root in the unity of the Will revealed in it."
This whole book (actually published in 3 volumes) is Heschel's exploration of the relationship between two parts of the Torah: Halakhah & Aggadah. He describes Halakhah as the body of oral teaching which is about Jewish religious law. It has "power and might" and "is rooted in tradition." It concerns "the letter of the law". On the other hand, in Aggadah "there is grace and love"; it "speaks poetry; it is "the still, small voice." The challenge, according to Heschel, is how to apply both of these to human lives as Jewish people in a way that preserves utter faithfulness towards God, yet exercises love & mercy to everyone.
In the end, Heschel, though his own preferences are fairly clear, leaves it to the reader to reflect on and work out the application of the insights he has provided.
October 10, 2019
A hasidic academic's charming journey through all manner of rabbinic topics. Heschel is happy to differentiate Akivan and Ishmaelian traditions. His love for the world of midrash is evident on every page. No real interest in scholarly rigor, so anachronism and conflation give way to neo-hasidic spiritual ideology. The product-as entertaining as it is-comes across to me as an advertisement for a kind of an ancient rabbinic "Judaism" that never actually existed.
English translation from original Hebrew (Heschel's dissertation).
English translation from original Hebrew (Heschel's dissertation).
September 30, 2021
A MASSIVE volume covering a plethora of topics that took ages to get through but was incredibly enlightening. Being less aware of Jewish debate throughout the centuries, Heschel's work introduced me to major rabbinic discussions specifically centering around the views of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Ishmael. Lots of fascinating chapters; very dense, but certainly interesting!
January 22, 2015
I read this book a while ago in the original Hebrew, which, if you can, is the way to go, since Heschel is a master of prose and writes in a beautiful Hebrew. The prettiness of the writing makes up somewhat for the overall lack of organization, which makes the book a bit more conversational than purely rigorous.
There is one main thesis that Heschel is trying to prove in this book. That is that the schools of Rabbi Yishmael (English: Ishmael) and Rabbi Akiva had fundamentally different approaches to Jewish thought and theology, which is seen throughout the Mishna and other literature of that time period in the aggadic (non-legal) material. Yishmael was the "rationalist", a champion of straightforward and, well, rational thinking; Akiva was the mystic who embraced the ineffable and championed the supernatural. Heschel surveys numerous individual topics which at some point came to the attention of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yishmael or their respective colleagues and students, and shows how their fundamental approaches colored their approach to that issue.
Heschel weaves through his sources and topics brilliantly, and one cannot help but be convinced by Heschel's thesis while being wrapped up in the journey. Only after taking some time to calm down and stand back can one evaluate the book (in its original, three volumes) in a more leveled manner.
There is no question that Heschel is correct... to an extent. There are differences between Akiva and Yishmael and their "schools". But Heschel takes it a bit too far. Many of his inferences are stretches of the imagination, and many of the quotes and Talmudic opinions are not necessarily attributable to the "school" that he wishes to attribute them to. That said, though, this book is extremely valuable, and brings life to the thought of two of the primary Jewish scholars of that period.
To the scholarly community, though, I can't help but feel that this book is less useful as a study of Tannaitic thought, and more useful as a study of Heschel himself. Heschel clearly saw himself as some ultimate combination of the "Ishmaelian" and "Akiban" schools, the rational scholar and thinker and also the champion of the mystical and the "emotional" side of Judaism. Some think that this book is an attempt of Heschel's to prove his worthiness as a scholar to Saul Lieberman, then the head of the Jewish Theological Seminary, who apparently didn't take Heschel seriously. This probably has some truth to it as well. Be what may, this is obviously what Heschel thought of as his magnum opus, and his scholarship is evaluated primarily by this book.
There is one main thesis that Heschel is trying to prove in this book. That is that the schools of Rabbi Yishmael (English: Ishmael) and Rabbi Akiva had fundamentally different approaches to Jewish thought and theology, which is seen throughout the Mishna and other literature of that time period in the aggadic (non-legal) material. Yishmael was the "rationalist", a champion of straightforward and, well, rational thinking; Akiva was the mystic who embraced the ineffable and championed the supernatural. Heschel surveys numerous individual topics which at some point came to the attention of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yishmael or their respective colleagues and students, and shows how their fundamental approaches colored their approach to that issue.
Heschel weaves through his sources and topics brilliantly, and one cannot help but be convinced by Heschel's thesis while being wrapped up in the journey. Only after taking some time to calm down and stand back can one evaluate the book (in its original, three volumes) in a more leveled manner.
There is no question that Heschel is correct... to an extent. There are differences between Akiva and Yishmael and their "schools". But Heschel takes it a bit too far. Many of his inferences are stretches of the imagination, and many of the quotes and Talmudic opinions are not necessarily attributable to the "school" that he wishes to attribute them to. That said, though, this book is extremely valuable, and brings life to the thought of two of the primary Jewish scholars of that period.
To the scholarly community, though, I can't help but feel that this book is less useful as a study of Tannaitic thought, and more useful as a study of Heschel himself. Heschel clearly saw himself as some ultimate combination of the "Ishmaelian" and "Akiban" schools, the rational scholar and thinker and also the champion of the mystical and the "emotional" side of Judaism. Some think that this book is an attempt of Heschel's to prove his worthiness as a scholar to Saul Lieberman, then the head of the Jewish Theological Seminary, who apparently didn't take Heschel seriously. This probably has some truth to it as well. Be what may, this is obviously what Heschel thought of as his magnum opus, and his scholarship is evaluated primarily by this book.
June 26, 2007
In Heavenly Torah, Heschel looks at several important issues of theology and Biblical studies through a dialectical lens, constantly pitting the transcendentalist interpretation of Rabbi Ishmael against the immanentist thought of Rabbi Akiva. It's a huge tome, and I'm about two thirds through it; I'll write more when I finish. For now, I'll just say that I've found it very fruitful reading because I recognize the Ishmaelian and Akivan worldviews as models of worldview factions in the church today. I think Heschel is moving toward a synthesis of the two, and I hope the church is too.
April 19, 2009
Heschel's tour de force summation of all of Jewish theology; comparable to Nibley's One Eternal Round. Originally three volumes in footnoted Hebrew, it's been translated and edited by Gordon Tucker who added his own footnotes. If you know a little about Torah and Talmud, this will make you into a scholar.
December 5, 2014
It was fantastic finally getting to read Heavenly Torah as it's been on my to read list for quite a while. As someone who has never studied rabbinic Judaism this was a great read. Heschel does a great job explaining the basics an moving through the more difficult passages in a way that makes sense still. I would like to read more of his works as a result.
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September 23, 2010Heavenly Torah: As Refracted Through the Generations by Abraham Joshua Heschel (2006)
May 9, 2009
Hard to understand, but well worth the effort.
January 27, 2015
Amazing. Incredible breadth and depth into the meaning of Torah
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews