From Publishers Weekly
In 1951, Christian theologian Reinhold Niebuhr predicted that Abraham Joshua Heschel would "become a commanding and authoritative voice not only in the Jewish community but in the religious life of America." This first volume of a two-volume biography follows Heschel from his birth in Warsaw in 1907 to his emigration from Europe to America in 1940. From his early childhood, Heschel combined a love of learning with an intense piety. The authors follow Heschel's childhood study and mastery of classic Jewish texts, showing how this learning established the foundation of Heschel's later life and work in America. Greatly affected by his Hasidic upbringing (his father and uncle were Hasidic rebbes, and Heschel was expected to become one as well but he chose a life of scholarship and social activism instead), Heschel wove into his life a sense of God's holiness as well as a sense of the biblical prophets' sense of justice. The cultural richness of European Jewry prior to the Holocaust also greatly influenced Heschel. Kaplan and Dresner contend that their portrait will present Heschel as a "unique blend, that of a university-educated East European Jew inspired by God." This volume narrates Heschel's encounter with Martin Buber, with whom he engaged in lifelong debate about Judaism and ethics, and chronicles Heschel's stints as a teacher of religious philosophy in Berlin, Warsaw and London. While the staid, workmanlike style of this biography often fails to capture Heschel's fire and intensity, the authors nevertheless provide the most complete portrait to date of this remarkable religious figure. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
A social activist who marched alongside Martin Luther King in the 1960s, Heschel (1907-72), one of the foremost Jewish philosophers of our century, revitalized religious thought with his unique writings and insights. This first volume details Heschel's life in Europe until his departure to America and freedom just as the Nazi net was closing in. Heschel, born in Warsaw in 1907 and descended from a prominent Hasidic family, was considered a prodigy from an early age. His friendship with Martin Buber?and their significant philosphical differences?forms some of the most fascinating material in this study. Kaplan (French and comparative lit., Brandeis Univ.) and Dresner, a retired philosophy professor, both students of Heschel, make a major contribution to the growing literature on Heschel with this first scholarly biography. Highly recommended for libraries with Judaic or strong religious studies holdings.?Paul M. Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., Round Lake Beach, ILCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The New York Times Book Review, Laurie Adlerstein
...[an] admirably thorough, occasionally plodding biography...


From Kirkus Reviews
The first part of a two-volume, comprehensive biography of one of the leading Jewish theologians of this century. This volume covers the influential Eastern European thinker's formative years until his arrival in the US. From the subtitle onward Kaplan (French and Comparative Literature/Brandeis Univ.) and Dresner (retired professor of philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary) are irritatingly fond of calling Abraham Joshua Heschel (d.1972) a ``prophet.'' Furthermore, they reduce Heschel's own traditional religious observance to liberation theology and politics. Rabbi Heschel did march with Martin Luther King in Selma and actively opposed the Vietnam War, but if anything, this biography documents in its most compelling chapters the traditionalist Heschel's battle with the secularized Jewish Enlightenment's major ideas and scholars. It was this conflict that made him write, after his emigration from Europe at age 33, such classics of Jewish thought as Man Is Not Alone, God in Search of Man, and The Sabbath. Most significantly, Heschel opposed his mentor, Martin Buberthough he did so with characteristic humility and charm. Against the grain of the Kantian atheists who dominated intellectual discussion at the University of Berlin (where he just managed his doctorate under a Nazi rector), Heschel's main concern was not secularism as much as reductionism, the tendency to explain away religious phenomena (such as prophetic inspiration) in human or scientific terms. Heschel insisted that ``divine revelation validated Jewish law'' and his ``life's mission [was] to maintain a Jewish way of thinking.'' In an otherwise dry and academic book, the described clashes between this descendant of Hasidic masters and secular humanists like Berlin's David Koigen liven things up. Despite its flaws, this is the first half of a solid biography of one the most important defenders of faith and ethics in modern theology. (34 b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
This book is the first biography of Abraham Joshua Heschel, one of the outstanding Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century. It traces Heschel`s life from his birth in Warsaw in 1907 to his emigration to the United States in 1940, describing his roots in Hasidic culture, his Polish and German experiences, and his relations with Martin Buber. A second volume will tell the story of Heschel`s years in America until his death in 1972.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This book is the first biography of Abraham Joshua Heschel, one of the outstanding Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century. It traces Heschel's life from his birth in Warsaw in 1907 to his emigration to the United States in 1940, describing his roots in Hasidic culture, his Polish and German experiences, and his relations with Martin Buber. A second volume will tell the story of Heschel's years in America until his death in 1972.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In 1951, Christian theologian Reinhold Niebuhr predicted that Abraham Joshua Heschel would "become a commanding and authoritative voice not only in the Jewish community but in the religious life of America." This first volume of a two-volume biography follows Heschel from his birth in Warsaw in 1907 to his emigration from Europe to America in 1940. From his early childhood, Heschel combined a love of learning with an intense piety. The authors follow Heschel's childhood study and mastery of classic Jewish texts, showing how this learning established the foundation of Heschel's later life and work in America. Greatly affected by his Hasidic upbringing (his father and uncle were Hasidic rebbes, and Heschel was expected to become one as well but he chose a life of scholarship and social activism instead), Heschel wove into his life a sense of God's holiness as well as a sense of the biblical prophets' sense of justice. The cultural richness of European Jewry prior to the Holocaust also greatly influenced Heschel. Kaplan and Dresner contend that their portrait will present Heschel as a "unique blend, that of a university-educated East European Jew inspired by God." This volume narrates Heschel's encounter with Martin Buber, with whom he engaged in lifelong debate about Judaism and ethics, and chronicles Heschel's stints as a teacher of religious philosophy in Berlin, Warsaw and London. While the staid, workmanlike style of this biography often fails to capture Heschel's fire and intensity, the authors nevertheless provide the most complete portrait to date of this remarkable religious figure.

Library Journal

A social activist who marched alongside Martin Luther King in the 1960s, Heschel (1907-72), one of the foremost Jewish philosophers of our century, revitalized religious thought with his unique writings and insights. This first volume details Heschel's life in Europe until his departure to America and freedom just as the Nazi net was closing in. Heschel, born in Warsaw in 1907 and descended from a prominent Hasidic family, was considered a prodigy from an early age. His friendship with Martin Buber--and their significant philosphical differences--forms some of the most fascinating material in this study. Kaplan (French and comparative lit., Brandeis Univ.) and Dresner, a retired philosophy professor, both students of Heschel, make a major contribution to the growing literature on Heschel with this first scholarly biography. Highly recommended for libraries with Judaic or strong religious studies holdings.--Paul M. Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., Round Lake Beach, IL

Jacob Neusner - National Review

[Heschel's] . . .religious ideas. . .will ensure his place as a major figure in modern Jewish and Christian religous history. . . .The work is lovingly researched, but pages and pages are filled with information of marginal interest. . . .the important work awaits: Heschel's intellectual biography -- the only one that matters.

Yehudah Mirsky - The New Republic

...[E]legantly written...the product of years of dogged research. it tells a fascinating story and it unearths much little-known and rich material. It is clearly a labor of love.

Noah Efron - The Boston Book Review

Heschel's spiritual and intellectual coming of age emerge with great clarity. . . .By presenting his early years, Kaplan and Dresner have done much to bring a richer, more human Heschel back to us. This is an achievement of some moment [a] fine biographyRead all 6 "From The Critics" >

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING