xix xviii I Introduction Introduction ) a visafor the UnitedStates, Studies,whose stately white marble building is one of the few in Europe he neversucceeded" In r g4zhewas arrested '' in Hollandand he died in Bergen-Belsen. associatedwith my fatherthat remainstanding today. t , When the Nazisinvaded He usedto describehow Polesunderestimated the dangers of a German Poland,my father'ssister Esther was killed in a bombing.His mother threat,confident that the famedPolish cavalry would be victorious.My ', andsister Gittel had to abandon their apartment, andtheir circumstances fathercontinued to struggleto 6nd a way out of Europe, andat the JaSt becamevery difficult. They sent poitcardsin which theyworried moment,just six weeksbefore the Cerman invasion of Poland,he suc- lovingly abouthis well-being and beggedfor newsof hissafety. "Each day we ceededin leavingWarsaw for London. that receivea Jetterfrom you," Gittel wrote,"is a holidayfor us." Both wereultimately murdered, My fatherescaped thanks to /ulian Morgenstern,the presidentof He- his motherin Warsaw, Gittel probably brewUnion College in Cincinnati,who hadbeen trying for severalyears most in Treblinka.Another sister, Devorah, who was married to securevisas from the StateDepartment to bring fewishscholars oui of and living in Vienna,was eventually deported to Theresienstadt on Europe.Michael Meyer has described the terribleobstacles Morgenstern Octoberz, rg4z, and from theresent to Auschwitz,where she was murdered encounteredat the StateDepartment, as well as his perseverance.2rHe upon her arrivalon May 16, 1944. poland. wasfinally given only fivevisas. My fathei'sname had been recommended My fathern€ver returned to Germany,or to Austria,or to He oncewrote: "If by severalcolleagues, on the basisof his publicationsand reputationin I shouldgo to Polandor Germany,every stone, every tree wouldremind Germany.That he wasunmarried helped; visas for spousesand children me of contempt,hatred, murder, of childrenkilled, of mothers weremore difficult to obtain,since the collegehad to takeresponsibility burnedalive, of human beingsasphyxiated."Zz for the financialmaintenance of the entirefamily. The formalletter from AFTER Dr. Morgensterninvited my fatherto serveas a ResearchFellow in Bible REcEIVtNc hisAmerican visa, my fatherarrived in NewYork in March Lg4o.Hestayed at firstwith membersof his family. and fewish philosophy for two years,at an annualsalary of $5oo, plus His oldest sister, boardand lodgingin the collegedormitory. My fatherwas first told by Sarah,and her husbandand most of their childrenhad already the Americanconsul in Warsawthat he would haveto be placedon a arrivedfrom Vienna, and there were also other cousinsfrom Warsaw. quotavisa and wait nine monthsbefore his casewas even considered' Hisposition in Cincinnatiwas not professorbut instructor.He wasgiven Instead,he appealedto the Americanconsul in Stuttgart.He finally a roomin the studentdormitory, where he alsokept his own food,since thecafeteria was receivedhis Americanvisa in |anuary Lg4o,and reachedNew York in not kosher.The studentswere a disappointmentto him March. aswell, becausetheir background in fewishtexts was much weakerthan My father'sdeportation from Germany in the midst of the e$ortsto thatof his studentsat the Berlinseminary. securethe visamade the processmore difficult.In April 1939he had to The yearsin Cincinnatiwere lonely, My fatherstruggled constantly to returnfrom Warsawto Stuttgartto attendto paperworkat the American bring his mother and sisterfrom Warsaw,and to saveother frields, consulatethere. Finally, in the summerof r939, he wasable to leave colleagues,and relativeswho remainedstranded in Europe.They wrote to him, Polandfor England,where his brother,facob, was serving as rabbi to an beggingfor help. He wasfrustrated with the AmericanJewish Orthodoxcongregation. My fatherremained in Londonfor six months, community,which he felt did not recognizethe emergency.The news fromEurope became andtogether with otherrefugee |ewish scholars and the help of the Theo- worseand worse. He continuedto receivemail from dorHerzl Society in London,he establishedan Institutefor JewishLearn- hismother and sistersand triedunsuccessfully to securevisas; he learned ing in February1g4o. The studentswere refugees,many en route to oftheir murder while he wasin Cincinnati,Within his immediate family, Palestine.During his monthsin London, my tatheralso attempted to theonly survivorswere those who fed beforethe war began:his brother, securework for friendswho werestill in Germany.He wasin closecontact ]acob,who left Viennafor Londonwith his wife, Susie,and daughter, with Arthur Spanier,who had servedas director of the fudaicadivision Thena,in r939,and his sister, Sarah, and her husband, the Kapitshinitzer of the PrussianState Library until he wasfired in r935 becausehe was rebbe,and their children,who left Vienna in February,tg3g, for New a non-Aryan,and who subsequentlyworked as an instructorand librarian York. atthe Hochschule in Berlin.In r938Spanier fled to Holland,and through Someof the rabbinicalstudents at HebrewUnion Collegebecame his him my fatherwas able to sendmoney and foodto his motherand one friends,helping him improvehis English,and he alsobecame friendly survivingsister in Warsaw.Although Spanier struggled for yearsto obtain withmembers of the faculty.'Heparticularly enf oyed Professor Abraham Yx I Introduction Introduction I xxi

visiteda home importantscholarly articles on earlyHasidism, the pietistmovement of cronbach,famous for his biblicalstories, with whom he message EasternEurope that began during the eighteenth century; and he received for unwedmothers in cinci'nati. He wonderedwhat the biblical Hagar's a GuggenheimFellowship in r gS4towrite a biographyof themovenent's wouldbe andwas moved by ProfessorCronbach's presentation of founder,Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov.2+ At the end of his life, he wrote story. Straus' hvo bookson Hasidism-a two-volumeYiddish study of Menachem Ii *as in Cincinnatithat my fatherfirst met my mother,Sylvia a concert Mendl of Kotzk, a famed nineteenthcentury Hasidic master, and A at the homeof Professorand Mrs. facobMarcus. My mother, study Passion Truth, a comparisonof the Kotzkerand S/ren Kierkegaard. pianist,had come to Cincinnatifrom her hometown;Cleveland, to for piano, Formy father,Hasidism was an extraordinarymoment in spiritual with SeverinEisenberger. That eveningshe was asked to playthe |ewish her history:"Then cameRabbi Israel Baal ShemTov and broughtheaven and my fatherfell in lou. with her. Shortly thereafterhe attended to celebrate' downto earth. . . In the daysof Moses,Israel had a revelationof God; .on..riat theCincinnati music conservatory and took her out in thedays of the BaalShem, God had a revelationof Israel.Suddenly, Wiit; a few months,he wasoft'ered a position at the fewishTheological After therewas revealed a holinessin fewishlife that had accumulat'edin the Seminaryin New York, the seatof the Conservativemovement' with the courseof manygenerations. "?5 hearingir.I. plry, Arthur Rubinsteinurged my motherto study parents How couldthe spiritualityof Hasidism,the holiness of EastEuropean pianistEduard Steuermann, who alsolived in New York. My life, now utterlydestroyed, be expressed in thelanguage of postwar weremarried in December 1946in Los Angeles,where my mother's |ewish America? ashis doctoraldissertation had challengedthe interpretive parentshad moved. Just work categoriesof modernbiblical scholarship, his firstEnglish articles were It is strikingthat my fatherdid not undertakemaior theological he radicalchallenges to the conventionalcategories used by scholarsof re- until afterhe wasmarried. During the earlyyears of their marriage, thought ligionto interpretreligious experience. His articlesof the lg^+os,reprinted completedhis most importantbooks, masterpieces of religious (tqlt! T.heSabbath in thisvolume, begin by contendingthat conventionalcategories used to thatseemed to pour o,ri of him: Man Is Not Alone (195a)'At understandpiety, prayer, and holiness are reductionist and inappropriate. (r95r), Codin Searchof Man ('95'), Man'sQuest for God destruction Insteadof understandingpieV on its own terms,for example,scl'rolars in. rr-. time,he wasable to givevoice to hismourning for the to speak too oftenreduce it to a psychologicalphenomenon, or criticizeit as of hisfamily and the worldof EastEuropean |ews' He wasasked for irrationaland counterproductive. He usedto sayin his lectures,"fust as on EastEuropean |ewish life in 1946at YIVO, the Institute fewish in Yiddish you cannotstudy philosophy through praying, you cannotstudy prayer ScientificResearch in New York,where he deliveredan elegy writers' throughphilosophizing."z6 In Man Is Nof Alonehe wrote:"Evaluating somoving that the audience, composed mainly of secularYiddish the faith in termsof reasonis like trying to understandlove as a syllogism spontaneJuslystood up at the end of the speechand said kaddish, waslater expanded and andbeauty as an algebraicequation."27 Instead, he arguedthat piety is a |ewis6memorial prry.i for thedead. That speech phenomenonthat mustbe describedon its own terms,as an attitude,a publishedin his bookThe Earth Is the Lord's' a wayof thinkingin which the piousperson feels God to be alwaysclose In many waysmy father'sevocation of East European|ews was joy of being andpresent: "Awareness of God is asclose to him asthe throbbingof his descriptionof his own Personality.He writesof the sheer ownheart, often deep and calm, but at timesoverwhelming, intoxicating, the vitality,the love of learning,and alsothe tenderness,the fewish, settingthe soul afire."zs Pietygives rise to reverence,which seesthe gentleness,the sincerityand deep trust of otherpeople that characterized is striking "dignityof everyhuman being" and "the spiritualvalue which even EastEuropean fews-and himself.His panegyricto Polish]ews of inanimatethings inalienably possess."2e Exploitation and domination are in comparisorrto the way they were usuallyportrayed in the work utterlyforeign to genuinepiety, and possessionof thingsleads only to modernhistorians, particularly those of Germany,who tendedto view Ioneliness.Instead, the piousperson's "affinity with God is his persistent theirPolish compatriots as an embarrassmentfor iheir lackof assimilation aspirationto go beyondhimself," to be devotedto goalsand tasksand and for tfieir misticalpiety. By contrast,these German historians held ideals.For the piousperson, destiny means not simplyto accomplish, up the.or-opoiitan Sephardicfews of Spainas models of fewswho were but to contribute.r0"[n aidinga creature,he is helpingtlie Creator.In intellectuallyand culturallyassimilated.zs Mv father'sPurpose was to succoringthe poor,he is takingcare of somethingthat concerns In depictthe spirituality of theEast European f ews, their inner life, a precious God. admiringthe good,lie is reveringthe Spiritof G.od."rr ,.ligio1.,,civilization that was wiped out by theNazis. He alsowrote several x,x,ii I Introduction Inttroduction1 xxiii

My fatheralso stressed the objectivenature of religion,rejecting aca- explainedin an interview,it wasrevising his dissertationon the prophets demicstudies of religionwhich reduceit to a responseto momentsof fbrpublication in Englishduring the early r96os that convir,rced 6im that socialcrisis or psychologicalstress. Millenarian movements, for example, he mustbe involvedin humanaffairs, in human suffering. areconventionally understood as responses to socialcrises; prayer for rain My FATHen in periodsof droughtis conventionallyinterpreted in functionalistterms: firstmet MartinLuther King, fr., in )anuary1963 and prayingholds the community together at a time whensocial cohesion is beganhis long involvementin the civil-rightsmovement. They met at a threatened.To my fathersuch approachesmerely described the social Chicagoconference on religionand race sponsored by the NationalCon- consequencesof religion, not the meaningof religionitself, "as if instead ferenceof Christiansand Jewsand becamegood friends as well as col- of describingthe innervalue of a work of art we wereto apprehendit by iiil leagues.Writing, Iecturing,and demonstratingon behalfof civil rig6ts, "32 my fatherwas an effective its eft-ectson our mind or feelings. Ratherthan a functionof human iii: figure.When the policeblocked the entrance nature,a responseto an emotionor socialsituation, religion is an order to FBI headquartersin Manhattan,it washe who gainedentry to present petition of being,the holy dimensionof existencethat is presentwhether or not a protestingpolice brutality against civil-rights demonstrators in it is perceivedby us.r3 Alabama. Ultimatelyreligion is not basedon our awarenessof God but on God's when he joinedthe famousSehna march in r965,he waswelcomed interestin us. In prayer,for example,we seeknot to makeGod visible asone of the leadersin the frontrow of marchers,with Dr. King, Ralph but to makeourselves visible to God.raThat gentleupheaval of the re- Bunche,and Ralph Abernathy. In anunpublished memoir he *rot. upon returning lationshipis centralto my father'stheology. It is not we who seekto from Selma,my fatherdescribes the extremehostility he en- countered understandGod; it is God who is in searchof us. Even mote, it is God from whitesin Alabama,fiom the momenthe arrivedat the who is in needof us:"To be is to standfor, andwhat human beings stand airport,and the kindnesshe wasshown by Dr. King'sassistants, partic- rl ularly young, for is thegreat mystery of beingGod's partner. God is in needof human the ReverendAndrew who watchedou., him duringthe i1il mirch beings." with greatconcern. Just before the march began,a servicewas "divinepathos," is the central ir.i .i heldin a smallchapel, where my father psalm God'sneed of us, what my fathercalls :,i 'll read z7,,,Thel-ord is my light pillarof histheology and what makes it distinctiveamong Jewish thinkers. andmy salvation;whom shall I fear?"oand Dr. King gaveasermon Yet it is not idiosyncratic;my fatherbases his understandingof divine describingthree typologies among the children of Israelin the wilderness. Formy father,Dr. King'semphasis pathoson a long, deeptradition within Judaism,most prominentin on the exodus,rather than on fesus, as kabbalisticand Hasidicwritings, but alsofound in the heartof rabbinic a modelfor the movementwas important, and he invitedDr. King and fudaism.Indeed, his three-volume study of rabbinictheology-published hisfamily to ioin us at our PassoverSeder. Dr. King'sassassination in passover; in HebrewasTorah min Ha-Shamayimb'Espakloriah shel Ha-Dorot (Rev- April r968 camejust before we had expectedhjm to spend elationin the Mirror of the Generations)-demonstratesthat concepts theholiday with us. For rny supposedto haveoriginated with classicalkabbalah in the Middle Ages fatherthe march wasa religiousmoment. He wrote in his beganto be articulatedin antiquityby the rabbiswho shapedhalachic memoir:"l thoughtof my havingwalked with Hasidicrabbis on various occasions. |udaism.In his highlyoriginal reading of talmudicand midrashic texts, I felta senseof theHoly in whatI wasdoing. Dr. Kingexpressed several 'l my fatherbrings forth the theologicalconcerns and controversiesthat timesto me hisappreciation. He said, cannottell youto* -uch your animatedrabbinic discussions. He shows,for example,that agadais the presencemeans to us. You cannotimagine how often Reverend Vivian siteof intricatetheological discussion and debateby the rabbis,and he and I speakabout you.' Dr. King saiJ to me that this wasthe greatest tracestwo distincttheological schools within rabbinicJudaism. Even dayin hisIife and the mostimportant civil-rights demonstration.,, with within the Talmud he findsbelief in God'sneed of human beings,and sadness,my fatheradded, "l felt againwhat I havebeen t6inking aboutfor years-that he tracesconflicting rabbinic understandings of revelation,as experien- /ewishreligious institutions have again missed a greatopportunity, tial and propositional,which bear dift'eringimplications for halachic namely,to interpreta civil-rightsmovement in terms decisions. ' One lookshard to find discussionof politicalactivism in my father's He wrotein an unpublishedmemoir that he had originally psalm ..O '5ot. intendedto read r 5, Lord,rvho shall soiourn in scholarlyand theologicalwritings of the r94osand As he later thv tent?,"but changedhis riind rfte, h. arrivedin Selma. i xxiv I Introduction Introduction I xxv

prayin order of |udaism.The vastnumber of )ewsparticipating actively in it aretotally to be saved,my fatherused to stress,we prayso that we unawareof what the movement means in terms of the prophetic mightbe worthyof beingsaved. Prayer shor-rld not focuson our wishes, traditions." but is a moment in which God'sintentions are reflectedin us.37If we Aboutsix months after the Selmamarch, my father,together with fohn arecreated in the imageof God, eachhuman being should be a reminder Bennettand Richard Neuhaus, founded what became one of thestrongest of God'spresence. If we engagein actsof violenceand murder,we are organizationsopposed to the war in Vietnan-r,Clergy and LaymenCon- desecratingthe divinelikeness. cernedabout Vietnam.35 Over and over,in speechesat universities,syn- The anguishmy fatherfelt overthe war in Vietnamwas reler-rtles.s; I agogues,and anti-warrallies, he denouncedthe murder of innocent oftenfound him in the middleof the night,unable to sleep.The tension peoplein SoutheastAsia and proclaimed,"ln a freesociety, some are grewworse in the spring of ry67, as hostileArab countriesthreatened guilty,but all are responsible." However difficult it may be to stopthe Israelrvith a militarybuildup and UN troopswithdrew from their peace- war today,he said,it will be even more difficulttomorrow; the killing keepingpositions. Israel's extraordinrry r-nilitrry success in the Six-Day mustend now. War wasa greatrelief, and my fatherflew thereimmediately. The trip W|ether or not Dr. King shouldspeak out publiclyagainst the war in inspiredhis magnificentevocation of the landof Israel'sreligious signii- Vietnamwas a topic discussedconstantly in our home duringthe mid- icanceto /udaism,lsrael: An Echoof Eternity. rg6os.Would hispublic opposition to the warhurt the civil-rightsInoV€- Contraryto the claimsof somecritics, my father'sZionist writings dicl ment?Which wasthe betterpolitical course, and which wasthe greater not beginin ry67, nor washis commitmentto Israelmitigated by his moralgood? Under the auspicesof Clergyand LaymenConcerned, Dr. depictionof fudaismas a religionconcerned with holinessin time. His King first spokeout publicly againstthe war in Manhattan'sRiverside Zionistwritihgs began much earlier,as indicatedby someof the essays Churchin the springof ry67.The atrocitiescommitted by U.S. forces includedin this volume,and evenin his writingson time, he warned in Vietnam,and the obviouspolitical futility of a war againstguerrillas, that ]udaismteaches "not to flee from the realm of space;to work with werecondemned by him and by my father,just as they and other war thingsof space,but to be in love with eternity. . . To disparagespace opponentswere branded as anti-American subversives. But the realsub- andthe blessingsof thingsof spaceis to disparage the worksof creation versiveness,ffiy father stated that evening, was the American government: . . . Time and spaceare interrelated. "38 Zionismfor my fatherwas not solely a politicalissue, and he wascritical Our thoughtson Vietnamare sores, destroying our trust,ruining our most of rnuch of Zionist theory for its single-mindedpolitical and secular cherishedcommitments with burdensof shame,We arepierced to the corewith emphases.Neither statehood nor culturalnationalism, pain,and it is our dutv ascitizens to sayno to the subversivenessof our govern- he argued,could substitutefor religious ment,which is ruiningthe valueswe cherish. . . The bloodwe shed in Vietnam Judaism's teachings.He presentedthese views ip the makesa mockeryof all our proclamations,dedications, celebrations. Has our UnitedStates and in Israel,often at Zionistconventions, where he consciencebecome a fossil,is all mercygone? If mercy,the motherof humility, warnedthat simply living in thestate of Israelwas no panaceafor resolving is siill aliveas a demand,how can we say yesto our bringingagony to that issuesof lewishidentity. tormentedcountry? We are herebecause our own integrityas human beingsis My fatherand motherand I madeour firsttrip to Israelin tfie summer decayingin the agonyand mercilesskilling donein our name.In a freesociety, o{ ry57. The establishmentof the stateseemed like a miracle,and my someare guilty and all areresponsible. We arehere to callupon the governments fatherused to speakabout it to me with a toneof wonder.In the surnmer Vietnam to standstill and to considerthat of the United Statesas well as North of r965we spenttwo monthsin Israel,when my fatherwas the official victoryis worth the price of terror, which all partiescommit in Vietnam, no guestof PresidentZalmanShazar. He wasinvited to lecturethroughout North and South. Rememberthe blood of the innocentcries forever. Should thecountry. He returnedfrequently in subsequentyears, to lectureand that bloodstop to cry, humanity would ceaseto be. to visitfriends. Of the few friendshe had from Europewho had survivecl The crimescommitted in Vietnam were subversiveto our values,and the war, severallived in Israel,including President Shazar and the pe- to our religiouslives, he insisted. Someone may commit a crime now diatricianAaron Brand, a friendfrom Berlindays. and teach mathematicsan hour later. But when we Pray, all we have Throughoutthe years of hissocial activism, my fatherrnaintained close done in our lives entersour prayers.36As he had articulatedin his early andconstructive relationships witlr Christianleaders. He wasinvited by essaysin the 1g4os,the purposeof Prayeris not petitionary.We do not Presidentfohn Bennettof Union TheologicalSeminary to serveas tfte -qfdi i!r\* i' xxvi I Introduction IntroductionI xxvii

when the Popesaw me he smiledjoyously, with HarryEmerson Fosdick visiting Professorin r965-66;he servedon the a radiantface, shook *y handcordially with both his hands-he did so several times during boardof directorsof organizationsas diverse as the UnitedGreek Orthodox theaudience. Heopened the conversation by telling me that he isreading my bookr,that my Clrarities;the Martin Luther King, ft., Center for NonviolentSocial booksare very spiritual and very beautiful, and that Catholics should read my Change;the Committeefor the Defenseof William Stringfellowand books.He expressedhis blessingthat I maycontinue to writemore books. He Towne; OperationBreadbasket; the |ewishPeace Anthony |essefackson's thenadded that he knowsof thegreat impact my books are having upon young Fellowship;and Trees for Vietnam-among others' people,which he particularlyappreciates. His reputationas a theologianof significancewithin the Christian My father .o--unlg beganwith a glowingreview by ReinholdNiebuhr of Man had closepersonal relationships with severaldistinguished "one Is Not Alonein rg51.reAbraham Heschel, Niebuhr wrote, was of Catholictheologians, monks, and nuns, including Gustav weigl, iho-r, Merton, the treasuresof mind and spiritby which the persecutions,unloosed in TheodoreHesburgh, Corita Kent, and Leo Rudlofl abbotof the Europe,inadvertently enriched our Americanculture ' It is a safe Benedictinemonastery in Vermont,and in the anti-warmovement he worked guessthat he will becomea commandingand authoritative voice not only closelywith Danieland Philip Berrigan.He wasoften invited to What a speakat catholic colleges,and In the Jewishcommunig but in the religiouslife of America."a0 his writingscontinue to be readby cath- olicsas contrastbetween the German Protestant theologians of the l93os,debating textsfor spiritualmeditation. He felt an affinitywith Catholics, in part whetherthe Old Testamentshould be eliminatedfrom the Christian basedon the centralityof canon law and formal ritual within Catholicism, canon,and Niebuhr'spositive view of HebrewScripture and of fudaism' but alsobecause of thedeep and vibrant spiritual traditions within This led to furthercontacts between them and ultimatelyinto a close catholicism.with Protestants,my fathershaied a training in criticalbiblical friendsliip.They were neighbors and often took walks together. Niebuhr's scholarshipand a liberaltheological tradition cornmitted to praiseand the iriendshipthat developedbetween them wereprofoundly socialactivism. My father's importantto my father;for him they werehopeful signs of a new kind of closestfriends did not necessarilyshare all of his commit- father ments;some were relationshipbetween fervs and Christians. Niebuhr himself asked my Jewswith diff'eringpolitical convictions, others were to deliverih. .,rlogyai his funeral,which he did-the text appearsin Christiansinvolved with him in politicalwork. Two of his bestfriends were thesepages. Niebulr, he usedto say, understoodhis work betterthan ':. his formerstudent, the lateRabbi Wolfe Kelman,executive director o{ the Rabbinical .nyonl else.With all the differencesin their beliefs,both had similar $,. Assembly,and the ReverendWilliam SloaneCoffin, philosophical as chaplain understandingsof the role of a theologian-not simply ilil'yl" l.y:d at Yale universiryduring the lastyears of my discussion,but politicalactivism-and they shareda deeplove of the ;ir'father'slife. Both wereexuberant personalities, friends *ho iouedto teil stories,laugh, HebrewBible. and celebrate.wolfe and my fatherworked at the Jewish My father'smost important achievement in Christian-Jewishrelations TheologicalSeminary and often walked home together; they would arrive camewith his involvementwith the SecondVatican Council during the at my father'sapartment building, but in orderto continuethe conver- mid-r96os.At the invitationof the AmericanJewish Committee' my sation,my fatherwould keep walking another half mile to Wolfe'sbuild- fathertraveled to Rome,where he formeda friendshipwith CardinalBea, ing.Then wolfe would turn aroundand walk my fatherhome, wolfe € wlrodirected the composition of NostraAetate, the Vatican's pronounce- lvas trustedfriend, a confidant,and a sourceof support,and he showed ment concerningrelations with non-Catholicreligions. My fathermet hisfriendship by callingmy motherseveral times a weekin the yearsafter with PopePaul VI on severaloccasions, as well aswith CardinalWille- my fatherdied. i brandsof Holfund,and he tooka strongstand during the momentswhen Bill Coffin'svisits with us, oftenafter anti-war rallies at which he and it seemedthe Council was weakeningits declarationconcerning the my fatherspoke, were momentsof greatcelebration. There was a thrill ':i.inour household ]ews. whenhe wasabout to arrive,and from the momenthe In r97r my fathertraveled through Italy on a lecturetour, accompanied ii'.walkedin the door,with his big, boomingraugh, the excitementbegan. by *y'mother. A privateaudience with PopePaul VI wasarranged for rt-H: playedthe pianowith my mother,traded Jories with my father,and ,:.helped them in Rome,on March r7. Describingthe visitafterward in a private me with my homework."Father Abraham" was the nickname with iwhich my fathersaid how pleasedhe wasthat the Popehad seenhis he teasedmy father,and my fatherwould respond by teachinghim memoir, '.,Hebrew writingsas a helpto Catholicsto strengthentheir faith: prayers. x,xviii I Introduction Introduction I xxix

to be given,and how she wouldadvise him to emphasizea certainpoint oi takeout a controversialstatement "ISN'T IT A BURDENto havea famousfather?" people often ask me. that seemedtoo strongly*ord.d. H. just alwayslistened to her, and But imaginewhat kind of a fatherAbraham Heschel would be. I was tord her afterwardhow right she had been. He joinedher world,too. He loved onlyvaguely aware of my father'sfame when I wasgrowing up; as a father, her to prry ,t. pianofor him and to goto concertswith her. he waswonderful. Ever warm, loving,and affeciionate,he wassomeone when my motherhad chamber music at home, oftenweekly when I wasgrowing I couldconfide in and alwaysreceive a sensitiveand understandingre- up, my fatherwould listenwhile he workedin his study, join sponse.I was free to interrupthim at anymoment; he wasnever annoyed, then tli. *uri.ians for teaand the chocolate but alwayslooked up fiom his writing with a big smile of delightand cakeI wouldbake while theyplayed. My father'sbook on exclaimed,"Susie!" as thoughwe hadn'tseen each other in ages.He thesabbath, one of themost popurar of hiswritings, ' evokesthe spirithe createdwith lovedbeing a father,playing with me and my friends,even making up my motherin our home, in which the I Sabbathwas both peacefullyquiet gamesfor my birthdayparties. American popular culture was utterly for- and filledwith celebration.The book ' beautifullydescribes eignto ourhome. My fatherhad no ideaof sports,popular music, movies, therabtinic, krbbalistic, and Hasidic understandings , of the sabbathexperience; together, or TV. I rememberas a childteasing him, sayingthat he shouldAmer- my pnr.nt, broughtthe textto life. " jackets The Sabbathwas the icanizehimself, become "the sporty type, wearbrown sport instead ' time my parentsentertained, usually at Friday_ nightsabbath dinner, or at o{ grayor blue suits,and learnto playgolf. a high teaat four o,crockon saturdayafter_ noons'Their guests were Walkingwith my fatherwas not a matterof reachinga destinationbut facultymembers and students from the seminary, and conversationswere lively. of creatinga privatetime for talk.He wouldstop every few feet and discuss Nearlyall my prr.ntr, friendswere pro_ fessorswho had cometo a point,then go a little farther.He lovedto takewalks on Sabbathafter- the UnitedStates f;; Europe,and theyroved : to teli storiesabout noons,in RiversidePark, across from our apartmentbuilding. When I EuropeanJewish life, or reminisceabout professors andcolleagues and rabbis wasa littlegirl, he wasalways delighted to playgames to keepme amused, they had known in Errope. There wassome sadnessthat they describing andeven corralled his colleaguesto join us in SimonSays or RedLight, y.t: a worldthat no long., existed,but their , sto_rieshad such vividness GreenLight. And when I grewtired from the walk,he wouldput me on that theyseemed to keepthat worrdarive. It wason a Sabbaththat hisshoulders and carryme. my fatherdied. we wereplanning to go to , the Fronrmy youngestyears I wasaware of discriminationagainst women, synagoguetogether on the morningof Saturday, ' December 23, 1972, buthe neverawakened. In particularlyin religiouscircles, and complained about it to my father.He Jewishtrad]tion it is considereda sign of great ' to merit-apeaceful alwaysagreed with me, supportingme when I wanteda BatMitzvah and li:? deathin one'ssleep, even more so to die on 'r,sabbath. the an aliyahfor my sixteenthbirthday, and agreeingthat aspectsof such a deathis caileda kissfrorn bod. |ewish r" observancethat wereunfair to womenhad to be changed.He evensug- : !:.j _l Mosr oF THE wonlo that gestedthat I apply to the rabbinicalschool at the ]ewishTheological my fatherknew no longerexists. He was, . ashe wrote,"a brandplucked Seminary,confident that one day women would be acceptedthere as irr;,ii from the fire of Europe],,and h. b..r.n. God'sgift to us. students. , The_soirof ;.r,rh il i,' lnt.r-, he wasbred was lrt,- destroyed,but throughhim Lookingback, I find it mostremarkable that my fatherwas never moody thatworrd did not vanish.Like the BaarShem '.i':. Tov, he broughtheaven down or irritable.If he becameupset or angry,the moodlasted a minute and to earth,and in his writing, *. hru. , ii_,: revelation disappeared.His warmth,hugs, and kisseswere always ready; he exuded of the holinessof Jewishlife. lovetoward me and my mother.It wasextraordinary how well matched e n shaus my parentswere. That they lovedand meshedwith eachother's quite ,jlrvia Hescher,and I arederighted to presentthi rs volume:1.1:rv.s.rrv i: values ofvL myL'tr father'srcrLrrtrr)essays.cusays. Originallyungrnally differentfamily wasremarkable, but they had the same and the published iin a wide range of academicand popularperiodicals, sameinstincts about people. My parenisrarely went out for entertainment, in.y hru. not beeneasily acce.ssihleaccessible torn preferringto stayhome. Eachevening, before bed, they would drink tea ur bythe .u.r_gro.'"i"; i;i**;ffi;iliJ; :.,:-T"i,u:rfOI_:T,_* 1r:.moved "r...i andtalk, sometimes playing Chinese checkers. Watching them sit together ff *^ T':y J:n::' weconti nue _to uJi;;; il' ;ffi ; j atthe dining room table, talking and laughing, is a vividmemory. Another ll,:1.fi.::i"^".]*': theorogythroughout the_;il: il_ ffil;J'il is my motherreading my father'slectures in the hoursbefore they rvere SouthAmerica to China. t'' ""',,'.{j,, xxx I Introduction

We are deeplygrateful for the devotionof my father'spublisher and closefriend, Roger W. Straus,who hasbrought his books to print for the I pasthalf century.One of the world'sgreat editors, Robert Giroux has givenmeticulous attention to my father'swritings for manyyears, and his understandingof his stylehas enhanced this volume. In their hands,my father'sbooks have always been treated with careand esteem. In the courseof preparingthese essays for publication,several friends EXISTENCE AND haveoffered generous assistance. I would like to thankLeonard Wolf and DavidCuralnik for translatingthe Yiddishpoem "A Day of Hate." Pro- fessorDoris Bergen and ProfessorDagmar Herzog graciously helped with translationsfrom Germanto English.My father'smagnificent Hebrew CELEBRATION essay"PikuachNeshama" cannot be renderedwith full beautyand nuance in English,but I appreciatethe help of the manyfriends and colleagues who lentgreat time and effortto the translation:Rabbi Moshe Adler, Dr. DavidAriel, ProfessorMoshe Berger, Dr. AryehCohen, RabbiSamuel Dresner,and RabbiAlan Lettofsky.Elisheva Urbas, managing editor at Farrar,Straus and Giroux, gaveparticularly careful consideration to the detailsof editingand publication.I would alsolike to thank Professor Marilyn Reizbaumfor her very helpful adviceconcerning the book's introduction.We aregrateful to eachof them. A generousresearch grant from the ClevelandFoundation, shepherded by Carol Willen, allowed thisproject to proceedwith addedspeed. It is extraordinarythat so many peopletold us they felt privilegedto assistin the work of this project.Their lovefor my fatheris yet another sign that his influencecontinues, and that his memory is indeed a blessing.