ON THE HOLINESS OF THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL IN THE THOUGHT OF ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL Alexander Even-Chen Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, Israel The Jewish philosopher Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) states that not only the people of Israel is holy. No particular religion has a monopoly on holiness: Holiness is not the monopoly of any particular religion or tradition. Wherever a deed is done in accord with the will of God, wherever a thought of man is directed toward Him, there is the holy. (Heschel 1966, 247) These words are rooted in a theology which considers man, any man, to be holy: Many things on earth are precious, some holy, humanity is holy of holies. (Heschel 1966, 238) The term ‘holy of holies’ is used to denote the most sacred place in the temple in Jerusalem. Heschel uses it to refer to humanity in its entirety. The immense importance Heschel accords to man is expressed in a Yiddish poetry book he published in his youth, titled: ‘Mankind: God’s Innefable Name?’ (Heschel 1933). The book’s title refers to the special bond between God and Man. God’s special holy and secret name is paramount to Mankind. I believe that Heschel hints that the nature of Divinity may be revealed when we discover the true nature of Man. Further on we shall see that Heschel talks of a concurrent revelation, of both God and Man. This humanistic attitude gives rise to many questions. In Jewish tradition we find theories which emphasize the uniqueness of the People of Israel vis-à-vis other nations. In contrast, Heschel believes that any religion may lead its believers to the attainment of holi- ness. There may be substantial differences of opinion as to how holi- ness may be attained, and in this paper we shall attempt to examine the theology which leads Heschel to strive for inter-religious dis- course, based on the premise that despite our differences we have much in common. 362 alexander even-chen We shall also try and examine the basis for the uniqueness of the Jewish people in Heschel’s mind, and why he believes that it should continue to adhere to the Jewish faith, despite his claim that Christianity is also ‘holy’. The topic of the holiness of the People of Israel is repeatedly addressed in all of Heschel’s writings. In the last chapter of his book God in Search of Man Heschel addresses the issue of the holiness of the People of Israel. This is the main book in Heschel’s theological work, and it is therefore not surprising that Heschel has chosen to express his view of the people of Israel and its special standing towards this end. An examination of the book’s structure would be useful in under- standing Heschel’s intent. The book is composed of three parts: God, Revelation and Response. This triple structure mirrors the ideal bond between God and Man. In the following pages we shall examine what brought Heschel to deal with the holiness of the people of Israel within the context of human response. In doing so we shall describe the status of the people of Israel in Heschel’s thought, as expressed in God in Search of Man as well as in his other writings. The Voice of God and the Voice of Man We commence with the epistemological basis of Heschel’s theology. Heschel claims: The encounter with reality does not take place on the level of con- cepts through the channels of logical categories; concepts are second thoughts. All conceptualization is symbolization, an act of accomoda- tion of reality to the human mind. The living encounter with reality takes places on a level that precedes conceptualization, on a level that is responsive, immediate, preconceptual, and presymbolic. (Heschel 1955, 115) We note that Heschel distinguishes the experience of direct contact with reality from its ‘translation’ through conceptualisation. It is espe- cially interesting that both intellectual conceptualisation and religious symbolism are considered attempts made by humans to accommodate ‘reality’ to the human mind. It is therefore apparent that mystic sym- bolism does not in itself represent divine reality, but rather the ‘pro- cessing’ of man’s encounter with God. According to Heschel, this is.