Man Is Not Alone is a profound, beautifully written examination of the ingredients of piety: how man senses God's presence, explores it, accepts it, and builds life upon it. Abraham Joshua Heschel's philosophy of religion is not a philosophy of doctrine or the interpretation of a dogma. He erects his carefully built structure of thought upon foundations which are universally valid but almost generally ignored. It was Man Is Not Alone which led Reinhold Niebuhr accurately to predict that Heschel would "become a commanding and authoritative voice not only in the Jewish community but in the religious life of America." With its companion volume, God in Search of Man, it is revered as a classic of modern theology.
This is a profound work. It is written by a Hasidic philosopher- poet. It is a work of reflections and these reflections require commentary. I would not say that I understand the work, but I do say that in the presence of this kind of writing one feels a certain holiness. I think the best way to demonstrate this is by citing one passage. It is from the section ' In the Presence of God'" The pious man is possessed by his awareness...
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Heschel's book is a description of faith rather than an argument for faith: not an attempt to persuade the faithless, but an explanation of how the religious person thinks. I especially liked his discussion of prayer and ritual; Heschel explains, for example, that set written prayers exist to help us think about our faith as we read them. MUCH easier to read than his more famous book "God In Search Of Man"; I wish I had...
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A thinking person who doesn't believe in God, someone who is searching for God, or a believer who wants to know God more deeply -- all will be touched by this profound portrayal of "the One who IS." It is a beautifully written treasure of wisdom.
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I first encountered Heschel as a college senior in 1971, when my teacher, Rabbi Morton Fierman of Santa Ana, CA, taught a course in Heschel. We students were Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians, agnostics, and a few Jews, and Heschel transformed our lives. I have celebrated the Ineffable ever since, and viewed Yahweh with Radical Amazement. To climax the course, we met Heschel at Whittier College. I recommend his books to...
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A profound work that reflects on how man can apprehend God and have an encounter with the ineffable, and the radical amazement that man experiences when experiencing the presence of the Divine. Heshcel's major themes include the problems of doubts and faith; What Judaism means by teaching that God is One; The essence of man and the problem of man's needs. He discusses the definition of religion in genral, and of Judaism...
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