The Prophets

Heschel illuminates the consciousness of the Israelite prophets, explains their uniqueness in history and explains the essentials of prophetic religion. He identifies their major trait as a profound sensitivity to evil. This involved complete intolerance to injustice and indifference, an attitude often expressed in harsh words. The soul of the prophet was attuned to the cry of the afflicted. Driven by compassion, he protested vehemently. In addition, the prophets fiercely repudiated mankind's subservience to might, holding up the moral law in the place of force. Their view of violence as obscene and their sympathy for the weak were rare for that time. The theme that might is not right is inherent in their message. Unlike the lofty metaphysicians they focused on the mundane, the way people treat one another. The prophets also emphasized linear as opposed to cyclical time, bringing a promise of ultimate salvation. Heschel deals with individual prophets like Amos, who in his concern for Israel's neighbors made it clear that God cares for all nations. Hosea proclaimed that Israel is God's consort, the first Isaiah warned against foreign alliances while denouncing obstinacy and pride, while Micah distilled the essence of true worship: do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with the Divine. Gentle by nature, Jeremiah's anguish becomes clear as he had to convey messages of wrath and suffering. The first Isaiah and Habbakuk spoke of ultimate redemption through an outpouring of the Spirit whilst the second Isaiah proclaimed God's eternal love for Israel, His concern for all mankind and the idea of Israel as a light to the nations. The author shows that the prophets were torn in anguish between compassion for mankind and sympathy for God, acting as advocate for the one to the other. They constantly intervened, imploring mercy for the people whilst warning the powerful in explosive language against their abusive practices, and admonishing the whole nation for its lack of empathy. To quote Heschel: `The opposite of freedom is not determinism, but hardness of heart.' It emerges that judgment is never final, that the gate of repentance remains open and that there is sorrow in the anger of the Lord. History is where justice suffers defeat but the prophets predicted future peace and salvation. Over and over they emphasized that kindness took precedence over wisdom, wealth or might. More than strict justice only, righteousness encompasses loving concern. The prophets proclaimed the divine pathos, revealing that the great judge is our Father too. This absorbing and completely unique work succeeds in making many things clear, on both a mental and emotional level. Written in graceful prose, the concepts are easy to understand while Heschel's words speak to the heart. The Prophets is one of the most moving and comforting books I have ever read.

This is one of the most interesting books I've read in my life. I am particularly interested in the relationship between the sacred and the secular and using one to illuminate the other. Most writers tend to lean too heavily on one and too heavily against the other. While Abraham Heschel is clear in his beliefs, his faith does not prevent him from thinking about the secular world in ways that enhance my understanding of both the sacred and the secular. While these books (actually a two volume set in one cover) specifically address the Prophets of the Old Testament, Heschel constantly explores the prophet construct through virtually every useful idea in human intellectual history. This is more than a biography of the Prophets, but rather a deep examination of what the concept "prophet" means and how it compares and contrasts with other religious, ethical, spiritual, and humanistic perspectives. If you view theology and faith through the lens of someone like Christopher Hitchens (whose current 2007 atheist manifesto and sacred attack is a bestseller now), then "The Prophets" is probably a book you wouldn't like because its foundation is folly, fatuous, and infamous. If, however, you can think about the sacred and the secular - like Fitzgerald's genius who can hold opposing ideas in his head simultaneously - you might find this one of the most interesting books you've ever read. In the same vein of the sacred-secular contrast, the latest books by the late Philip Rieff might also be interesting to you. Check out "Charisma" and "My Life Among the Deathworks."

A wonderful, two-volume set that has become a standard reference in the field of the "classical," literary, Hebrew prophets, their prophecies, and their personalities. Amos, Hosea, Isaiah (Isa. 1-39), Micah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Second Isaiah (Isa. 40-66) are analyzed with particular care given to their humanity as they encounter God and men in assuming their respective missions. Heschel describes his focus in writing: "What I have aimed at is an understanding of what it means to think, feel, respond, and act as a prophet (Introduction). For this Jewish rabbi and seminary professor, "the prophet is a person, not a mircrophone. He is endowed with a mission, with the power of a word not his own that accounts for his greatness--but also with temperament, concern, character, and individuality. As there was no resisting the impact of divine inspiration, so at times there was no resisting the vortex of his own temperament. The word of God reverberated in the voice of man" (Introduction). This examination of the prophets' humanity is most compelling throughout the work with the first chapter, "What Manner of Man is the Prophet?," being worth the price of the set to me. The second volume addresses at least sixteen different aspects of the prophetic experience, among them: "theology and philosophy of pathos," "meaning and mystery of wrath," "sympathy," "ecstasy," "poetry," and "inspiration." An examination of prophets from other cultural contexts is also included. Highly recommended to all theologically- and philosophically-minded readers who are interested in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the Hebrew prophets from a Jewish perspective.

Rabbi Abraham Heschel is an intellectual and prophetic hero of mine. Any one who would stand up to the pope and say 'I'd rather die than convert' (when trying to get the Roman Catholic Church to drop 'conversion of the Jews' as an official aim of the church) has the sort of integrity of belief and identity that I aspire to and most likely will never attain. Heschel's book 'The Prophets' became an almost instant classic. Simply reading through the chapter titles and subtitles (a partial list of titles appears at the bottom of this review) will give a sense of the breadth and depth of this work. Heschel sees an urgent need for prophets and prophecy in today's world. He said the things that horrified the prophets are even now daily occurrences all over the world. In examining the prophecies of Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Nathan, & c, he discerns the common strands of the word of God in all that they said and did, and teaches the reader how to discern similar prophetic aspects in today's world. 'The prophet is human, yet he employs note one octave too high for our ears.' The Bible says, let him who has ears to hear, listen. Alas, ordinarily we do not have the hearing range to be able to give adequate attention and comprehension to today's prophetic voices. Most often the voice of the prophet is one we do not want to hear (look at how the Israelites reacted to their prophets!). Prophets were often seen as doom-sayers and problematic people. Indeed, every prediction of disaster is in itself an exhortation to repentance. The prophet is sent not only to upbraid, but to 'strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees.' Every prophetic utterance, according to Heschel, has to have within its core a message of hope. Without hope, without a promise to greater community and participation in the love of God, there is no true prophecy. The road may be hard and long, involving pain and even death, but in the end, the prophet's goal is greater life for all. According to Heschel, 'To be a prophet is both a distinction and an affliction.' Being a prophet has never been a chosen profession. Indeed, like Jonah, we'll often go to extraordinary lengths to avoid even the smallest call to prophecy. Prophetic voices are inconvenient, not least of which to the person charged to be the speaker of that voice. Yet the prophet is much more than a mouthpiece. Heschel also says the prophet claims to be far more than a messenger. He is a person who stands in the presence of God. The prophet becomes one with God in many ways, yet remains a human being. This creates a tension in the prophet, as Heschel writes about Isaiah: Indeed, two sympathies dwell in a prophet's soul: sympathy for God and sympathy for the people. Speaking to the people, he is emotionally at one with God; in the presence of God, beholding a vision, he is emotionally at one with the people. Yet prophecy has its limits. Heschel states that a prophet can give man a new word, but not a new heart.

This two-volume work is one of the best I know of for explaining how Jews relate to the Prophets. While non-Jews tend to think of "prophets" as psychics who foretell the future, the Jewish concept of a prophet is someone who is inspired by God to advance the cause of social justice by confronting the people and their rulers. "Feed the widow, the orphan, the stranger!" shouts the prophet in the marketplace. "Forsake your dead idols -- return to the Lord!" he tells the king. Yes, the prophet may foretell future events, but he also preaches another option: return to the ways of God, and the terrible things foretold in a prophecy may not have to happen. A prophecy is a warning, a call to repentence -- not a prognistication written in stone. Heschel's scholarship in this work is excellent and very, very readable, even if you are not a seminarian. Like his shorter books, such as "The Sabbath" and "The Earth is the Lord's," this work is written in dynamic, inspiring prose that reaches the level of fine literature. In the first volume, he discusses specific biblical prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc. (Christians may be surprised to learn that, in classical Jewish sources, the "suffering servant" refers Jacob who, in turn, is used by Isaiah as a metaphor for the entire Jewish people collectively. In other words, the Jews are the "suffering servant" of God, not Jesus.) Volume II discusses more general concepts about prophets and prophecy. As an historical note, I would add that Rabbi Heschel not only wrote about prophets and social responsibility, he also walked the walk -- quite literally. He was active in the Civil Rights movement in the USA, and walked with Dr. Martin Luther King in the second Selma march in Alabama (look for a white-haired man in a black skullcap near King, next time you view footage of that event.) Rabbi Heschel said of that march that he "felt as if his feet were praying." His book, "The Prophets," will let you enter the mind and soul that went with those feet.