metatronics | radical amazement

metatronics | teaching | prozdor curricula | radical amazement

radical amazement:
an introduction to the thought of Abraham Joshua Heschel

Teacher's note: I have found Heschel very teachable to high school students. The basic question of his most
popular philosophical writing is one to which students relate: Why are people religious? And why are people
Jewish in particular? Heschel's answer is also very appealing to students, and not difficult to articulate: people
are religious because people are amazed at the wonder of the world, and they want to do something with that
amazement. Of course, some people are just insenstive or afraid of being amazed, but to be fully human includes
being awed by how beautiful the world actually is. Religion, for Heschel, is one way both of responding to that
awe and of creating conditions to experience it anew over and over again.

The final "third" of this class was never taught. The students had had enough, after what turned into about ten
sessions, of philosophy, and so we turned instead to Heschel's writings and work on social justice and also to
The Sabbath. Linking in Martin Buber was also very useful, and Thich Nhat Hanh provided a breath of fresh air.

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-72) was a scholar, rabbi, activist, and philosopher who was
Professor of Ethics and Mysticism here at the Jewish Theological Seminary. His philosophical writings
explore why we are religious, and what religion in general and Judaism in particular means --
not in terms of dogma, but in terms of purpose and meaning for us. We will be exploring Heschel’s thought in depth,
focusing on his two main works of theology but hopefully also looking at other writings as well.

This syllabus covers the first two-thirds of the course, focusing on the first of Heschel’s two main
works of theology, Man is Not Alone, which tries to answer the question of what religion is, why
we have it, and what matters in life. The last third will focus primarily on Heschel’s second
theology book, God in Search of Man, which deals more specifically with Judaism. But if you
like, we can also spend time on Heschel’s writings on social action and sacred time.

1.   Introduction to Heschel and to Wonder
Some facts and warnings. Also, why do we have a sense of the sublime?
Text:     Short biographical background
             Abraham Joshua Heschel, Man is Not Alone (“MINA”), 3-9, 55-56

2. Radical Amazement
Our response to the ineffable; how we feel when surrounded by it; what to do next
Text: MINA, 11-15, 25-26, 32-36, 93-95, 149-50

3.   A short excursion into Martin Buber
Two ways of seeing the world; self and selflessness; the self as an ‘It’; the idea of concern
Text:     MINA, 38-40, 125-26, 136-37, 142
             Martin Buber, I and Thou, 3-11

4. God
What do we mean by the Divine? Speculation vs. Wonder “To Be is to be Thought of by God”
Text: MINA, 51-53, 57-61, 63-65, 67-68, 174-75, 77-79, 100-101, 108-09, 133

5.   God, continued; Oneness; “To be is to stand for”
Existing in the mind of God; God as unity; Faith and Reason (continued); Mindfulness
Text:     MINA, 111-12, 116-23, 126-31, 144-46
             Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness, 1-6, 44-49

6. Life
What is the meaning of human life? Man’s needs and God’s.
Text: MINA 179-81, 186, 188, 192, 204-15, 219-21, 224-25

7.   Religion
The function of religion. Group memory. Faith v. Dogma.   How to live in this world?
Text:     MINA, 68-69,161-64, 169-71, 175-76

8. Judaism
Judaism as recognizing God’s needs. Fanning discontent. Needs as opportunities. Flesh and spirit.
Text: MINA, 241-45, 257-65; 270-71