Product Description

Known most widely for his role in the civil rights and peace movements of the 1960s, Abraham Joshua Heschel made major scholarly contributions to the fields of biblical studies, rabbinics, medieval Jewish philosophy, Hasidism, and mysticism. Yet, his most ambitious scholarly achievement, his three-volume study of Rabbinic Judaism, is only now appearing in English. Heschel's great insight is that the world of rabbinic thought can be divided into two types or schools, those of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Ishmael, and that the historic disputes between the two are based on fundamental differences over the nature of revelation and religion. Furthermore, this disagreement constitutes a basic and necessary ongoing polarity within Judaism between immanence and transcendence, mysticism and rationalism, neo-Platonism and Aristotelianism. Heschel then goes on to show how these two fundamental theologies of revelation may be used to interpret a great number of topics central to Judaism.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #165617 in Books
• Published on: 2006-12-01
• Original language: Hebrew
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 814 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780826418920
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Heschel (1907-72), a distinguished religious philosopher, is best known for his theological writings. Heavenly Torah was written originally in Hebrew, and this is the first English translation, compiled and readied for publication by Rabbi David Feldman after Heschel's death. Heschel describes the views of the schools of Rabbi Ishmael and Rabbi Akiva on a multitude of subjects involving rabbinic Judaism and then leaves the choice to readers. The subjects include the nature of the Torah, miracles, the sacrificial system in the temple, human suffering, the commands to love God, Torah versus livelihood, and the issue of theological language. Other topics include the idea that Moses ascended to heaven, Moses' prophecy, God's descent to Earth, and the book of Deuteronomy. The final five chapters deal with the attitude toward Halakhah, its authority, and its susceptibility to modification and development. This is an ambitious work of tremendous significance, an indispensable guide to understanding the Torah and--consequently--the Jewish religion. Not simply for large religious collections but for any with active borrowers. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"'This is a splendid translation of a pivotal work. Tucker and Levin make the intricacies of Heschel's thoughts understandable to the reader.' Shamash Book of the Month, July 2006 'The translators have skilfully transformed Heschel's complex study of the doctrine of "Devine revelation," into an accessible text for students and scholars alike. The translation itself is clear and avoids archaic renditions of difficult texts. Importantly, the translators are careful to remain faithful to Heschel's original Hebrew work."

About the Author
Gordon Tucker is senior rabbi of Temple Israel Center in White Plains, NY, and adjunct assistant professor of Jewish philosophy at Jewish Theological Center, New York. He is the editor and translator of Heavenly Torah as Refracted through the Generations by Abraham Joshua Heschel.

Customer Reviews

A classic work finally available in English
This classic work by A. J. Heschel was originally only available in three Hebrew volumes (1962, 1965, Soncino Press, and a post-humous 1992 JTS Press volume.) It is an original and well researched study of classical rabbinic theology, exploring the views of the rabbis in the Mishnah and Talmud about the nature of Torah, the revelation of God to mankind, prophecy, and the ways that Jews have used scriptural exegesis to expand and understand these core Jewish texts.

Heschel sees the ideas of second century sages Rabbis Akiva and Ishmael as paradigms for the two dominant worldviews in Jewish theology. According to professor Or N. Rose, "Akiva is characterized as an esoteric thinker, who believes that every marking in the text of the Torah...is fraught with meaning. Through his imaginative and poetic readings of the Bible, Akiva develops a theology of immanence, believing that God is actively involved in creation and that He longs to be in relationship with human beings, identifying so closely with them that He actually participates in their joy and sorrow (God in Search of Man is the title of Heschel's major work of constructive theology). In contrast, Ishmael is depicted as a more austere rational thinker, who believes that the Torah was written in the "language of human beings," and that one need not engage in fanciful exegetical play to understand its teachings. Theologically, Ishmael speaks of a God of transcendence: a divine being who reigns from above and who requires nothing of His creations. For Ishmael, the notion that God is affected by human action violates his understanding of divine perfection. In his view, Torah is a heavenly gift given to humanity so that they might learn something of God's mysterious ways."

Prof. Rose also writes that "Not only is this English version a lucid and thoughtful reworking of the original text, but Tucker and Levin even manage to introduce into their translation a measure of the poeticism readers have come to expect of Heschel. The various introductions, notes, and other scholarly apparatus are also very helpful in unpacking and contextualizing Heschel's arguments and the many rabbinic sources that serve as the basis for his presentation."

More than a translation
The original "Torah min Hashamayim b'Aspaklaria shel Hadorot" was a Heschel masterpiece; its style of writing was, for lack of a better term, "high-rabbinic-esoteric", and its accessability was therefor somewhat limited. The translator's notes point out many of Heschel's literary tricks which would otherwise be lost to the English reader. Other on-the-page annotations provide excellent background into issues and ideas which Heschel relies upon after assuming that the reader is highly literate in rabbinic scholarship at the "rosh-yeshivah" level. To those who have not yet reached such level, this work is a wonderful addition to a library of basic rabbinic thought. As a scholarly work it proves that Heschel was first and foremost a great rabbi.

An important Sefer
This work is the translation of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel's classical work of Biblical exegesis. It is ably translated from the Hebrew by Gordon Tucker and Leonard Levin. Each section of the work contains a translator's introduction,and there is an overall introduction to the volume by Heschel's daughter Susannah Heschel.Among the subjects debated by Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Ishmael in the work are miracles, beholding the face of God, the Torah that is Heaven, Moses Ascent to Heaven, The Descent of the Divine Glory, Torah from Heaven, the Sectarians,Moses did things on is own authority, Two methos of understanding 'Thus says the Lord', Is it possible that it was on his Own say so, The book of Deuternomy, Is the Prophet a Partner or a Vessel, See how great was Moses power, Moses prophecy, How the Torah was written,Lost books, Renewal of Torah, It is Not in the Heavens, Both these and these are the words of the living God, Against Multiplying Rules, Stringencies and Leniences, et al.
The principle of debate and argument is the moving spirit of the work.
The book is richly annotated .It is filled with telling citations from Gemara and Midrash.
This is a book which all who care for Jewish learning will wish to have in their libraries.