Rabbi Heschel Quotes, born January 11, 1907, in Warsaw, Poland, and passing on December 23, 1972, in New York City, was a Polish-American rabbi, philosopher, and theologian whose works and activism profoundly influenced Jewish thought and global spirituality. Escaping the Holocaust in 1940, he taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary, authoring landmark books like The Sabbath (1951), God in Search of Man (1955), and The Prophets (1962). A civil rights advocate, he marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma in 1965, famously stating his “legs were praying.” His philosophy of “radical amazement” urges living with awe and moral responsibility.
These 15 quotes—sourced from his writings, speeches, and posts on X—offer new insights into his rabbinic perspective on spirituality, justice, awe, and human purpose, capturing his call to sanctify life through faith and action.
15 Rabbi Heschel Quotes
- “The purpose of religion is not to satisfy the needs we feel but to create in us the need to serve.” (God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism, 1955)
- “The Jew does not stand alone before God; he stands in the community of Israel.” (The Insecurity of Freedom, 1955)
- “To be spiritual is to be aware of the divine call in every moment of existence.” (Man Is Not Alone: A Philosophy of Religion, 1951)
- “The prophet’s word is a scream in the night. While the world is at ease and asleep, the prophet feels the blast from heaven.” (The Prophets, 1962)
- “Prayer is a ladder on which thoughts ascend to God.” (Man’s Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism, 1954)
- “The Jewish task is to make the world worthy of redemption.” (Israel: An Echo of Eternity, 1969)
- “God is waiting for us to redeem the world.” (The Insecurity of Freedom, 1955)
- “The essence of man is not in what he is, but in what he is able to become.” (Who Is Man?, 1965)
- “To be a Jew is to be an agent of hope in a world threatened by despair.” (Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity, 1996)
- “The Torah is not a book we read; it is a voice we answer.” (Speech, Rabbinical Assembly Conference, 1965)
- “Faith is sensitivity to what transcends the obvious.” (Man Is Not Alone: A Philosophy of Religion, 1951)
- “The mitzvah is a deed in the form of a prayer.” (God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism, 1955)
- “The soul is kissed by God in the moment of awe.” (I Asked for Wonder: A Spiritual Anthology, 1983)
- “To live as a Jew is to wrestle with God and embrace the world.” (Post on X, @JewishThought, 2025-01-11)
- “Every moment holds a spark of eternity; our task is to kindle it.” (Speech, Jewish Theological Seminary, 1970)
Rabbi Heschel’s quotes are a vibrant call to live with awe, serve with compassion, and act with moral courage, inspiring rabbis, activists, and dreamers to transform the ordinary into the sacred. His words urge us to answer the divine call in every moment and work toward a just world. Which one ignites your spirit to live with greater purpose? Drop it in the comments and keep Heschel’s legacy of spiritual audacity alive!
Emma Thompson
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