Abraham Joshua Heschel (January 11, 1907 ~ December 23, 1972)

Abraham Joshua Heschel was the youngest of six children born to Moshe Mordechai and Reizel Perlow Heschel in Poland. Both parents were descended from well-known rabbis. Heschel studied for his rabbinical ordination and pursued his doctorate at the University of Berlin.
In 1938, while living in Frankfurt, Germany, he was arrested by the Gestapo and sent back to Poland. He taught at the Warsaw Institute for Jewish Studies for a few months. Six weeks before the German invasion of Poland, Heschel escaped to London. His mother and sibling were killed by the Nazi’s during the War. His father had died when Heschel was a young boy.

In 1940, Heschel moved to the United States. He initially took a position at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. Six years later he accepted a position at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he remained until his death in 1972.

Heschel was very active in the American Civil Rights movement, fighting for equal rights for African-Americans. He marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition, Heschel was active in fighting against America’s involvement in the war in Vietnam.

Heschel wrote many scholar books on theology and Judaism. His most well know works include, The Prophets, which examines the biblical prophets; The Sabbath; and G~d in Search of Man.

He represented American Jews at the Vatican Council II, and persuaded the Catholic Church to modify its liturgy that demeaned the Jews.