From Warsaw to Selma: The Complicated Life of Abraham Joshua Heschel

One of the most complex characters of the 20th century, Abraham J. Heschel's (1907-1972) life experience in many ways mirrored the Jewish search for identity in modern times. Born into an aristocratic Polish chassidic family, he shifted over to academic studies in Berlin. Escaping the Nazi regime, he settled in the United States, eventually receiving a position in the Jewish Theological Seminary. 

He lectured and wrote on Jewish mysticism, philosophy and chassidic thought. Leaving the ivory tower in his later years, he became an activist in the Civil Rights Movement alongside Martin Luther King Jr. In all probability, Heschel has the distinction of being the only one to have marched in both the Rabbi's march on Washington in 1943, as well as the third Selma Civil Rights march in Alabama in 1965.

 

Subscribe To Our Podcast on:

 

PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/

 

Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites

You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com