No Religion Is an Island: Abraham Joshua Heschel and Interreligious Dialogue »

The essays in this book discuss the personality of Abraham Joshua Heschel and assess his message.

Library Journal

The object of this festschrift-like publication is Rabbi Heschel, who was born into the Hasidic tradition of Eastern Europe in 1907 and died, a leader of Conservative Judaism, in New York in 1972. Widely known for his writings and teachings on Jewish philosophy and his involvement with civil rights and political issues, he was respected and loved by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. In the first part of this testimony, an impressive roster of contributors remember Heschel as father, teacher, master, and friend. In Part 2, contributing scholars assess his legacy and its impact. A list of his writing follows. The inquisitive reader, however, searches in vain for an elementary chapter on Heschel's life and a calendar of important events in that life.-- Gerda Haas, Holocaust Human Rights Ctr. of Maine

Foreword Johannes Cardinal Willebrands xi

Foreword Jerzy Kosinski xiii

Preface Harold Kasimow xvii

Preface Byron L. Sherwin xxi

Abbreviations xxv

Part 1 Remembering the Man Abraham Joshua Heschel

1 No Religion Is An Island Abraham Joshua Heschel 3

2 My Father H. Susannah Heschel 23

3 My Master Byron L. Sherwin 42

4 My Teacher Jacob Y. Teshima 63

5 My Friend Daniel Berrigan 68

Part 2 Assessing the Message of Abraham Joshua Heschel

6 Heschel's Prophetic Vision of Religious Pluralism Harold Kasimow 79

7 Heschel's Attitude toward Religious Pluralism John C. Merkle 97

8 Heschel's Impact on Catholic-Jewish Relations Eugene J. Fisher 110

9 Heschel's Significance for Protestants John C. Bennett 124

10 Christian Pietism and Abraham Heschel Fredrick C. Holmgren 135

11 A Muslim's "Dialogue" with Abraham Joshua Heschel Riffat Hassan 151

12 Hindu-Jewish Dialogue and the Thought of Abraham Heschel: At Grassroots and Mountaintop Arvind Sharma 163

13 An Asian Perspective: The Novelty of Heschel's Views on Interreligious Dialogue Antony Fernando 175

14 Heschel's Passion for Justice Kenneth B. Smith 185

Part 3 Bibliography of Books by and about Abraham Joshua Heschel

Bibliography 193

Contributors 203