A Life of Wonder

I feel very fortunate for stumbling upon this program about Abraham Joshua Heschel from American Public Media. Believe it or not, I was unfamiliar with this luminary before listening to this program he was a name I knew others admired but I did not fully understand why. There is so much I admire about him, especially his sense of humor and the simplicity that he expresses profound concepts.

Heschel reminds us that we must always be surprised. He famous said this:

“I would say about individuals, A Individual dies when they cease to to be surprised. I am surprised every morning when I see the sunshine again. When I see an act of evil I don’t accomodate, I don’t accomodate myself to the violence that goes on everywhere. I am still so surprised! That is why I am against it. We must learn to be surprised.”
— Abraham Joshua Heschel

This program includes an excerpt from his last interview before his death. Lets listen to what he says about prayer:

The Host, Carl Stern, says: “That raises the question, though, if you’re saying if God were to control every aspect of man’s life it would not be living. And that raises the question why pray to God, then? If god is not going to interfere, if God is not going to intervene, if God is not going to help, what is the role of prayer?

Rabbi Heschel: First of all, let us not misunderstand the nature of prayer, particularly in Jewish tradition. The primary purpose of prayer is not to make requests. The primary purpose of prayer is to praise, to sing, to chant. Because the essence of prayer is a song and men cannot live without a song. Prayer may not save us, but prayer may make us worthy of being saved. Prayer is not requesting. There is a partnership of God and men. God needs our help.”

Listening to this program is a reminder to be surprised, to study the world and take action, even small actions, on what you believe to be true.