Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The Rosebud of Passion

Extreme Views

Throughout the ages two extreme views...have most frequently been voiced- one deifying desire, the other vilifying it. There were those who, overwhelmed by the dark power of passion, believed that they sensed in its raving a manifestation of the gods and celebrated its gratification as a sacred ritual. Dionysian orgies, fertility rites, sacred prostitution are extreme examples of a view that subconsciously has never died out.

The exponents of the other extreme, frightened by the destructive power of unbridled passion, have taught man to see ugliness in desire, Satan in the rapture of the flesh. Their advice was to repress the appetites, and their ideal, self-renunciation and asceticism. Some Greeks said: "Passion is a god, Eros"; Buddhists say: "Desire is evil."

To the Jewish mind, being neither enticed nor horrified by the powers of passion, desires are neither benign nor pernicious but, like fire, they do not agree with straw. They should be neither quenched nor supplied with fuel. Rather than worship fire and be consumed by it, we should let a light come out of the flames. Needs are spiritual opportunities.

~I Asked for Wonder by Abraham Joshua Heschel, pages 56-57

14 comments:

noam the preacher said...

Abraham Joshua Heschel....is he a Torah true Jew?

הצעיר שלמה בן רפאל לבית שריקי ס"ט said...

Well, he did admit that he didn't believe in Torah min hashamaim, but besides that he was a great Rav, revolutionary thinker, and heir to the Apter Hassidic dynasty..

Anonymous said...

Heir? Apter heir?
I doubt Apt would be proud.

Chana said...

Where in the world do you have him saying he doesn't believe in Torah min Shamayim? That's totally untrue, as far as I am aware.

Not only was Heschel a Torah-true Jew, but he remains one of the few passionate, inspired and honest seekers of God in our world.

הצעיר שלמה בן רפאל לבית שריקי ס"ט said...

Hm, perhaps I'm confusing the admittance of another Conservative Rabbi, perhaps Luis Ginzburg or Solomon Schechter, with him. In that case I apologize for baseless slander against a great Jewish leader.

...though he was part of the faculty of Hebrew Union College down in Cinci, so he's not "נקי מכל וכל", but I can imagine if noam the preacher, myself or anyone else would want to know more about his opinions regarding Torah min hashamaim, it would be beneficial to read his work, entitled, ironically enough, "Torah min HaShamaim"...

Noam the Preacher said...

I ponder the effects of reading such material,and specifically it's influence on the spiritual psyche.

Chana said...

Noam,

Every word that Heschel writes is dripping with love of God. It is spiritually uplifting and beautiful. Perhaps you ought to read his works; you'll see that is the case.

Noam the Preacher said...

Chana

If he truly loves G-d, why does he not truly love His Torah.
Is there a possibility that the love is narcissism?
I know a guy completely not religous but loves learning. Went to a yeshiva as a teen, got s'micha before he hit 20.
Life runs its course, he lost interest in G-d but still loved his Torah.
Married a non-Jew, house, kids, job, dog and a shas.
Because he loved himself not G-d.

So I ask again, where lies his heart?

הצעיר שלמה בן רפאל לבית שריקי ס"ט said...

Not to butt-in here again : (, but

Chana: The majority of Orthodox Jews don't consider Rabbi Heschel to be a legitimate source of Torah knowledge. They never will. Individuals can be convinced otherwise, but not the group. That premise must be accepted.

Noam: He served G-d in the way that he saw as most true and honest to what Judaism really is. He felt that a lot of the Divine message of Judaism was being weighed down by "over-rabinization", just like the original Avraham Yehoshua Heschel did, and just as the founders of the Hassidic movement did.

Chana said...

Noam,

You haven't provided me with any sources regarding your point. Where do you see Heschel acting against the Torah? I don't see it anywhere in his writing and can't respond to what you are saying since I don't know what you are referring to. For that matter, have you even read his writings?

HaTzair Shlomo,

I don't believe in premises that must be accepted. Something is true or it isn't. As far as I am aware, this denigration of Heschel is false and people should watch how they speak.

Noam the Preacher said...

As I noted, I wouldn't read his books I am narcissist enough not to.
I fear the health of my blemished soul.
Was he not a Reform Rabbi?
Battleground America was within the strong grasp of the reform. Rabbi Heschel may have had the right kavanah but like others capitulated in situations that does not behoove a Torah true Rabbi.
Read this:
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/history/Modern_History/1700-1914/Denominationalism/Conservative.shtml

Chana said...

Noam,

Working at JTS does not make you Conservative. Also, this is the value of history- Conservative & JTS in those days doesn't connote what it does today. Read some of Heschel before making these judgments. And no, he was most certainly not a Reform Rabbi.

Anonymous said...

I have it in the authority of a late leader of Agudah that Rabbi Heschel was a frequent Shabbat visitor at the tisch of his cousin, the Kapiscnitzer Rav (the "ultra-orthodox" Reb Avram Zishe Heschel). When the rebbe noticed his chassidim grumbling about the presence of the professor, he noted that "my cousin,the professor, is a bigger talmid chacham than any of you" and, finished with "don't presume to tell me how to treat my family"

Anonymous said...

The Kapichznitzer wanted his chassidim to repsect Heschel, thats a given, but who says he expected or agreed tat they should learn his books?