In This Hour: Heschel's Writings in Nazi Germany and London Exile

236 Pages·2019·7.382 MB·English

by  Helen Plotkin, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Stephen Lehmann, Marion Faber, Susannah Heschel

In ThIs hour

“Hesed v’emet al- ya’azvucha— Let not kindness and
truth forsake you” (Proverbs 3:3)
In gratitude to Dr. D. Walter Cohen z”l for his devotion
to knowledge and for his exemplary leadership of and
support for the Jewish Publication Society
— From The JPs Board o F TrusTees
unIversITy o F neBraska Press LInco Ln
I N
T H I S
H O U R
hescheL s WrITIngs In n azI
’
germany and London exILe
Abraham Joshua Heschel
ForeWord By Susannah Heschel
edITed and annoTaTed By Helen Plotkin
TransLaTIons By Stephen Lehmann and Marion Faber
The JeWIsh PuBLI caTIon socIeTy PhILadeLPhIa
© 2019 by Susannah Heschel
All rights reserved. Published by the University of
Nebraska Press as a Jewish Publication Society book.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Names: Heschel, Abraham Joshua, 1907– 1972,
author. | Heschel, Susannah, author of foreword.
| Plotkin, Helen C., editor. | Lehmann, Stephen,
translator. | Faber, Marion, translator.
Title: In this hour: Heschel’s writings in Nazi
Germany and London exile / Abraham Joshua
Heschel; foreword by Susannah Heschel; edited
and annotated by Helen Plotkin; translations
by Stephen Lehmann and Marion Faber.
Description: Lincoln: University of Nebraska
Press, [2019] | “Published by the University of
Nebraska Press as a Jewish Publication Society
book.” | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: Lccn 2018047755
IsBn 9780827613225 (cloth: alk. paper)
IsBn 9780827617988 (epub)
IsBn 9780827617995 (mobi)
IsBn 9780827618251 (pdf)
Subjects: Lcsh: Judaism— 20th century. | Jewish
philosophy— 20th century. | Tannaim— Biography.
| Abravanel, Isaac, 1437– 1508. | Jewish education.
Classification: Lcc Bm580 .h47 2019 |
ddc 296— dc23 Lc record available at
https:// lccn .loc .gov /2018047755.
Set in Questa by Mikala R. Kolander.
Designed by N. Putens.
In this hour we, the living, are “the people of
Israel.” The tasks, begun by our patriarchs and
prophets and continued by their descendants, are
now entrusted to us. We are either the last Jews
or those who will hand over the entire past to
generations to come. We will either forfeit or enrich
the legacy of the ages.
aBraham Joshua hescheL, The Earth Is the Lord’s

CONTENTS
Foreword by Susannah Heschel ..............................xi
Acknowledgments ..............................................xv
Introduction .....................................................xvii
Editor’s Note ..................................................xxxiii
1. London: Jewish Learning in Exile ............................1
Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Idea of Jewish Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Notes for a Lecture on Jewish Education in the Modern Era . . . . . 19
2. Personalities in Jewish History ..............................25
Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Rabbi Gamliel II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Rabbi Akiba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Elisha ben Abuyah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Rabbi Meir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Rabbi Judah Hanasi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Rabbi Hiyya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91