đź“– Review of Abraham J. Heschel's *The Prophets*
In this post I offer a brief chapter-by-chapter review of Rabbi Abraham J. Heschel’s book The Prophets.
Heschel begins, in his introduction with the following statement of the object of his book:
This book is about some of the most disturbing people who have ever lived: the men whose inspiration brought the Bible into being–the men whose image is our refuge in distress, and whose voice and vision sustain our faith.
The Prophets is a book aptly named, for its object is, assuredly, the prophets. Who were they? What set them apart from other men? What was the nature of their message? What was the nature of their relationship with God? With the world? In this book, Heschel explores the prophets, both as a set of men with general characteristics that distinguish them from non-prophets and as unique individuals with unique relationships to their times and to God that distinguish each of them from one another.
Chapter 1 - What Manner of Man is the Prophet?
This first chapter is concerned with distinguishing the prophet from non-prophets. What makes a Biblical prophet? Why have we classically determined that a certain set of Biblical literature is “the prophets,” as opposed to history, wisdom, or legal primarily?
Heschel begins by discussing the prophet’s sensitivity to evil. Of this Hescel concludes:
The prophet is a man who feels fiercely. God has thrust a burden upon his soul, and he is bowed and stunned at man’s fierce greed. Frightful is the agony of man; no human voice can convey its full terror. Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profaned riches of the world. It is a form of living, a crossing point of God and man. God is raging in the prophet’s words.
In other words, the prophet expresses clearly God’s indignation for the evil of humankind. This indignation seems out of proportion with the evil we see in ourselves and day-to-day precisely because evil has limited our sensitivity. The prophet, in his closeness to the heart of God, feels with God’s sensitivity the immensity of evil and therefore feels the immensity of God’s indignation.
The second mark of a prophet is his concern with trivialities; that is, the plight of man is demonstrated through the prophets as the chief concern of God. God is not a God for whom human trivialities and doings hold no importance. Rather, God concerns himself intimately with the wellbeing of mankind, and therefore with the trivialities of day-to-day life. The prophet reflects God’s inclination to the trivial of man which makes up the medium of man’s life.
The third mark of a prophet is his explosivity. The prophet does not create effect through subtlety, nuance, and gentleness. Instead, the prophet is first and above all in agony, and writes in agonizing fashion. Heschel puts it this way:
The prophet is intent on intensifying responsibility, is impatient of excuse, contemptuous of pretense and self-pity. His tone, rarely sweet or caressing, is frequently consoling and disburdening; his words are often slashing, even horrid–designed to shock rather than to edify.
The prophet is concerned with revelation, not contentment.
The fourth mark of the prophet is their unwavering concern for a highest good that stands apart from any human beauty;; the highest good is the Lord himself: His love, His power, His person.
The fifth mark of the prophet is that they speak one octave too high, which is to say that they are aware of, and speak of, realities that are out of reach of common sensory experience. Heschel puts it this way:
The prophet is a human, yet he employs notes one octave too high for our ears. He experiences moments that defy our understanding. He is neither a “singing saint” or “a moralizing poet,” but an assaulter of the mind. Often his words begin to burn where conscience ends.