Interfaith Activism: Abraham Joshua Heschel and Religious Diversity

Abraham Joshua Heschel was the towering religious figure of American Jewry in the twentieth century. In Interfaith Activism, Harold Kasimow, who is known for his work on Heschel and on interfaith dialogue between Jews and members of other faiths, presents a selection of his essays on Heschel's thought. Topics include Heschel's perspective on the different religious traditions, Heschel's three pathways to God, his deep friendship with Maurice Friedman and Martin Luther King Jr., and his surprising affinity to the great Hindu Vedantist Swami Vivekananda and to Pope Francis. A new essay examines Heschel's struggle with the Holocaust. Since the late 1950s, when Kasimow was Heschel's student, he has wrestled with Heschel's claim that ""in this eon, diversity of religions is the will of God"" and Heschel's belief that there must be dialogue ""between the river Jordan and the River Ganges."" FOR THE BACK COVER: ""In this original book of essays, Harold Kasimow provides an intimate portrait of Abraham Joshua Heschel's prophetic commitment to interreligious dialogue, nonviolence, social justice, and the power of faith to transform the heart. . . . A truly important book, not to be missed."" --Beverly Lanzetta, Theologian, Spiritual Teacher ""Kasimow is one of the most creative and inspiring disciples of Heschel. . . . He is at home not only in his own Jewish tradition but also with the Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, and Muslim traditions--quite an unusual phenomenon in our polarized and conflicted world."" --Stanislaw Obirek, American Studies Center, University of Warsaw ""Anyone who is interested in the powerful voice of Heschel will be interested in Kasimow's book. Interfaith Activism . . . collects his published essays about Heschel over the last dozen years. Who could resist reading Kasimow's arrangement of Heschel's core ideas that focus on religious diversity as the will of God and on social activism as our way of implementing that will?"" --Kenneth P. Kramer, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, San Jose State University ""Kasimow, with his ideal and intimate acquaintance with the whole of Heschel's thought, does not hesitate to touch upon difficult and disputed questions, such as Heschel's struggle with God's role during the Holocaust. He also highlights Heschel's unique contribution to the Catholic-Jewish dialogues that led to the Second Vatican Council's revolutionary document Nostra Aetate: Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions."" --Shoshona Ronen, Chair of Hebrew Studies at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, Warsaw University INSIDE TEXT VERSION: ""In this original book of essays, Harold Kasimow provides an intimate portrait of Abraham Joshua Heschel's prophetic commitment to interreligious dialogue, nonviolence, social justice, and the power of faith to transform the heart. A former student of Heschel, Kasimow covers unexplored themes in Heschel scholarship: including Heschel's unique view of revelation, religious pluralism, and the Holocaust; his friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr., possible influence on Pope Francis, and affinity with the spirituality of Swami Vivekananda. One of the most compelling chapters is 'Spiritual Masters in the Jewish Tradition,' in which Kasimow situates Heschel within the tradition of Jewish saints, emphasizing the holiness of Heschel's earthly sojourn as a 'disclosure of the divine.' A truly important book; not to be missed."" --Beverly Lanzetta, Theologian, Spiritual Teacher ""Harold Kasimow is one of the most creative and inspiring disciples of Abraham Joshua Heschel and, on the issue of religious diversity, he develops and goes beyond the pluralistic intuition of his master who claimed that 'in this eon diversity of religions is the will of God.' Kasimow not only writes meaningfully about other religions but he truly and sincerely encounters them at the deepest level. He is at home not only in his own Jewish tradition but also with the Bud