About the Book

Abraham Joshua Heschel, descended from a long line of Orthodox rabbis, fled Europe to escape the Nazis. He made the insights of traditional Jewish spirituality come alive for American Jews while speaking out boldly against war and racial injustice.

Heschel brought the fervor of the Hebrew prophets to his role as a public intellectual. He challenged the sensibilities of the modern West, which views science and human reason as sufficient. Only by rediscovering wonder and awe before mysteries that transcend knowledge can we hope to find God again. This God, Heschel says, is not distant but passionately concerned about our lives and human affairs, and asks something of us in return.

This little book, which brings together Heschel’s key insights on a range of topics, will reinvigorate readers of any faith who hunger for wonder and thirst for justice. 

Plough Spiritual Guides briefly introduce the writings of great spiritual voices of the past to new readers.

Book Trailer

Praise

Maintains the poetic cadences and relentless spirit of inquiry that dominated all of Heschel’s work, but distills his lovely and provocative arguments into snack-sized helpings for the seeker on the go. “The world … is crammed with marvel,” Heschel wrote; the same is true of this humble introduction to his work.

Foreword Reviews

Thunder in the Soul compiles Heschel’s writings on a number of topics, from the distressing lack of wonder and awe in modern Western society to the nature of God’s relationship with humans.

Illinois Wesleyan University

Illuminating. . . . Those new to Heschel will appreciate this accessible introduction.

Publishers Weekly

Plough has done a mitzva by publishing this collection of his works, and in a form that honors Heschel’s own subordination of intellectual systemization to the breath of God moving over the human heart... As the book itself explains, “Heschel... challenged the sensibilities of the modern West, which views science and human reason as sufficient. Only by rediscovering wonder and awe before mysteries that transcend knowledge can we hope to find God again.

Scott Beauchamp, Law & Liberty

In this small collection of Heschel's writings from across his life, we get insight into his capacity to hold in balance a life of prayer and serious study of Scripture with prophetic action. The foreword by his daughter Susannah gives a wider perspective on the importance for reading Heschel in these troubled times in which inter-religious dialogue is as important as ever.

The Presbyterian Outlook

Anyone looking for inspiration from the prophets in order to create a more just world will appreciate Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Thunder in the Soul: To Be Known by God.

The Reporter Group, Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton

Tablet of Contents

  1. Every Moment Touches Eternity
  2. The Only Life Worth Living
  3. In the Presence of Mystery
  4. The Prophets Show Us God Cares
  5. God Demands Justice
  6. Modernity Has Forfeited the Spirit
  1. Prayer Is Being Known by God
  2. A Pattern for Living
  3. The Deed Is Wiser than the Heart
  4. Something Is Asked of Us
  5. Faith Is an Act of the Spirit
  6. Not Our Vision of God but God’s Vision of Us
Tags:
Discipleship
Devotional Reading
Bible Studies