Was Abraham Joshua Heschel A Neo-Hasidic Jew?

Year 2020, Volume: 9 Issue: 3, 2592 - 2716, 30.09.2020

Ismaıl Basaran

https://doi.org/10.15869/itobiad.728929

Cited By: 1

Abstract

Abraham Joshua Heschel (d. 1972) was born in Warsaw, Poland, the heart of the Hasidic world, and belonged to the zaddikim family. Heschel witnessed the spiritual wealth of Hasidism during his life in his country, on the other hand, he was also aware of the shortages of Hasidism. His family wanted Herschel to be rebbe, but he left Warsaw at a young age and moved to Vilna for education and then to Berlin. Although Herschel never lived in a Hasidic society again, except for Warsaw, nevertheless, the influence of Hasidism can be seen in almost all his works. It is believed that Heschel left the Hasidic society due to intellectual blindness, but it is possible to say that, although he was criticized by some, he tried to stick to the teachings of Hasidism throughout his life. However, Herschel, unlike classical Hasidism, appears to have developed his own neo-Hasidism in an atmosphere of modern American Judaism. In our study, also considering that Herschel is a philosopher and theologist, his neo-Hasidic style and the language he used, will be emphasized.

Keywords

Heschel, neo-Hasidic, Jewish, America, Philosopher, Mistic

Abraham Joshua Heschel Neo- Hasidik Bir Yahudi miydi?

Abstract

Abraham Joshua Heschel (ö. 1972), Hasidik dünyanın kalbi olan Polonya’nın Varşova şehrinde dünyaya gelmiştir ve aileden zaddikim sülalesine aittir. Heschel, memleketinde yaşadığı süre zarfında Hasidizm’in manevi zenginliklerine şahit olmuş, diğer taraftan da Hasidizm’in eksikliklerinin de farkında olmuştur. Ailesi Heschel’in rebbe olmasını istemiş fakat o, genç yaşta Varşova’dan ayrılarak eğitim için önce Vilna, oradan da Berlin’e geçmiştir. Heschel, Varşova dışında bir daha asla Hasidik bir toplumda yaşamamış olsa da, yine de onun yazdığı neredeyse tüm eserlerde Hasidizm’in etkisi görülmektedir. Heschel’in, Hasidik toplumu entelektüel körlük nedeniyle terk ettiği düşünülmektedir, fakat onun, bazıları tarafından eleştirilse de, yine de hayatı boyunca Hasidiliğin öğretilerine bağlı kalmaya çalıştığını söylemek mümkündür. Ancak Heschel, klasik Hasidizm’den farklı olarak modern Amerikan Yahudiliği atmosferinde kendine ait bir neo-Hasidizm geliştirdiği görülmektedir. Çalışmamızda, aynı zamanda Heschel’in bir filozof ve teolog olması da göz önüne alınarak, onun neo-Hasidik üslubu ve dili üzerinde durulacaktır.  

Keywords

Heschel, neo-Hasidik, Yahudi, Amerika, Filozof, Mistik

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