"Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy."
- Abraham Joshua Heschel (January 11, 1907 – December 23, 1972) a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century.
So, I'm sitting here trying to decide whether or not to put up the pictures that came to my mind as I was thinking about this quote. At first my mind thought of pictures of sunshine, forests and morning dew...but then I thought, living/being is a lot more than sunshine, forests and morning dew. My mind starting thinking of starving children in Africa, deformities, violence, war, chronic pain, mental illness, concentration camps...you get the idea. I'm sure there are times in so many people's lives when being and living doesn't seem like a blessing and perhaps feels like the farthest thing from holy. I've just decided I'm not going to put up horrible pictures of suffering amoungst pictures of flowers, loli pops and rainbows - but that's what being is - that's the holy blessing of life. And although I'm not sitting on a bunk in Auschwitz writing this, I would like to timidly say...I agree, I think just to be is a blessing and just to live is holy.
3 comments:
random....i'm reading a book by a. heschel right now called "the prophets." it's an analysis of the old testament ad it is kind of blowing my mind.
his discussion on sacrifice is especially interesting to me.
that sounds interesting, how did you hear about the book?
i was browsing through the religion section of a bookstore that was going under. it just caught my eye. i had no idea who the guy was---but it looked interesting and plus i needed stuff to read at church. church can be boring. heschel is not.
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