Abraham Joshua Heschel (January 11, 1907-December 23, 1972) was born in Warsaw, Poland, to Moshe Mordechai Heschel and his wife Reizel Perlow, both of whom were descended from rabbis. After receiving rabbinic ordination at the non-denominational Hochshule fur die Wissenscchaft des Judenturns and a doctorate at the University of Berlin, he was deported by the Nazis to Poland, later to immigrate to the United States via a stopover in England. His mother and two sisters were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust
Heschel taught at Hebrew Union College (Reform) in Cincinnati for five years. In 1946 he switched to the Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) in New York, where he was a professor of Jewish ethics and mysticism.
He married Sylvia Strauss in 1946 and their daughter Susannah, now a professor of Jewish studies at Dartmouth College, was born 10 years later.
Heschel was renowned for his support of the Civil Rights Movement, marching with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama. He also was an opponent of the Vietnam War and the author of numerous books.
Tomorrow, January 12: Howard Stern
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