Uploaded September 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
“In a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible.” A mystic, a 20th-century religious intellectual, a social change agent, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr., famously saying afterwards that he felt his legs were praying. Heschel’s poetic theological writings are still read and widely studied today. His faith was as much about “radical amazement” as it was about certainty. And he embodied the passionate social engagement of the prophets, drawing on wisdom at once provocative and nourishing. We speak with Arnold Eisen, chancellor of Jewish Theological Seminary — where Eisen taught from 1945 until his death in 1972 — about the rabbi’s thought and legacy. (Original Air Date: June 5, 2008)
About the Guest:
Arnold Eisen is chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. His books include “The Jew Within: Self, Family, and Community in America,” “Rethinking Modern Judaism,” and “Conservative Judaism Today and Tomorrow. He also keeps a blog called "On My Mind."
Visit our website to read the transcript, download the episode, or listen to the unedited interview: onbeing.org/programs/arnold-eisen-the-opposite-of-good-is-indifference-sep2017
Visit our On Being Classics Library, where this episode is featured:
onbeing.org/libraries/classics
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On Being with Krista Tippett: onbeing.org/series/podcast
This Movie Changed Me: onbeing.org/series/this-movie-changed-me
Becoming Wise: onbeing.org/series/becoming-wise
Image by Linda A. Cicero / Stanford News Service
“In a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible.” A mystic, a 20th-century religious intellectual, a social change agent, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr., famously saying afterwards that he felt his legs were praying. Heschel’s poetic theological writings are still read and widely studied today. His faith was as much about “radical amazement” as it was about certainty. And he embodied the passionate social engagement of the prophets, drawing on wisdom at once provocative and nourishing. We speak with Arnold Eisen, chancellor of Jewish Theological Seminary — where Eisen taught from 1945 until his death in 1972 — about the rabbi’s thought and legacy. (Original Air Date: June 5, 2008)
About the Guest:
Arnold Eisen is chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. His books include “The Jew Within: Self, Family, and Community in America,” “Rethinking Modern Judaism,” and “Conservative Judaism Today and Tomorrow. He also keeps a blog called "On My Mind."
Visit our website to read the transcript, download the episode, or listen to the unedited interview: onbeing.org/programs/arnold-eisen-the-opposite-of-good-is-indifference-sep2017
Visit our On Being Classics Library, where this episode is featured:
onbeing.org/libraries/classics
STAY IN TOUCH
Facebook: facebook.com/onbeing
Twitter: twitter.com/onbeing
Instagram: instagram.com/onbeing
Newsletter: onbeing.org/newsletter
OUR PODCASTS
On Being with Krista Tippett: onbeing.org/series/podcast
This Movie Changed Me: onbeing.org/series/this-movie-changed-me
Becoming Wise: onbeing.org/series/becoming-wise
Image by Linda A. Cicero / Stanford News Service
