In
God in Search of Man, Heschel discusses the nature of religious thought, how thought becomes faith, and how faith creates responses in the believer. He discusses ways that people can seek God's presence, and the "radical amazement" that we receive in return. He offers a criticism of nature worship; a study of humanity's metaphysical loneliness, and his view that we can consider God to be in search of humanity. Heschel, like his teacher
Martin Buber, stresses the personal relationship between God and mankind, defined by Heschel as the Godly pathos and mankind's radical amazement.
Main topics The first section concludes with a study of
Jews as a chosen people. Section two deals with the idea of
revelation, and what it means for one to be a prophet. This section gives us Heschel's idea of revelation as an event, as opposed to a process. This relates to Israel's commitment to God. Section three discusses his views of how a Jew should understand the nature of Judaism as a religion.
Faith and law Heschel discusses and rejects the idea that mere faith (without law) alone is enough, but then cautions against rabbis he sees as adding too many restrictions to Jewish law. He discusses the need to correlate ritual observance with spirituality and love, the importance of
Kavanah (intention) when performing
mitzvot. He engages in a discussion of religious behaviorism—when people strive for external compliance with the law, yet disregard the importance of inner devotion. ==See also==