Parshat Re'eh and Heschel’s Radical Amazement

Leann Shamash
Aug 20
5 min read

Updated: Aug 21

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A few years ago my husband and I took to the roads of Arizona for a road trip. I had done minimal trip research, so as we passed from the high plains and made the curving descent towards Sedona I had no idea of what Sedona looked like, perhaps imagining it be a golden desert golf location, so I wasn’t prepared for my first glimpse of the red carved mountains that greeted us as we approached the town at sunset. The sight of those mountains against the fading blue sky took my breath away. I had never experienced something quite so majestic. The juxtaposition of the clouds and the sculpted towers of the mountains were truly bewitching. Perhaps this was what Abraham Joshua Heschel meant when he wrote about the concept of Radical Amazement.

The late Abraham Joshua Heschel was well known as a rabbi, author, philosopher and activist. As an amateur photographer, one of his quotes about Radical Amazement is included in my artist statement on my photography website and I know that his words have inspired people far and wide.

If you are not already familiar with Heschel, here are some quotes that help us understand his message of being super tuned to the wonders surrounding us.

“Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. ....get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.”

Abraham Joshua Heschel, Prayer and Radical Amazement

“I would say about individuals, An Individual dies when they cease to to be surprised. I am surprised every morning when I see the sunshine again. When I see an act of evil I don't accomodate, I don't accomodate myself to the violence that goes on everywhere. I am still so surprised! That is why I am against it. We must learn to be surprised.” ― Abraham Joshua Heschel

“Never once in my life did I ask God for success or wisdom or power or fame. I asked for wonder, and he gave it to me.” ― Abraham Joshua Heschel

A quick completion to this little Sedona story. During our three days in Sedona we encountered those color drenched mountains as we toured. After driving around and hiking a bit, I had already lost that indescribable feeling of radical wonder. This was not a bad thing, rather there is only one first time when our eyes view something new and learn how to process its beauty. I wonder though, is Radical Amazement slowly reduced to amazement and then wonder and eventually becoming a backdrop in our surroundings?

Heschel's words of radical amazement are particularly pertinent this week in Parshat Re'eh, where the parsha opens with Gd asking the Israelites to see the blessings and the curses and then to choose the blessings. This post is not a travel promo for Sedona, but serves as an introduction to a series of questions that I wonder about when it comes to the concept of Radical Amazement. I share these questions with you to consider as we approach Shabbat and the reading of this parsha of seeing. As always, I invite your feedback, whether it is an image of something you have found amazing or your own story of a moment of Radical Amazement.

Some questions:

Heschel includes the word radical in his description of amazement. What if the word radical was removed? Would the single word amazement suffice to describe this type of experience? What does the word radical add to the concept of Amazement? Would we have the same reaction if Heschel had chosen a different word, such as staggering amazement or incomparable amazement?

How does seeing the world through eyes of radical amazement lead to changes in our actions? Does it lead to a change of behavior or does it get stored in our memory banks, recalled when a photo montage pops up in our phone's photo memories? Is our reaction to seeing the amazing enough?

We often learn in Torah about hearing. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks writes about this, saying that the word Shema appears 96 times just in the book of Devarim and the Shema, our touchstone prayer that begins with the word Listen. What about sound? Is the impact of thunder as powerful as the sight of lightning? Is the sound of a baby's laugh as powerful as seeing a baby? Can seeing and hearing be compared in terms of their ability to amaze us? And what about other things that we see less in torah, such as the ability to taste, to move, to feel? Can these other modalities bring about the experience of radical amazement?

Last, how much does radical amazement depend upon the viewer? Does a person have to live in the conditions to provide her with the ability to appreciate with radical amazement?

Do mood and circumstance improve this ability? Perhaps that is why Heschel prayed for the ability to see the wondrous around him.

For Jews, are the blessings that we say over seeing wondrous sights the rabbi's answers to Heschel's concept? Are the blessings that we say, even over more mundane acts, a way to create these moments of amazement, if not radical amazement?

These are my questions for you today, the questions of someone who is not a philosopher, but someone who values Heschel's ideas At the very least, I hope you approach this parsha of seeing, by recalling something you witnessed that caused you radical amazement. Perhaps you will carry this phrase with you as you read the remainder of this parsha and use it as a guiding path to extraordinary moments? After all, to see is just the first word of Parshat Re'eh. It is merely the gateway on the path to learning.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom. May we hear better news soon and may we merit to see the world through eyes of radical amazement.

Leann

Some replies to my question...

Seeing the moon when it is just about full and feeling a part of the universe.

Seeing a double rainbow in a busy, bustling noisy hospital and the silence that ensued as people watched the wonder.

Seeing the ocean for the first after growing up in a land locked state and then seeing NYC at night after growing up in a small town.

Giving birth.

Listening to music.

Driving across New Mexico, the magnificence of the land around us made us feel how insignificant we are.

Watching the black gray sky last week with huge ominous rainclouds, lightning that lit the sky and then a pink sky.

At a Young Judaea teenage sleepover, watching a sunrise from the car as we listened to Here Comes the Sun.

The sunset right in our own home every afternoon creates a beautiful reflection of light and colors.

Meeting our grandchildren for the first time.

The stars in the sky while climbing Mount Sinai many years ago.

Parshat Re'eh and Heschel’s Radical Amazement

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