Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Life of Radical Amazement

By Julian Zelizer, professor of history

Published Nov. 18, 2021

In 1965, Polish-born American rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in the famous Selma civil rights march, saying that his “legs were praying.” In the new biography Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Life of Radical Amazement (Yale University Press), Zelizer underscores Herschel’s role in uniting progressive Jewish politics with civil rights advocacy in mid-twentieth century America.