Beyond the Walls: Abraham Joshua Heschel and Edith Stein on the Significance of Empathy for Jewish-Christian Dialogue

197 Pages·2012·1.01 MB·English

by  Joseph Palmisano

Beyond the Walls
ACADEMY SERIES
SERIES EDITOR
Aaron W. Hughes, University at Buff alo
A Publication Series of
Th e American Academy of Religion
and
Oxford University Press
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THE ETHICS OF ANIMAL
Origen on the Problem of Evil
EXPERIMENTATION
Mark S. M. Scott
A Critical Analysis and Constructive Christian
Proposal BEYOND THE WALLS
Donna Yarri Abraham Joshua Heschel and Edith Stein on the
Signifi cance of Empathy for Jewish-Christian
PAUL IN ISRAEL’S STORY
Dialogue
Self and Community at the Cross
Joseph Redfi eld Palmisano, SJ
John L. Meech
CROSSING THE ETHNIC DIVIDE
Th e Multiethnic Church on a Mission
Kathleen Garces-Foley
Beyond the Walls
Abraham Joshua Heschel and
Edith Stein on the Signifi cance of
Empathy for Jewish-Christian Dialogue
w
Joseph Redfi eld Palmisano, SJ

1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Palmisano, Joseph.
Beyond the walls : Abraham Joshua Heschel and Edith Stein on the signifi cance of empathy for
Jewish-Christian dialogue / Joseph Palmisano.
p. cm. — (Academy series)
ISBN 978-0-19-992502-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-19-992503-2 (ebook) 1. Empathy—Religious
aspects—Judaism. 2. Empathy—Religious aspects—Christianity. 3. Judaism—Relations—Christianity.
4. Christianity and other religions—Judaism. 5. Heschel, Abraham Joshua, 1907–1972. 6. Stein, Edith, Saint,
1891–1942. I. Title.
BJ1286.E47P35 2013
261.2′6—dc23 2012002981
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
Abbreviations ix
Introduction 3
1 . Towards Pathos: Preliminary Considerations 9
Th e Projected Other and the Prophetic Mystical Option 10
Prophetico-Mystical Dialogue: Th e Disclosure of the Divine 12
Towards a Widening of Concern: Th e Context for Divine Pathos 1 5
Th e Prophet’s Th eodicy: A “Robust” and Dialogical
Relationship Between God and the Prophet(s) 16
Th e Meaning of Th is Hour/Versuch einer Deutung 19
Consenting to Love 2 4
2 . Towards a Hermeneutics of Empathy: Mystery, Being, Subjectivity 27
Not Being but Th e Mystery of Being 28
Rahner’s V orgriff : “Experiencing” the Ineff able 29
God the Subject, Man the Object 33
Reprise: A Levinasian Echo in Heschel? 36
3 . Pathos and Sympathy 43
Th e Personalism of Pathos 44
Sympathetic Solidarity 4 7
Towards a Contemporary Prophetic Witness: Sympathy as
Surrender? 4 9
Ways to Know God: Partnering with God and the World 5 1
Sympathy Shaping Pathos: Beyond Surrender through Mutuality 5 3
Neither Self-Abnegation nor Self-Infatuation: Mutuality 5 5
Empathy: “Real Love is Creative of Distinction” 5 6
‘Con-primordiality’: Th e Non-Dissolution of Th e “I” 57
4 . On Empathy 61
Beginnings of Einfühlung : Life in a Jewish Family, Th e Lazaretto 63
Th e Givenness of E infühlung 67
Einfühlung as Con-primordial: Dyadic 68
Empathy’s Dyadic Structure 7 0
( v )
(   vi   ) Contents
Heschel on Empathy 7 1
Empathy’s Dialogical Structure: Trans-subjectivity’s Reprise 72
Empathy’s Intention: Th e Rehumanization of the Other 7 6
5 . A Finite and Eternal Being: Conversion and Carmel 81
Reinach’s Personalism: a New Horizon 81
Stein on Woman: A Comprehensive Sympathy 8 5
Behind the Walls of Carmel: Kenotic Fragments of a Wider,
Pathic Concern 8 7
“If Th e Silence Continues”: Edith Stein’s 1933 Letter to Pope Pius XI 88
Humani Generis Unitas and F inite and Eternal Being : A Hermeneutic
of Contrast 92
Th e Unity and Plurality of Social Life: Th e Positive Anthropology of
Humani Generis Unitas 94
Stein’s Hermeneutic: “I Am Who I Am”—God’s Being-in-Persons 96
6 . Beyond the Walls of Carmel 1 01
A Christology of Anti-Sacrifi ce: Empathy’s Kenosis Towards a Renewed
Jewish-Catholic Solidarity 105
Th e “Science” of Kenosis: Stein’s Phenomenological Christology 108
Towards a “Crucifi ed” Mindfulness 1 10
“Like a Fire Burning”: A H abitus -for-Loving 112
Remembering the Woundedness of the World 113
Beyond the Walls of Carmel 1 14
7 . Stein’s Kenosis: Reimaging Witnessing 121
Th e Kenosis of Caritas 1 22
Embodying Empathy: A Wider Relationality 126
A Metaphor for Stein: Th e “Mandorla” Witness 1 27
Th e smar in Martyr: Witnessing as Remembering 129
Heschel’s Empathic Reprise for Christianity: Kavanah 131
Towards a Conclusion: Empathic Witnessing as Interreligious Dialogue 139
Notes 149
Index 177
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With deep gratitude
to
Prof. John D’Arcy May and Mrs. Margret May
Faculty, Staff and Student community of
Th e Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin
Dr. John Nystrom, Dr. Nadine Linendoll, Dr. Kevin Yao, Dr. Jay Zhu
and the staff of Tufts University Medical Center
Th e Palmisano and Rosarbo Families
Do bhaill Chumann Íosa in Éirinn agus in New England
Is iad mo bhráithre agus mo chairde sa Tiarna iad a dtiomnaím an saothar
seo dóibh mar ní bheadh sé ann ina n-éagmais
I gcuimhne ar an Athair Michael Hurley, SI
festina lente
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ABBREVIATIONS
Works by Abraham Joshua Heschel

MNA Man is Not Alone: A Philosophy of Religion
GSM God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism
Prophets Th e Prophets
WM Who is Man?
Essays Th e Insecurity of Freedom: Essays on Human Existence
MgSa Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity
BGM Between God and Man: An Interpretation of Judaism
MQG Man’s Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism
Poems Th e Ineff able Name of God: Man, Poems
PT A Passion for Truth
IEE Israel: An Echo of Eternity
TMH Heavenly Torah: as Refracted Th rough the Generations ( Torah min
ha-shamayim be-aspaklaria shel ha-dorot )
Works by Emmanuel Levinas

OB Otherwise than Being or Beyond Essence
DF Diffi cult Freedom: Essays on Judaism
NT Nine Talmudic Readings
EN Entre Nous: On-Th inking-of-the-Other
AT Alterity and Transcendence
TI Totality and Infi nity: An Essay on Exteriority
OE On Escape
Works by Jean-Luc Marion

GB God without Being
RG Reduction and Givenness: Investigations of Husserl, Heidegger, and
Phenomenology
ID Th e Idol and Distance: Five Studies
BG Being Given: Toward a Phenomenology of Givenness
PC Prolegomena to Charity
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