Abraham Joshua Heschel

Date of Birth: January 11, 1907

Place of Birth: Warsaw, Poland

Date of Death: December 23, 1972

Place of Death: New York City, New York, U.S.

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Abraham Joshua Heschel was an American rabbi. He was one of the leading Jewish theologians and philosophers of the 20th century. He authored a number of widely read books on Jewish philosophy. He was also a civil rights activist.

Abraham was the son of Rivka/Reizel (Perlow) and Grand Rabbi Moshe Mordehai Heschel. His father was born in Medzhybizh, Letychivs’kyi district, Khmel’nyts’ka oblast, Ukraine. He was descended from many rabbis on both sides of his family.

He was married to concert pianist Sylvia Straus. Their daughter is scholar and professor Susannah Heschel.

Abraham was the great-great-great-grandson of Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heshel, who was born, c. 1748, in Żmigród, Trzebnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. He was the founder of the Mezhbizh/Zinkover rabbinic dynasty. He was Abraham’s ancestor twice over.

Abraham’s paternal grandfather was Avraham Yehoshua Heschel (the son of Grand Rabbi Meshullam/Meshulam Zusia/Zusya/Zishe Heschel and Sima Heschel). Rabbi Meshulam was born in Zin’kov, Ukraine, the son of Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Heschel and Mirel Strauss. Sima was the daughter of Yisroel of Savaran and Vitta Feiga Gitterman.

Abraham’s paternal grandmother was Leah Rochel/Rachel Friedman (the daughter of Shalom Yosef Friedman and Bluma Reizel/Raizel Yungerleib). Shalom was born in Ruzhin, Ukraine, the son of Rabbi Israel Friedman, 1st Ruzhiner Rebbe, and of Rbzn Sarah Bat Moshe HaLevi. Bluma was born in Russia, the daughter of Dan Yungerlieb, of Radwill, and of Yocheved Heschel.

Abraham’s maternal grandfather was Rabbi Yaakov/Jacob Perlow (the son of Rabbi Shimon Katzenellenbogen/Katzenelenbogen/Perlow and Sarah Dvora/Deborah Perlow). Rabbi Shimon was the son of Rabbi Pinchas Katzenellenbogen, of Ustilug. Sarah was the daughter of Rabbi Solomon Haim Perlow, of Koidanov, and of a woman surnamed Zussman.

Abraham’s maternal grandmother was Chaya/Chava Pearl/Perel Liebersohn/Liberson (the daughter of Rabbi Aryeh Yehuda Leibush Liebersohn and Machla Derbarmdiker). Chava was born in Moldova. Rabbi Aryeh was the son of Elyakim Getzel Liebersohn and Yenta Liebersohn M’Berditchev, the daughter of Rabbi Yosef Rabinowitz Isod (Yungerlieb), of Yampil. Machla was the daughter of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Derbaremdiker and Hana Feiga.

Sources: Genealogy of Abraham Joshua Heschel – https://www.geni.com

4 Responses

  1. jackson9 says:

    Moldova Jewish tag. I forgot that.

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