A Witness to the Existence of God: Music in the Work of Abraham J. Heschel

Judaism, Fall, 2000 by Michael Heymel

Taking up an insight of Bonhoeffer, music belongs according to Heschel in the realm of the penultimate rather than the ultimate. It can only refer to that which is greater than itself, in that it brings adoration of the heart together with the words of the liturgy. It can only speak for the Highest. Its function is to prove that God, the voice of Sinai, exists. Let us listen again to Heschel: "There are hardly proofs for the existence of God, but there are witnesses. Foremost among them are the Bible and music. Our liturgy is a moment in which these two witnesses come to expression" (VC 250).

A Protestant might be reminded of Luther's dictum, in which he gives "music, after theology, the next place and highest honor." [8] Theology in Luther's sense is based on the word which touches the heart. This is the reason he can also say that, next to the holy word of God, "there exists nothing so fitting and worthy of praise as music." [9]

Heschel's explication of the position of the cantor is to be read as a deep theological tribute to music. This theology does not concern itself with what people believe (the content of faith), but rather with the process of faith, the inner experience that forms the heart of religious existence. [10] Heschel's interest is directed toward the ways in which music, and specifically song, can become a medium of worship. His approach to music is thoroughly religious, i.e., it is determined through each stance, which Heschel indicates elsewhere as "reference to the supreme miracle" (GM 49) of all reality.

In this way Heschel shares the approach of the mystical view of music in Judaism that "human praise...brings to the highest level of knowing God." [11] Music is an avenue of communication with God, an expression which makes worship audible to Him. In accordance with Hasidic tradition, Heschel does not attribute this potential only to singing. Great music generally, as well as instrumental music, can be a form of worship, in so far as it grows out of the consciousness of the mystery of life. [12] Heschel also places the human voice in the center of his esteem for music. The human voice is suited to genuine prayer like no other instrument. In song, the human being goes beyond what can be said, and if the singer approaches the holy word with humility, then song is capable of creating an atmosphere of worship.

Musical Metaphors for Religious Life

Fritz A. Rothschild noted that Heschel views reality as a continual process. Forhim, reality is not a fixed state of order or a sculpture, but rather a symphony. [13] To what extent? Only in the process of its actual performance--in which both the performers and the audience have a part--does a musical work truly exist. It is only at the end of this event that the participants are able to grasp the symphony as a purposefully structured whole. Its meaning remains hidden to those who do not truly engage themselves in the experience. The metaphor of the symphony allows us to perceive reality, so to speak, musically, as an event in time, which cannot be grasped without the corresponding engagement of the participants.