Heschel and the Holiness of the Time
by Abraham Heschel
There is a realm of time where the goal is not to have but to be, not to own, but give, not control, but share; not submit, but agree.
Life goes wrong when the control of space, the acquisition of material goods, becomes our only concern.
One of the most remarkable words in the Bible is Cadosch, holy, a word which, more than any other, is representative of mystery and divine majesty.
Well, what would have been the first holy object in the history of the world?
It would have been a mountain? It would have been an altar?
Indeed, it was a singular occasion when the remarkable word kadosh was first used: in the book of Genesis, the end of the creation story.
How extremely significant is the fact that it is applied to time: “And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy”!
There is no reference to any object in space that would have been endowed with the quality of holiness. “
“When the story started there was only one holiness in the world, holiness in time.”
Source: HESCHEL, Abraham Joshua. O Schabat – Seu significado para o homem moderno.
Translation: Joel Moreira, nds
