Heschel—knowing how fragile, forgetful, and fearful human beings could be—trusted the inner voice less. His outlook was tempered by escape from a world where piety did not save the pious and learning did not humanize the learned. Heschel was once walking to synagogue on the Upper West Side when a man stopped him to say he never attended services.
“I’m a good person,” the man explained. “I try my best; I don’t need prayer or God.”
Heschel smiled. “How I envy you,” he said. “I’m always saying the wrong thing, wounding those I love, forgetting to offer a kind or gentle word. I need synagogue.”
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