Learning Resources: “My Legs Were Praying”
The Miller Center for Interreligious Learning and Leadership is thrilled to release this suite of learning resources to accompany “My Legs Were Praying,” the inspiring new biography of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel written for a teen audience by Rabbi Or Rose. These resources, developed by Hebrew College rabbinical student Risa Dunbar, include a chapter-by-chapter reading guide, and engaging, adaptable lesson plans oriented by theme: Prayer and Social Justice, Theology and Human Responsibility, Memory and Legacy, the Prophets, and Shabbat. Whether you’re an educator, book club leader, or independent learner, these materials offer flexible pathways to explore the life and work of this foundational 20th century Jewish scholar and thinker. Dive in and discover how Heschel’s teachings can spark meaningful conversation, personal growth, and collective action.
MY LEGS WERE PRAYING
A Biography of Abraham Joshua Heschel
by Rabbi Or N. Rose with Dov Peretz Elkins
Foreword by Susannah Heschel
2025, Monkfish Publishing Company
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (of blessed memory) was not only one of the most profound Jewish thinkers of the 20th century but also a courageous advocate for human dignity. His life’s work reminds us that our religious and ethical commitments must be lived out through our deeds. From his social justice work, to his groundbreaking writings on prayer, the Sabbath, and the prophets, Heschel’s legacy offers timeless lessons for our world today.
Through biographical, historical, and intellectual exploration—including many quotations from Heschel’s stirring poetry and prose — and 25 black-and-white photographs – My Legs Were Praying surveys his journey from Eastern Europe to the front lines of the American civil rights movement. It also includes beautiful reflections from Professor Dr. Susannah Heschel (his daughter), Ambassador Suzann Johnson Cook, and several of Heschel’s students. This biography aims to inspire students, congregants, and community members to reflect on their own roles in building a more compassionate and just society.
Reading and Discussion Guide
This discussion guide can be used as a collection of questions for personal reflection and writing, or as an educational tool to accompany and facilitate meaningful engagement and discussion while reading the book “My Legs Were Praying” in a social book club or classroom setting. The guide can be used for the entire book, a section, or even a single chapter. We hope that it will facilitate thoughtful reflection and connective conversation, and that in learning about this influential thinker and how he lived his values, we will feel inspired and empowered to live out our own.
Download discussion guideLesson Plan: Prayer and Social Justice "My Legs Were Praying"
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel believed that authentic Jewish prayer must lead to moral action, and that social justice work is itself a form of spiritual expression. For Heschel, prayer and protest are not separate realms, but deeply interconnected expressions of awe, compassion, and responsibility before/toward G!d and humanity.
Download lesson planLesson Plan: Theology and Human Responsibility "All We Own, We Owe"
Heschel provides a framework of understanding the Divine as an Omnipresent, eternally compassionate force beyond the “I”, and a Presence that seeks relationship with Humankind. This implicates humans as partners who are tasked with the responsibility of raising our awareness to see the inherently wondrous state of existing in the world, and the responsibility of co-creating the reality that we wish to see.
Download lesson planLesson Plan: Heschel's Vision of the Prophets “The Prophet is a Person who Feels Fiercely”
The Prophet is the warning bell for society, pushing the people and the structures of the society in which they live toward more justice, ethical behavior, and interpersonal empathy. Heschel admires the Prophets, understanding their core teaching as prompters and urgers of involvement, and responding to worldly suffering. He provides a framework of understanding the Prophets as “feelers”, and moral characters. He sought to emulate them life by being involved in repairing the causes of suffering in the world.
Download lesson planLesson Plan: Legacy and Memory “Recollection is a Holy Act”
Specific memories of home and family (in addition to the cultural concept of memory itself) gave Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel a sense of meaning and connection. They also provided him with values that implicated his behavior in the present moment.
Download lesson planLesson Plan: Shabbat "A Palace in Time"
Heschel provides a framework of understanding Shabbat as a “palace in time” – a day of “soul as well as the body”, where the hustle and bustle of the workweek is put aside and holiness takes precedence.
Download lesson planAbout the Authors
Book: Rabbi Or Rose, founding Director of The Miller Center of Hebrew College, serves as a senior consultant to Interfaith America. Among his recent publications is the award-winning, co-edited volume With the Best of Intentions: Interreligious Missteps & Mistakes (Orbis Books), and My Legs Were Praying: A Biography of Abraham Joshua Heschel (Monkfish Book Publishing) for teen and young adult readers.
Resources: Risa Dunbar is a fifth-year rabbinical student at Hebrew College. She has served in a variety of Jewish education, ritual, justice, and leadership roles at places such as the Hebrew College Teen Beit Midrash, Camp Ramah in Northern California, Lehrhaus: A Jewish Tavern and House of Learning, BBYO, The New Israel Fund, Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, The Southwest Orlando Jewish Center, and as the rabbinic intern and Scholar-in-Residence at Ohav Shalom in Albany, NY. She serves as Rabbinic Intern to the Jewish Association and Chaplain’s Office at Williams College and as a Teacher’s Assistant in Hasidut at Hebrew College Rabbinical School. Risa holds a BA from Brandeis University with a major in Anthropology, and minors in Near Eastern and Jewish Studies and Creative Writing. Her writing has been featured in Gashmius Magazine, the “70 Faces” blog for Hebrew College, and will be published in the forthcoming anthology from Panui Press “Returning Higher: Hasidic Inspiration for the High Holiday Journey.”
Speaking Torah Ep #27: My Legs Were Praying
Listen to Risa and Or discuss My Legs Were Praying, and the life, times, and legacy of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, on this recent episode of Hebrew College’s podcast, Speaking Torah.
>> LISTEN NOW