Sabbath and Leisure as Remedy for Modernity: A Dialogue Between Abraham Joshua Heschel and Josef Pieper

Elliott Jones, Boston College '26, will speak on his recently completed year-long research project “Sabbath and Leisure as Remedy for Modernity: A Comparative Study Between Abraham Joshua Heschel and Josef Pieper” as part of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning’s Student Fellowship Program.

In modern Western culture, there is much angst and disparagement of the value of work. Two 20th-century religious thinkers at the forefront of solving this angst over work are Abraham Joshua Heschel and Joseph Pieper. Drawing from their religious traditions in the aftermath of World War II, each thinker argues against the reductive and exploitative nature of work in modern society. This interreligious dialogue gives voice to the perspectives of two modern religious thinkers who were never able to engage in conversation.