Heschel held that Jewish rituals are conduciveto awe

Heschel held that Jewish rituals are conduciveto awe. .. For example, orthodox people utter blessings at particular occasions, when they see a rainbow when they notice a fragile blossom, when they need a wise person. These blessings are embodied actions at one perform to mark certain emotional state in response to the environment. The repetition of such ritual practices, our minds and bodies to respond before and wonder to the world around us. buttering a blessing, you become more attuned to how precious and pleading these are. These blessings afford a kind of mystical experience.

— from The Air Traffic Controller (God)

In the book

Begin each morning with gratitude, then, and carry humility as your daily posture, and you will weather skies that would break a pilot who believes the tower is empty. There is an awe waiting for you in this if you will let it in — our rituals exist in no small part to keep that awe alive, to make us stop and bless the ordinary moment before it slips by unnoticed; the very word enthusiasm means, at its root, "filled with God". I wish, more than I know how to say, that I could be sitting beside you as you read this — that I could see your face, and know your hopes, and the shape of the life you are flying. — The Air Traffic Controller (God)

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