Glory in a 20th Century Mystic: Reflection on the Experience of Etty Hillesum (1914-43)

Abstract

This essay explores the roots of the main term for divine glory in the Hebrew Bible, and proposes an understanding of manifestations of God’s glory in terms of signs of the reality of the always-hidden God. It goes on to explore the experience of Etty Hillesum, who as a victim of Nazi oppression in occupied Holland persisted in seeing life as glorious, and refusing to hate her persecutors. Hillesum’s diaries and letters offer glimpses of how glory may be perceived even under conditions of great harshness and misery.