Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel

Year 3 Day 51

“It was through our failure that people started to suspect science is a device for exploration; parliaments pulpits for hypocrisy, and religion a pretext for a bad conscience. In the tantalized souls of those who had faith in ideals, suspicion became a dogma and contempt the only solace. Mistaking the abortion of their conscience for intellectual heroism, many thinkers employ clever pens to scold and to scorn the reverence for life, the awe of truth, the loyalty to justice. Man, about to hang himself, discovers it is easier to hang others.”(Man’s Quest for God pgs. 149-150)

“Mistaking the abortion of their conscience for intellectual heroism, many thinkers employ clever pens to scold and to scorn the reverence for life, the awe of truth, the loyalty to justice” is, to me, an apt description by Rabbi Heschel of what is and has been happening in our world today. Abortion comes from the Latin meaning ‘miscarry’ which is defined as ‘the failure of something planned’. We are subjected to the propaganda of people who have failed to live up to what their conscience and the moral conscience of the world. We are witnesses to and victims of so many “clever pens” which scold us when we show “reverence for life”, when we are in “the awe of truth” and exhibit “loyalty to justice”.

Whether it is Elon Musk and his band of anti-semites, his cohorts of authoritarians, or it is Donald Trump and his allies the Heritage Foundation and the Republican Party, or it is ‘the squad’ and their allies the progressives, or it is Hamas and their allies Iran and other terrorists, the use of the propaganda, the use of their “clever pens” have torn apart and deceived ‘the masses’ of what is “reverence for life, the awe of truth, the loyalty to justice”. Unlike the 1930’s when it was Germans who were willing to follow an authoritarian leader, we have peoples from many countries who are eager to follow authoritarianism, believing it will give the people power, certain that ‘their guy/gal’ will be good to and for them.

People who make up these masses are so far down the rabbit hole of deception and mendacity they are unaware of “the abortion of their conscience”, they believe it is heroic to support terrorists, both foreign and domestic. We are in a time where the educated “elites” who make up the Heritage Foundation have created an atmosphere and a way of being that denies freedom to anyone and everyone who is not a member of their group. They have a plan that is an “abortion of their conscience” which they validate by saying it is ‘christian’, they have ‘anointed’ Donald Trump to be their standard bearer in public while in private, their plan is for any and every Republican that wins the Presidency. While the masses believe defeating Trump is the goal, the real goal has to be defeating the lies, the deceptions of authoritarians, in re-awakening the moral consciences of all people, no matter what country, what color, what religion.

The people of Gaza who have followed the terrorists of Hamas, who have not risen up against these people who spend billions on themselves, on their hideouts, on their weapons while the people of Gaza suffer and blame the Israelis, have to share the responsibility of what is happening now. Yes, Netanyahu and his band of far-right zealots who are more interested in power, in shielding themselves from being held responsible for their crimes, who want to be ‘the strongmen’ who will save everyone, we witnessed the massive protests in Israel by a coalition of people who are willing to say NO to the overreach of Netanyahu and his allies. We witness the calling to account of their failure to protect the people of Israel from Hamas’s reign of terror.

The people of this country are also responsible for “the abortion of conscience” that is happening here as well. We, the People, have to stand up and say NO to authoritarianism on the right and the left. We, the People, have to stand up and say NO to these ‘intellectual cowards’ who are denying the “reverence for life, the awe of truth, the loyalty to justice.” One cannot have “reverence for life” and deny equality to any one group, use power to promote an agenda that excludes Jews and Muslims, Catholics and Buddhists, Christians and secular, and/or promote fascism in any and all forms. One cannot have “awe of truth” and say “my way is the only way”, ignore the plight of the poor and the needy, unwelcome the stranger, etc. One cannot have “awe of truth” and only see their ‘side’, their ‘way’, because we say God is truth and God is everything, we all have a word, phrase of God within us and when one of our voices is missing, one of our voices is silenced, truth is unattainable.

We, the People, need to join the Recovery Revolution! We need to begin to heal our Soul Sickness that is so apparent in our actions. We need to live into the Spiritual Principles of recovery, which are universal across all spiritual disciplines; love, truth, loyalty to moral principles, justice, kindness, caring for those who are less fortunate, being forgiving, charity in money and in judgement, being of service, seeing clearly what truly is, living in radical amazement, being accountable and acknowledging our imperfections, etc. We, the People, are capable of this.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am grateful for being alive! I am grateful for the blessings I receive and have received. I am resentment free and forgiving of all, I ask for forgiveness from everyone. I am dedicated to the spiritual principles of living, growing my “reverence for life, awe of truth, loyalty to justice” more each and every day. I can respond YES I AM, to the definition of rich we find in Pirke Avot: one who  wants what they have. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark.