Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 2 Day 146
“The fact that we were given knowledge of His will is a sign of some ability to cope with evil. The voice is more than a challenge. It is powerful enough to shake the wilderness of the soul, to strip the ego bare, to flash forth His will like fire.” (God in Search of Man pg. 374-375)
In the last sentence above, I hear Rabbi Heschel challenging us to surrender to “the voice”. “The wilderness of the soul” reminds me of the desert of slavery and the wilderness of Sinai. It was “the voice” that called to Moses, that broke through his fears of returning to Egypt to redeem the people. It was “the voice” that called from Sinai and let the Israelites know they were not alone, there was a solution to not being enslaved anymore. It was “the voice” that was powerful enough to give the people the confidence to not turn back to Egypt, even though they wanted to at times. It was “the voice” that gave the people the joy of knowing they were connected to something greater than themselves. It was “the voice” that inspired them to build the Tabernacle and want God “to dwell among them”.
It is this same “voice” that is calling to us today. “The voice” is shaking our souls to a state of trembling awe and infusing our souls with the courage to override our egos, override our rationalizations, override our wanton desires. It is this “voice” that calls to us each and every day to come home, to be rooted in what is good and holy, to serve our better angels. It is “the voice” that puts a mirror up to our egos, calls out to us the lies we are telling ourselves, the deceptions we are perpetrating upon humanity. It is “the voice” calling us to serve something greater than ourselves, to serve the best and highest interests of our souls, of humanity, of God. It is “the voice” that helps us navigate the wilderness of our souls and find our true north, our authentic selves.
“To strip the ego bare” is not to disintegrate the ego, as I am understanding Rabbi Heschel today, it is to go back to our authentic ego, to use our ego to serve rather than to inflate and deceive. The power of “the voice” is in its ability to cause us to see truth, to return to what is truly our place, to take away all of the jewels, the pomp and circumstance, the hurts, the disappointments, the entitlements that we and society has layered our egos with. It is only by embracing “the voice” will we have the courage to stop using our egos as weapons against another(s) and against our self.
Rabbi Heschel’s wisdom above is challenging us to “take the cotton out of our ears” however. While “the voice” is always speaking, we are not always hearing. While “the voice” is stripping our “ego bare”, we keep adorning it with crowns and mendacity. We, the people, have to hear, listen and understand the demand of “the voice”, we have to remember the words of the prophet Hosea: “I will heal their backsliding and take them back in love” and the prophet Jeremiah: “Return, faithless children and I will heal your faithlessness.” It is our responsibility to engage with “the voice”, to allow it to penetrate the armor we have built up around our egos and our souls, we have to make a decision to leave the slavery of false ego, to recalibrate our inner compass, to mature our souls so we can live free, overcome the desire evil has upon us, and serve “the voice” instead of our false egos. It is a hard journey, it is not a linear road, it is also a momentous journey, an educational voyage, and a joyous trip.
In recovery, we have come to believe the words of Hosea and Jeremiah, I would say we hold onto their beliefs for dear life. We come to believe our backsliding can be healed, we come to believe we can “strip the ego bare” and return to a state of truth and connection. We come to believe our souls will lead us to doing the next right thing and we will enjoy the lush greenery this new way of living brings. We come to believe that “the voice” is powerful enough to help us discern between the lies of our false ego and the truth of our souls. We come to believe we have something good and necessary to add to our corner of the world.
The last phrase, “His will flash forth like fire” is the experience that keeps on giving to me. It is the only way I can know when I ‘miss the mark’ and when I hit it. This flash of fire, like Jeremiah, I have “in my belly” and, when activated, sometimes drives me out of control and always gives me the insight to strip away all the trappings of me, another(s) and a situation. This “flash” is what has saved me for the past 35+ years and, while I don’t express it ‘properly’ at times, has helped save many people. The “flash” is a daily occurrence, I hear “the voice” daily, I am grateful when I have to strength to follow them. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark