Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 2 Day 171
“Living in “the light of the face of God” bestows upon man a power of love that enables him to overcome the powers of evil. The seductiveness of vice is excelled by the joys of the mitsvah. “Ye shall be men of holiness unto Me” (Exodus 22:30).”(God in Search of Man pg 376)
“Love your neighbor as you love yourself” we are taught in the Holiness Code in Leviticus, Chapter 19. “You are a Nation of Priests, A Holy Nation” we are reminded of a few times in the Torah. The Rabbis teach that “we are to see ourselves AS IF holiness resides in our guts,(we are full of holiness)”. We have 613 pathways to rising above the seductiveness of vice and engage in the “power of love” and “the joys of the mitsvah”. Isn’t it time we actually use “the light of the face of God” to engage with love and mitzvah, with one another as fellow travelers? Rabbi Heschel teaches us that we are divine reminders, so whenever we see another human being, we are seeing an image of God, a reminder of God. Hence we are “living in the light of the face of God” all the time and we keep being willfully blind to it!
Utilizing the “power of love” does not mean ‘live and let live’, it doesn’t mean everyone can do anything they want, it doesn’t mean that all behaviors are ‘cool’. Utilizing the “power of love” does mean we care about another human being; how they are physically, emotionally, spiritually. It means we care about our self and how we are doing emotionally, spiritually, and physically. It means that rather than engage in the usual negative self-talk-we praise ourselves for the good we do and make a plan to repair any harm we have done and stop trying to do things that are out of our realm, our capabilities, our understanding. We surrender to the fact that we can’t do everything and asking for help, giving someone else space to do their work/expertise is an act of giving, it is an act of grace to us that someone else can do what we can’t and an act of grace to another person by recognizing their talents and asking for their help. This is an act of strength, love, holiness.
Utilizing the “power of love” means we engage in conversations with people who we think may be heading down the wrong path. In rebuking someone one, we help the person see their own capabilities, see the faith we have in them that they can turn stuff around, and we are reaching out to stop a disaster, a harm to them and anyone else. Doing this from love means we are not berating them, we are raising them up, we are not lording over them, we are where they are at and reaching out a hand, an olive branch, a mentoring. Utilizing the “power of love” also allows us to accept people who shun us without resentments, it helps us keep the door to our hearts open even when we have to close the doors of our homes. The “power of love” helps us take the next right action and connects us to the universe and one another.
“The joys of the mitsvah” are too many to list, yet, I will illuminate a few. One joy is the connection that is made with God and another human being when we are in mitsvah rather than vice. While being part of a gang to engage in vice is fun, it is not joy, it is not sustainable, and it leads to ruin, “the joys the mitsvah” makes us part of God’s Gang and is not always fun, it is a sense of completeness, accomplishment, grace, joy of knowing that I am building a better life for my self and all those around me. It is a sense of fulfillment and a step closer to deeper connections with nature, humanity, God, universe. It gives one a deep breath and an ability to enjoy breathing and take everything in without needing to make it according to our design. The “joys of the mitsvah” and the “power of love” help us to live in acceptance of life, sadness at the pain, suffering, hatred, anger, and commitment to make our corner of the world a little better than when we found it.
In recovery and in my life since I began my recovery, there is no such thing as perfection! Living in the “power of love” and “the joys of the mitsvah” give us a glimpse and a goal of how we want to live and the rewards of following a spiritual path that honors God, honors human beings, honors nature and honors self. We get to enjoy the good and have faith the sorrow will pass and we will know how to handle both with grace, joy, kindness and care. We are constantly living without resentments and in divine pathos for the people who are stuck in their anger, hatred, self-loathing, etc. We know how sad it is to be stuck in needing to be right, needing to look perfect, needing to be liked by the ‘right people’, and the sadness, pain and distress it causes. Living in the “power of love” and “the joys of the mitsvah” have lifted us out of this deep hole and we pray that others can experience this uplift as well. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark