Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 2 Day 167
“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)
Today is Easter Sunday and the 3rd day of Passover, this quote from Rabbi Heschel speaks to the experience of both Passover, Easter, and Ramadan, I believe. All of these Holy Days represent ecstatic experiences of being “in the light of the face of God” and are meant to imbue us with the “power of love”. These holidays give us a framework to remember, to immerse ourselves in these experiences of “a power of love” to “overcome the powers of evil” that live inside of us as well as those outside of us. This is the great challenge for all of us.
“What are you a slave to” is the question that Passover is the answer to. What Pharaoh have you set over yourself, what Pharaoh have you allowed yourself to become a slave to in your inner life as well as your outer life? These are, in my opinion and how I am understanding Rabbi Heschel today, the main questions that the phrase: “Every person should see him or herself as if she/he/they were brought out of Egypt” that is in the Haggadah and we read at our Seders. Slavery is evil, Pharaoh is evil and only when we are “living in “the light of the face of God” can we overcome these evils that dwell inside of us and outside of us.
Unfortunately religion, as practiced by some, has/is using the “light of the face of God” to enhance evil and diminish love. Unfortunately, there are people who claim to speak in God’s name who using “the powers of evil” to overcome “the power of love”. Notice that the use of the plural when speaking of evil and the singular when speaking of love in the quote above. Evil has many different insidious ways of infiltrating our living, many different forms of hiding in what seems “good” and “Godly”, and so many of us are willfully blind to the myriad of ways the “powers of evil” overcome us, deceive us, and we join with them. We are facing a great upswing from “people of faith” who promote evil, believe in guns that kill being okay to use for the sport of killing another human being, who expel people who disagree with them from the halls of power, who claim to be ‘populists’ when they are not trying to help the disenfranchised but trying to get people to go against their best interests by appealing to “the powers of evil” that live in their inner lives.
We are in such a state of disarray that if Jesus sat in many churches today, he would never recognize his words nor his way of serving God. He would be aghast at the use of his teachings to serve “the powers of evil” by bastardizing his helping the poor, the needy, the stranger, the criminal, etc. We are in such a state of disarray that if the Prophets of Israel were speaking out, they would be scorned, thrown in jail and, in some states, lynched! We are in such a state of disarray that Rabbi Heschel’s words are quoted and not lived, Rev King’s words are revered and not lived, because the “powers of evil” are using great teachings, great experiences of “living in the light of the face of God” for their selfish needs and desires. We are living in a time where the prophets are forgotten and used for evil, where Jesus’ teachings are used for evil, where the Hebrew Bible is used for evil by the mendacious and evil practitioners who claim to be ‘speaking the word of god’ and speak the words of idolatry.
In recovery, we know that only by “living in the light of the face of God” can we “overcome the powers of evil” that reside within us. We know the damage, the spiritual death that comes from living into “the powers of evil”, we know the lies we tell ourselves to become slaves while thinking we are free. We know that being human means we have to make “Free-Will Moral Choices” as Rabbi Abraham Twerski teaches. We are aware of our need to engage with the “power of love”, towards our self and towards another(s). In recovery, we see one another as holy souls, loved by God and our goal is to live into and from the “power of love”.
The “powers of evil” have taken so many forms in my life. I am aware and guilty of thinking I was being loving and actually being overcome with the “powers of evil.” I have been fooled by my own inner slaveries and inner evil. I am sorry to all who suffered because of it. I also know that “the power of love” is where I live more and more in these past 34+ years of recovery, not always, not perfectly, yet more than 51% and “living in the light of the face of God” more and more gives me the hope and the strength to persevere, to spread God’s message in my own unique way. I know I need help to “overcome the powers of evil” and God, family, friends are the help I am blessed with. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark