Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel

Year 3 Day 106

“The prophet is a man who feels fiercely. God has thrust a burden on his soul, and he is bowed and stunned at man’s fierce greed. Frightful is the agony of man, no human voice can convey its full terror. Prophecy is the voice God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profound riches of the world. It is a form of living, a crossing point of God and man.” (Essential Writings pg. 62)

In the third sentence above, Rabbi Heschel is using three words, “frightful”, “agony” and “terror” to convey the state of fear he witness’ human beings live in. It is also what most people run away from through a myriad of ways. We humans have developed a tremendous fear of facing the agony of being human, the terror of death, of life, and our fear is palpable, yet we continue to mire ourselves in thoughts and actions that belie this truth. Delving into Rabbi Heschel’s teaching can help us face what is and find the respites we need and the ways to deal with our situation through spiritual values and actions, rather than hide from them through seeking money, power, prestige, mendacity and self-deception.

One of the ways some people deal with Rabbi Heschel’s statements of truth is to cause fear, agony and terror to another human being, another group of human beings so they can feel superior and protected. We see this in our politics where what is good for the country, what is right for our allies, have no particular sway when our elected officials are more interested in their ‘special interest’ groups and in their own re-election. Public service is seen as foolish when you can make so much more in the private sector and you will be ‘insulated’ against the “agony” and the “terror” of living as a human being. Rather than secure our borders, rather than help our allies, rather than seek a solution to the terrorism of Iran and Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, rather than stand up to Putin and Erdogan, these political animals go along with the strongman Trump, cater to and celebrate Hamas’ terrorism, feed the anti-semitism, Islamaphobia, and racism that has been a part of this country since the beginning! These power grabs, these seemingly altruistic ends belie the fear and the terror that people of the lie experience.

The prophets railed against these behaviors not just because of the injustice of them, I realize from immersing myself in Rabbi Heschel’s wisdom. I believe they also were calling to the people to stop going along with the politics of the day, face their own fears and engage with the spiritual energy of the Universe, the gift of connection with God, the Ineffable One, a power greater than oneself. Donald Trump and the rest of the authoritarians are not the issue of our time, the issue is our unwillingness to deal with “frightful is the agony of man, no human voice can convey its full terror”. The prophets, the Bible, the New Testament, the Koran, the Eastern philosophies give us paths to dealing with our fears, using them to motivate us to see a path through our fears, yet like addicts and alcoholics, most people just want to escape from the agony and the terror of being human.

I believe the greatest terror and what causes most people the most agony is, at least, two-fold: uncertainty and death. Judaism gives us God as abstract, God is everywhere or nowhere, God is everything or nothing, there is nowhere where God doesn’t dwell. We are told to make ourselves holy so God can dwell among us, we are created in the image of God, etc. This leads many to question God’s existence, to blame God for the ills of the world. Rather than face our responsibility to make our corner of the world a little better than we found it, we seek to hide from the call to do this, we shirk our responsibilities in the name of faith, in the name of ‘conservative’, in the name of ‘progressive’ in the name of anything we can deceive ourselves into believing. It is time for us to face some of the truths of being human: we will all die, there is no certainty except that we will all die, what we do with our lives can be driven by the fear and terror at our backs to propel us to goodness or in our faces which serves to make hiding and deception the best choice. It is time for us, as a friend of mine once told me, to put the fear, the agony, the terror of our uncertainty and eventual death at our backs and use the energy to find solutions for what ails us as individuals, families, communities and the world. It is time for us to heed the words of the prophets and Rabbi Heschel to experience all human beings as divine reminders, not as punching bags or doormats.

Recovery is a pathway to facing our fears and reconnecting with our spiritual values and spiritual lives. We are constantly seeking to “grow along spiritual lines” and no longer hide in the bottle, the drug, the casino, the food, the power, the job, the sex, etc. We come face to face with our fears and, in doing so, we come face to face with the divine, we come face to face with our own goodness of being and engage in living the content of our character out loud and are constantly refining it each day. We know we will die, we live with the uncertainty of life with faith that whatever is happening, good or bad; “this too shall pass”.

I am aware of the “frightful” “agony” and “terror” that my voice cannot fully convey. I am also aware of using my voice to help hear my terror and acknowledge the agony and fear of people who have sought my assistance in dealing with their own uncertainty and fear of death. I loudly proclaim the terror and a myriad of solutions for dealing with this “frightful” “agony”. It is through spirit, through connection, through living in the both/and of faith and fear, surety of spirit and uncertainty of life, the joy of living well and the uncertainty of when I will die that gives me hope, motivation to continue and wonder at what is. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark