Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel

Year 4 Day 11

“Interest is a subjective dividing principle. It is the excitement of feeling, accompanying special attention paid to some object. But do we pay sufficient attention to the demands of universal justice? In fact, the interest in universal welfare is usually blocked by the interest in personal welfare, particularly when it is to be achieved at the price o renouncing one’s vested interests. It is just because the power of interests is tyrannizing our lives, determining our views and actions, that we lose sight of the values that count most.” (Insecurity of Freedom pg. 6-7)

The above paragraph is a lot to digest all at once and I didn’t know how to break it up into two sections:) As we prepare to enter 2025, as we prepare for the next Trump Administration, as we prepare for the changes in climate, in energy, in politics, in our everyday living, the words above are strong warnings and path forward pointing. The question is, as always, will we heed the words, will we take the next right path, will we ignore and continue to use our “interest” as “subjective dividing principle”?

We have proven over and over again, throughout the millennia, that “universal welfare is usually blocked by the interest in personal welfare”. We have continued to ignore the second third of Rabbi Hillel’s wisdom: “If I am not for my self, who will be for me? If I am only for my self, what am I? If not now, when?” Because of our deep commitment to our “feelings” and our “interests”, we have come to ignore both “universal justice” and “universal welfare”. We are in the midst of a period of time where caring for the stranger, the widow, the orphan, the poor, the needy is seen as stupid, as Trump says, “beat the hell out of journalists” who call him out on his lies, who report the truth instead of his party line. Donating to charities is done by middle-class and poor people at a greater rate than by the uber wealthy, because we have a commitment to something greater than ourselves. Rather than responding to Rabbi Hillel’s question/guidance, most people think that one’s “personal interest” should always come first, that any sacrifice of one’s “needs”, “interests” for the sake of anyone else is insane and only a fool would do that. Trump calls people who go into Military Service and lose their lives, become injured, “losers”, he has no clue as to why someone would put themselves at risk to fight for an ideal, for their country; the idea of being of service to something greater than oneself is anathema to Trump, Bannon, Musk, Miller, Project 2025, Vance, et al.

God has been co-opted by the self-interests of some clergy of all faiths. “I know what God wants and that is Donald Trump to be President” was heard in Houses of Worship throughout the United States, “Donald Trump is anointed by God” was another mantra, “God sent Trump to save us and bring about the coming/2nd coming of the Messiah” was another one. None of these sayings nor the clergy spouting these blasphemous statements believed this bullshit, they just said it because they were currying favor with the rich, with the powerful, with the Trump campaign, because they believed it was in their best interest, not God’s to do this. Clergy have been willing to ignore “universal justice”, “universal welfare” forever in order to keep in the good graces of the rich and powerful-just read the prophets, read the destruction of both Temples and how the priests allowed their self-interest to override the interests of God and the needs of the people. Isaiah tells the priests that “God doesn’t want your sacrifices”, God wants our hearts, our actions, yet even the Clergy, those supposedly answering a call from God, are unable to go above their “personal interests” to serve something greater than themselves.

“The power of interests is tyrannizing” and we have never thrown off the yoke of this tyranny, of this tyrant. We have come to be so enslaved to “the power of interests” that we can’t even hear the voices of the redeemers, the people who keep shouting to us, calling to us, cooing to us to come back to service, return to the fold of the Bible, re-engage in being of service, of caring for the sick and the needy, welcoming the stranger and the poor, finding our inherent commonality in the principles we hold dear. Ending our willful blindness to these very principles and values because we are so beholden to “the power of interests” inside of us, the “power of interests’ that society has dictated take precedence over everything else, “the power of interests” that we believe will give us the power to control our own destiny is crucial if we are to return to a way of being that is “compatible with being a partner of God” as Rabbi Heschel describes what being human means. We are living under the tyranny of “interests”, most of which are not authentic needs. We see this in our politics, in our religious institutions, in our schools, in our families, across the globe, which in turn leads us to become servants of mendacity, worshipers of the lies we tell ourselves and the deceptions of another(s) that we buy into. Does anyone believe that Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos really care about the poor and the widow? Does anyone believe that these ‘good christian folk’ who chant “Jews will not replace us” care about the welfare of the stranger or the needy? Does anyone believe that the Congress will “defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic” at the risk of being opposed in their next primary?

We, the People have to take back our country! We, the People, have to take back our religious institutions! We, the People have to stand up for “universal justice”, we have to end the racial disparity that permeates the Criminal Justice System and the power of the wealthy to delay, delay, delay justice being served in both Criminal and Civil cases. We, the People, have to stand for “universal welfare”, caring for the people who, for whatever reason, can’t care for themselves, giving them the tools to live well, unlocking the spiritual power they have within them so they can live well. We, the People, have to stand the fuck up and say NO to the lies and YES to the wisdom of Rabbi Hillel above. NOW is the time!

I have stood for the principles and values that are found in our faith traditions, found in our constitution for the past 36 years, it ain’t easy, I make mistakes and I learn from them. I refuse to be silent, I refuse to be ‘political’, I refuse to not live “an examined life” and I know, as my Rabbi and friend, Ed Feinstein says, this makes me dangerous. I am not always welcomed in ‘polite society’, I leave chaos in my wake because I believe being for me and for you, living the principles and values in real time rather than spout them is possible and necessary, I take the blows and do it “my way”. To a better 2025, God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark