Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel

Year 3 Day 173

“To think of a man in terms of white, black, or yellow is more than an error. It is an eye disease, a cancer of the soul.” (Essential Writings pg. 66)

Iran has attacked Israel with over 300 rockets and drones. It is the first time these attacks have come directly from Iran and Israel must respond to this attack on their sovereignty! Just as Hamas, an Iranian proxy attacked Israel’s sovereignty, so has Iran. While the world urges restraint to Israel, none of the world would restrain themselves if they were attacked in such a manner. While Rabbi Heschel’s quote above was written and spoken in regard to racism in America some 61 years ago, it holds true for anti-semitism as well. Humanity seems unable to absorb that we all come from Adam, as I wrote about on Friday. We seem unable to absorb that each of us is unique and all spiritual and faith traditions are paths to enhance our spirits and our growing into being human a little more each day.

When people deny the sovereignty of Israel, when they deny the right to be Jewish, when they discriminate and engage in senseless hatred because “Jews will not replace us”, they are suffering from the same “eye disease” as racism. In fact, religious discrimination is the same as racism and both are “a cancer of the soul”. Yet, unlike cancer of the body, “cancer of the soul” is a contagious disease just like pink eye and the world seems to relish in this “cancer of the soul” and has had no desire to cure it for the millennia!

While people will speak of this attack, as they have of the attack on Oct. 7th, in political terms, in geopolitical terms, both attacks have one aim-Extermination of Jews. This is the stated goal of Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, and, of course, Iran. Rather than see the similarities of Jews and Muslims, of Muslims and Christians, of all faith traditions, Iran and radical Islam, like the Christian Nationalists, both the far left and right movements across the globe are afraid of both our similarities and differences. This fear stems from their fear of losing power, their fear of not being in control, their fear of imperfection and uncertainty. Our irrational fears, our fears of ‘not being in charge of another’ are what cause and spread “a cancer of the soul”, they are what cause us to have “an eye disease”. Hence the only cure for both of these life-threatening diseases is to see one another in terms of equality, sovereignty; all of us have infinite value and dignity, all of us are “kin under the skin”, all of us are responsible to erase the imaginary and deceitful margins we have made regarding someone other than ‘our kind’.

There is only one race of people- the human race. There are many different expressions of how to be human, there are many different faiths to follow, spiritual traditions one can adhere to, and, at their core and the foundation of all,  lead us on the road of curing our “eye disease”, our “cancer of the soul”. Dividing humanity according to race and religion is man-made, it is a denial of the core beliefs and tenets of spirituality and religion-we are One human race, we are One with the force of the Cosmos, we all left Egypt to worship our higher power, our higher consciousness together. We all wander through the desert growing in spirit, in consciousness in order to come together and aid one another, not be in ridiculous competition with one another for power, prestige, wealth, etc. When “driving while black” is a crime, when wearing a Yamulke is reason to attack, when we are forget the similarities between a Taqiyah and a Yarmulke, we are suffering from an “eye disease, a cancer of the soul”.

It is time for us to end our incessant need for control and power through prejudice and religious bigotry. It is time for the world to stand up to the fundamentalists in all faiths and political parties. It is time for We, the People, to once again exert our healing powers and cure the “eye disease, the cancer of the soul” that we have been suffering from for so long. It is time for us to live the spiritual principles of whatever faith tradition we adhere to, it is time for us to throw out the “money-changers” in the Temples, the Mosques, the Churches, the Congress, the Legislatures, in every country in the world and replace them with people of integrity, people of faith, people who can see and judge people, not by the color of their skin nor the religion, spirituality they practice, “but by the content of their character.”

This will take a deep cleansing of our souls, an abdication of our diseased minds and a healing of our soul sickness’. It is the clarion call of Ramadan, of Easter, of Passover: LET MY PEOPLE GO! We, the people have to let ourselves be healed and the eye diseases and cancers of our souls be banished. The cure is in a daily ‘routine’ of self-reflection, healing of our wounds, looking to help another, living our authentic soul’s script and holding our heads up and seeing one another “face to face”-then we see God’s Image, we see the likeness of ourselves in one another and we no longer have to hate, we no longer need our prejudices, we can fulfill the command: “love your neighbor because you love yourself”.

Each day, I seek to cure my own “eye disease, cancer of the soul”. I do not need a “bad guy” to blame, I don’t need to hate anyone-full stop- and I celebrate the differences and similarities of another human being. I am passionately engaged in living and, like the prophet, I am sensitive to deceit and search out my own self-deceptions daily. I pray you will find your own practice, I am confident that everyone can cure their own “eye disease” their particular form of “cancer of the soul” so we can fulfill the vision of the prophets-nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall men learn war anymore. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark