Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel

Year 3 Day 208

“That God may be more intimately present in the slums than in mansions, with those who are smarting under the abuse of the callous.” (Insecurity of Freedom pg. 93)

Hearing these words in my ears and in my head makes me realize that authoritarianism’s draw for people has been fostered by ‘religious zealots’ and so-called ‘spiritual leaders’ for millennia! Clergy has used God as a weapon and, as the prophets so beautifully stated, catered to the people “in mansions” and joined forces with “the callous”! The push/pull of authoritarianism and democracy, of abuse and freedom have been the crucible of humanity forever-we have sought to quiet the inner war for freedom, the inner need for connection to something greater than ourselves with authoritarianism from a leader, from a clergyman, by being ‘master of the house-making our wife and children do what we say. We have started wars in the name of God when it is really for our own drive to live “in mansions”. We are afraid to go to the slums, we are unwilling to meet the prophet Elijah, who is said to live in the slums, with the abused, and yet, we speak of ‘religious values’.

Some people “in mansions” have been involved in cleaning up the slums earnestly, they have donated, volunteered, and they go home behind their gates each night. Father Greg Boyle, founder of HomeBoy Ind. and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, teaches us that we have to “erase the margins” and practice “radical kinship”. Both of these ways of being are paths that the Bible gives us, they are the examples Jesus, Moses, Mohammed, Buddha teach us, so why does it seem so difficult for us to follow in these footprints? Because we believe that power, prestige, wealth will ensure certainty for us, that we can ‘beat the odds’ and ‘be protected’ by God because, as the prosperity gospel lies to those who follow it, God loves the rich and if you are poor, it is because God doesn’t love you so much. What rubbish, what bullshit and what a way to promote God being “intimately present…in mansions” rather than live into the words of Rabbi Heschel above.

Contrary to populist belief, God is not white! God doesn’t favor the rich, the white person, etc-God is the creative force in the Universe that many of us refer to as “the Ineffable One” this force being too much to even describe. We, the people, have the obligation to use this creative force to build bridges, cure diseases, “proclaim freedom throughout the land and to all its inhabitants therein”. We have majored in and gotten Doctorates in how to use this creative force to wreak havoc on those we declare our enemies, we use this creative force to create chaos, promote lies and engage in both deception of another(s) and self-deception. Populism is a euphemism for authoritarianism, the populist leader is another way of describing Pharaoh, and the promoters are the courtesans and bootlickers we have seen surround these tyrants always.

The worst activity is the participation of the clergy! They have gone along with the forceful enslavement “of the heathens” who have their own faith, their own religious traditions and, the ‘good white christian man’ decides to ‘save them’, when they don’t need saving! “God may be more intimately present in the slums” comes from the Biblical tradition that 36 times says “take care of the stranger, the poor, etc”, it comes from the Haggadah which tells us to invite the hungry and the needy into our homes, it comes from being relegated to slums and ghettos for 2000 years and hated for longer. The Black Ministers who are calling for a Cease-Fire and blaming Israel have forgotten that it was not Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran who walked with Rev King. They have forgotten that Hamas is a terrorist group of thugs who murdered, raped, kidnapped Jews and non-Jews on Oct. 7th and do not want to Cease-Fire, they want Israel to surrender to their terror! Instead of seeing how the leadership of Hamas live “in mansions” while their people are relegated to slums, these spiritual leaders decry the Israelis, the Jews. The deaths in Gaza are horrendous-full stop. We have to find a solution that no one wants, that everyone gripes about because then, we will be able to recognize Elijah who lives in the slums, proclaim freedom for all, and make the world a kinder place for all of us.

As a child, my father and my grandfather had business “in the slums” of Cleveland, Ohio. The people who had business around them, the people who worked for my father, the people who did business with my grandfather and father, were always welcomed. I remember my grandfather giving people their clothes that he had tailored, dry cleaned, etc when they needed it even though they couldn’t pay for them. I remember going into stores around my grandfather’s store and people smiling at me because I was Abe’s grandson. The people who worked for my father, who lived in the slums, came to our home every month to check and see what needed to be done for years after my father died. Both of these men knew God is “more intimately present in the slums” and they honored the divine image of the people around them-in the slums and in mansions. They erased the margins everyday of their lives.

I am acutely aware of the times I have had to go to people “in mansions” for donations so we could continue the work of Beit T’Shuvah. I also realize my bombastic attitude towards people “in mansions” who like to ‘look good while doing bad’ and how I have tripped myself up because I have no filter when I see this happening. I have catered to those “in mansions” and, in a few instances, denigrated my spirit by deceiving myself into believing “God was here”. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark