Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 3 Day 286
National Days of Repentance and Change
TO PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY, THE WHITE HOUSE, JUNE 16, 1963
I LOOK FORWARD TO PRIVILEGE OF BEING PRESENT AT MEETING TOMORROW AT 4 P. M. LIKELIHOOD EXISTS THAT NEGRO PROBLEM WILL BE LIKE THE WEATHER. EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT IT BUT NOBODY DOES ANYTHING ABOUT IT. PLEASE DEMAND OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT NOT JUST SOLEMN DECLARATION. WE FORFEIT THE RIGHT TO WORSHIP GOD AS LONG AS WE CONTINUE TO HUMILIATE NEGROES. CHURCH SYNAGOGUES HAVE FAILED. THEY MUST REPENT. ASK OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS TO CALL FOR NATIONAL REPENTANCE AND PERSONAL SACRIFICE. LET RELIGIOUS LEADERS DONATE ONE MONTH’S SALARY “TOWARD FUND FOR NEGRO HOUSING AND EDUCATION. I PROPOSE THAT YOU MR. PRESIDENT DECLARE STATE OF MORAL EMERGENCY. A MARSHALL PLAN FOR AID TO NEGROES IS BECOMING A NECESSITY. THE HOUR CALLS FOR HIGH MORAL GRANDEUR AND SPIRITUAL AUDACITY. ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL” (Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity)
“The hour calls for high moral grandeur…” strikes me as a phrase that can and does apply to every hour in every day. The idea that an immigrant, in America only 23 years would dare talk to the President of the United States in this manner strikes me as an example of the demand Rabbi Heschel makes upon President Kennedy. It is a call/demand that all of us need to take seriously, it is a call that could get someone jailed under some of our political leaders and certainly ignored by many of our elected officials. Yet, Rabbi Heschel was still in attendance at the “meeting” the next day, he was still heard and, at times, listened to-certainly not silenced because of the “high moral grandeur” of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Would many of our current politicians use them as examples in their behaviors instead of prejudice, racism, antisemitism, islamaphobia, etc.
“Grandeur” comes from the Latin meaning “grand/great”. On the Internet “high moral” standards are defined as: “doing the right thing for the greatest number of people, a matter of personal and professional character. Character includes morality, ethics, honesty and humane values”. Hence, every hour calls for “high moral grandeur” otherwise we keep falling short of our goal, our potential, the call of the universe and the people around us who need us to live morally, ethically, honestly and humanely. Today, these values are talked about by many ‘religious’ leaders who practice the exact opposite of them. We are being inundated with lies, with false prophets, with false prophecies, with false images of God/Christ, with bastardizations of our Holy Texts by people seeking power, prestige, wealth and it is up to the rest of us to reject their lies, their deceptions.
The call for “High Moral Grandeur” while sent to President Kennedy is something all of us are responsible for, all of us can call for within our selves, our families, our communities, our government, our religions, our faith gatherings. Yet, we seem not to-we go to rallies of the liars, we watch TV to be deceived, we wring our hands over what is happening in Ukraine, in the Middle East and we refuse to rise up to the call of the universe for Grand Moral behaviors, for ethical wars (an oxymoron, I know), for being humane even in the worst of times, and to live into the truth of the moment rather than the lies and deceptions of the idolatrous and the people who bastardize our foundational truths, ideals and morals. It is a call for all of us to reject the people who practice Idol worship, like the Far-Right Rabbis in the West Bank who urge their ‘people’ to kill Palestinians, like the Far-Right MAGA people who attacked and killed Police on Jan. 6th, like J.D. Vance who is promoting racism with ridiculous lies about Hatians, like Tucker Carlson who promotes Holocaust Deniers in his support of the Trump/Vance ticket. We have to call upon the Harris/Waltz ticket to pledge to live the “High Moral Grandeur” that President Biden has shown and that Rabbi Heschel is calling for today, not just reading this as a footnote to history.
We, the people, during this month of Elul, on the 9th day of our deep dive (hopefully) into National Repentance and Change days, have to see where, when, and how we have fallen short of living at the standard of “high moral grandeur”, how we have allowed personal gain and profit, the need to be liked and fit in, the self-deception we accept as truth, the inhumane ways of treating both ourselves and another(s) we have adopted as ‘that’s the way we always have’, the “adjustment to conventional notions and mental cliches” that are hindrances to knowledge and keep us forever in ignorance. We, the people, have the opportunity, once again, to take the time to look within ourselves and see where we have missed the mark by settling for a life that does not aspire to “high moral grandeur”, a way of life that “goes along to get along”, a way of being that doesn’t ‘rock the boat’. We, the people, have to demand of our clergy, of our Rabbis and Priests, Ministers and Imams, leadership that allows us to do our inventory and they do theirs, that shows us the way to ask for forgiveness and leave the ruts of familiar patterns that don’t serve us anymore, to accept the forgiveness and see, contrary to popular belief, that humans can change their spots, even if leopards can’t!
I have allowed myself to live at a lower standard than the one Rabbi Heschel is calling for. I have allowed hurts and being adrift to shrink me and I have shirked my obligation to people and to the universe by keeping quiet and fearful for this past year(s). I did not act with moral grandeur when I went off at services in Feb. of 2020. I was wrong and I have admitted this, I have made restitution, I have made my amends and I have been ostracized. This is all part of the T’Shuvah process, there is no guarantee of being accepted back into the fold. I have allowed this ‘rejection’ to defeat any efforts to teach, preach, counsel, etc before I even begin and this is the real ‘sin’, the truth of how I have missed the mark. I am no longer staying stuck, I am no longer accepting the words of another who tell me ‘it’s really hard to start something new, especially at your age in a new place’. I am clear-eyed and open-hearted, I hear the call of my soul loudly and I commit to do more, to speak more, to teach and preach more, to learn more and to be a better human being in this next year than I have been this year. I am going to publish a book, seek opportunities to speak, I am going to continue to serve people who call and always stay true and available to the people I have a relationship with. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark.