Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 4 Day 30
“The prophets make so much ado about paltry things, employing the most excessive language in speaking about flimsy subjects. So what if somewhere in ancient Palestine poor people have not been treated properly by the rich?… Why such immoderate excitement? Why such intense indignation?” (Insecurity of Freedom pg. 9-10)
A portion of the section of the Hebrew Bible, called “N’Veim”, meaning prophets that covers from the time of Joshua till through the Prophets, is read each week in Temples and Synagogues. Most people don’t care what the stories are attempting to teach us and of those who do follow along, don’t care about the lessons nor the unending “ado about paltry things”. Rather, we have inured ourselves to the calls of the prophets, to the political machinations of Saul, David, Solomon, and his heirs. We have come to ignore the evil around us as “normal”, to be upset with those who stand ready to call our bullshit, bullshit. We are aghast at the temerity of those who dare question us on our motives, on our actions-‘don’t you understand that “trickle down economics” has been what “makes America Great” since the days of the Robber Barons? What is wrong with you that you expect me to pay my fair share of taxes-I am above the rest of you and am not governed by the same rules’ and other such erroneous beliefs. Of course most people would think the prophets were just crazy people ranting and raving about “paltry things, employing the most excessive language in speaking about flimsy subjects”! In fact, throughout the millennium since their words have been codified, most people have ignored them, have written them off as raving lunatics, have doubted the veracity of their warnings, their pleadings, their messages. All of this ignoring to the detriment of our spiritual life, to putting us on a collision course with evil and no tools to defend goodness, truth, love, kindness, and compassion.
Rabbi Heschel’s words above are dripping with sarcasm and I hear them betray an intense passion for the prophets, an intense passion for putting a mirror up in front of all of us to see how far we have wandered off the path of faith, how far we have taken the detour from the road of spiritual growth so we can be on the road of financial and emotional success. Of course it matters “if somewhere in ancient Palestine poor people have not been treated properly by the rich”! Of course we should be indignant about these ‘minor’ issues! Of course we have to exhibit “such immoderate excitement” at the indifference to evil that we are witnessing in the world! As Rabbi Hillel says:”If not now, when?” How do we know that the Messiah is not in our midst, wasn’t in Nazi Germany, Putin’s Russia, in the United States, just waiting for acts of loving-kindness towards the “poor people” in our midst and witness them being “not treated properly by the rich” instead? How often is Elijah, the prophet, who Jews ask to come to at the end of each Sabbath, portrayed as living among the beggars in the city gates waiting for some random act of kindness so he can reveal himself and it hasn’t happened yet!
The arrogance and hubris of humanity to believe that we can do the same things over and over again expecting different results because we are so much better, smarter, devious than those ‘primitive’ people who lived during the times of the prophets is tremendous and knows no bounds. That Trump can claim that “God saved me so I can make America great again” is so outlandish as he pardons rioters, people who attacked police, people he sent to destroy the constitution and the peaceful transfer of power, is cause for “immoderate excitement”! The fact that the Defense Department may be run by an incompetent sexual abuser, wife-beating drunk because the Republican Senators care more about kissing the ass of the rich and Trump is cause for “intense indignation”! Yet, there are people in the Democratic Party who want to “work with the other side”-just as people wanted to “work with” Putin, Hitler, Stalin, Orban, Bibi, et al and we see where that got us and the world-into the mess we are in now. Over and above the arrogance and the hubris, however, is the abject fear people have in standing up for what they really believe in.
We are so used to cowering in the face of the rich and famous, bowing down before the king, queen, leader because not to do so could result in death. The problem is-we are already spiritually dead, we are already only existing when we bend down to kiss the ring, when we bend over and allow the rich to ‘stick it to us’, when we “stand idly by the blood of our neighbor” and decide we don’t want to suffer the same fate. The paradox is, of course, that doing nothing in the face of evil only kills our spirits, only makes us accomplices in the evil done in our name. It is time for all of us, especially people of faith, to STAND UP and follow the examples and the teachings of the prophets. To call out the bullshit and lies of Trump, et al and STAND UP as guardians of the Torah, the Bible, the New Testament, the Koran, etc. These Holy Texts are to be lived not just read, the people who say they should be exempted from service because they are studying the “holy books”, are liars and charlatans because we are supposed to live the principles in the real world not lock ourselves up and stay away from the temptations. We, the People are being called today, as we are everyday, to “Choose Life” and grow our spiritual health, raise up our care and concern for the evil being perpetrated against the most vulnerable in our society. Listening to our inner voices we hear the demand to stand up to evil, to walk with God, to love mercy and to do justly. We, the People are being given the opportunity to repair the damage done by our ancestors, to return our corner of the world to its rightful place of being kind, loving, truthful and compassionate. Will you make the most of this moment or let it pass as you/we have so many others.
I live in “immoderate excitement” and “intense indignation” and find myself in ‘trouble’ often. Prior to my recovery, these two ways of being pushed me to be indifferent to the evil around me and the evil I was promoting! Since my recovery, these ways of being have helped many and hurt some, gotten me to be written off and feared, opened me up to being manipulated and scorned. Some people are in awe of my ‘passion’ while others need to prove they are better because they are richer, smarter, etc. I don’t claim any of these attributes, I only know that the “fire in my belly” burns hot and I have to speak out loud and loudly otherwise I will be consumed from the inside out. I know I am not always right, I know my ways of expression are not ‘politically correct’ and I know I am not bowing down to kiss the ring or the ass of anyone who thinks they are better than I or in a position of power, no matter the cost because living my principles is more important than the number of 0’s in any bank account or any ‘position’ in ‘polite society’. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark