Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 4 Day 97
“Standardization corrodes the sense of ultimate significance. Man to his own self becomes increasingly vapid, cheap, insignificant. Yet without the sense of ultimate significance and ultimate preciousness of one’s own existence, freedom becomes a hollow phrase.” (Insecurity of Freedom pg.18)
Throughout the history of humankind, we have been obsessed with “standardization”, with making sure everyone does something the same way. “This is the way we have always done it” is a constant, soul-killing refrain and much overused. Galileo, Da Vinci, were shunned because of being different, being innovators, being artists in their own right. The prophets were ignored because the messages they were preaching and teaching were ‘anti-establishment’, while being for the human spirit. Society has been seeking to “corroded the sense of ultimate significance” in human beings for a long time and, I believe, the reason is to keep people ‘under control’. The surest way to enslave a person is to “corrode the sense of ultimate significance” within the person, it robs one of their inherent dignity and worth, it chokes the spiritual arteries with so much plaque, people are unable to hear “the still small voice” of their higher consciousness, their higher self. This is the path for Monarchs, Caesars, Pharaohs, Idolatrous Clergy of all stripes, Dictators, Autocrats, Fundamentalists of all types, etc. This is the path to hell for a democratic nation and the road to abject misery for a human being. It is also a path followed by both the right and the left; both, in their search for continued power and control, “corrode the sense of ultimate significance” in different ways, with different rhetoric and with the same goal-control and :standardization”.
Given the pressure to “fit in”, the “standardization” of education, is it any wonder that human beings are becoming more and more “vapid, cheap, insignificant” to themselves? The epidemic of addiction is a sign, the epidemic of pills to make you happy, the diagnosis’ of depression that has increased, the diagnosis’ of "bipolar disorder has skyrocketed, putting kids on Adderall for what is normal behavior in young boys and using it to help kids get better scores on their tests are all signs. The race to “make it”, to “grab the American Dream” only to be bitterly disappointed that it doesn’t bring the ‘inner peace’ and happiness one was promised. “Why bother, what’s the point” is a constant refrain among people who have bought into the lies of society that they don’t matter! We are living, once again, in an era where the only ones who think they are important are the arrogant, entitled rich people and even they have to keep getting more and more to validate their self-worth, they have to be meaner and crueler so they can keep their positions of control; this is the government we are living under right now and the ‘way of the world’ we are being sold-“it’s for your own good, you’ll see” says the liar-in-chief and his guppies, the people who have bought into their own lack of worth, their own insignificance keep swallowing this bullshit. The triumph of Trump, of Project 2025 is the triumph of the ‘ruling class’ to convince enough people of their insignificance and that “only I can give you significance again” to win an election, or at least steal it with great stealth.
We the People have to regain our sense of worthiness, our sense of dignity, our sense of significance which are inherent in our being born! Every one of us possess’ infinite worth and dignity, each of us fills a different divine/earthly need, there is a uniqueness about every human being that no one else has. We the People are being called upon with the words above, with the times we are in to STAND UP and take our proper places and not buckle under to the current autocrats, fascists who want to convince us of our “insignificance”. It is time for us to “come to the aid of our countrymen” and come to the aid of our selves. We the People have to learn/relearn the lessons of the Bible, not the Trump bullshit one, the real one written in Hebrew, not the translations which are commentaries in and of themselves, but to study in the original or with someone who knows the Hebrew and can hold more than one interpretation at one time. Since there are 70 ways to understand the Hebrew Bible, we are given the “freedom” to learn and use the teachings in ways that are appropriate for this moment, not being stuck in 15th Century Poland nor 5th Century Rome.
Living into our own “ultimate significance” is the point of both Passover and Easter! Why celebrate liberation from the Pharaoh, then and now, if not the acknowledge our own “significance”? The Seder is not some ancient ritual that is like a Jewish Thanksgiving, it is a dynamic moment in our lives, yet because it has become so “standardized”, we say the same words each year without ever considering their meaning, their importance for our own liberation and journey to freedom. “We were slaves in Egypt” is not a phrase to describe a historical event, it is a reminder, a call and a warning to all of us to examine-what are we enslaved to in this moment and “standardization corrodes the sense of ultimate significance” is one that most people ignore. Needing to keep the Seder going for hours and hours is not adding to its importance nor its message, using just the words of the Haggadah doesn’t help us liberate our souls and our higher consciousness. Only by speaking from our “significant, precious” selves can we light a pathway out of the current Egypt we are in personally and the current Egypt we and the people with us at the Seder are in collectively. This is our challenge this year as in every year, and especially this year.
I do my best to acknowledge my own significance and it is hard at times. When I was ‘retired’, told my way and being wasn’t needed any more, the organization had to ‘move on’, it took a minute for me to regain my sense of “significance, preciousness”. I still fall prey to forgetting it and those moments are less and less. It is hard for me, at times, to break free of the “standardization” which is so prevalent and I continue to rebel against it. I will not succumb to the call of societal norms, nor will I be “adjusted to conventional notions” because, as Rabbi Heschel has taught me over the years, my inner life, my soul calls for me to live into my uniqueness and honor yours. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark