Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 4 Day 109
“Religion’s major effort must be to counteract the deflation of man, the trivialization of human existence. Our religious traditions claim that man is capable of sacrifice, discipline, of moral and spiritual exaltation, that every man is capable of an ultimate commitment.” (Insecurity of Freedom pg. 20)
Continuing on from yesterday’s quote, I did get caught up in the first sentence because it is so enraging to me the bastardization of religion, the grift being perpetrated upon unsuspecting decent people by the charlatans and idolators who have ‘anointed’ Donald Trump as the messiah, as Jesus’ warrior-going against everything Jesus says in the Gospels, but don’t let truth get in the way of a good con!
The embolden words above point to the issue that has haunted “religion” almost from the beginning. While the claims above are absolutely true, the people ‘in charge’, the “trusted servants” have been preaching a gospel of more, more, more for themselves and their benefactors, not more “sacrifice” for God, for one another! They have made “sacrifice” synonymous with give more to the church, to the pastor, don’t you realize Joel Osteen needs another car, another jet, another…! These mendacious ‘religious’ figures like Paula Cain-White are so excited to sell their wares on the Government website and claim they are ‘healing’ people and doing ‘god’s work’ when God calls for us to sacrifice to help the poor and the needy, the widow and the orphan, we make sacrifices to acknowledge our errors and celebrate our good fortunes-we are not called upon to “sacrifice” to make the Priests rich-only to give them enough to maintain themselves, their households and the Temple-not build multi-million dollar homes with 24 car garages, etc.
“Religion” has been overtaken by human beings who are only interested in their agendas, not God’s, not the agenda of the Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Moses, the Prophets, etc. They are disciplined when it comes to their lies, their grab for power, their hatred of anyone who isn’t a White Anglo Saxon Christian and adheres to the fascist agendas of Trump, the autocratic agendas of Putin and Orban, etc. What is totally baffling is how many Jews follow and get in bed with these descendants of the KKK and relish it! The “discipline” spoken about above has been replaced by the ‘discipline’ of loyalty to boss, fidelity to the ‘cause’, and subjugation of everything one knows about right and wrong to follow the ‘righteous indignation’ of the religious zealots who believe that their ‘brand’ of christianity should be the nation’s religion. And the Jews who support this and them have forgotten how, throughout history, it is never “good for the Jews” when ‘christianity’ takes over the land.
The only “ultimate commitment” being sought, demanded today by the clergy in powerful positions nationally, seems to be the “ultimate commitment” to themselves, to giving them money, to supporting the fascism of Trump, Vance, the Republican Party and, of course, the autocracy of Vladimir Putin, cause after all, he is a white man! The “moral and spiritual exaltation” being peddled is one of the ‘high’ one gets from knowing they are supporting their pastor, they are helping to annihilate the ‘enemies’ of the dictator, they are helping to raise up “der fuhrer” a little higher who in turn is raising up the ways of christ, the warrior king-just like the Gospels proclaim??? WHAT THE FUCK are people thinking??!!
We the People are being called to recapture our individual capability to “sacrifice” what is in our interest for the sake of what is best for another, for the whole. As Rabbi Heschel says, I am paraphrasing, the interests of another has to be my concern. We the People are being reminded of our opportunity to “sacrifice” for the greater good of all, to let go of our inflated egos and become right-sized once again. We are being called to live into our unique talents and spread them throughout our corner of the world for the benefit of another(s) and the fulfillment of our soul. This is the “moral and spiritual exaltation” I believe Rabbi Heschel is speaking about. In the 95 days of absolute CHAOS, brought about by Trump and the Republican Party, we are witnessing the destruction of every tenet, every moral and spiritual pillar upon which “religion” has stood, thereby destroying what “religion” is so they can establish their “fourth reich” with Trump as “der fuhrer” and Leavitt and Bondi as Goebbels, Hegseth as Goring, Lutnick as Bormann, Vought and Miller along with Bannon as Himmler, and Musk (and the other billionaires who joined the band) as Krupp, Farben, Vogler! We the People have to accept the mantle of “ultimate commitment” to Truth, to Decency, to Morality, to Spiritual Connection, to Living the Covenant made at Mount Sinai, to Justice, to Mercy, to Kindness, to Forgiveness, to Compassion, to Mercy, etc. These are facets of the Covenant made at Sinai, these are part of the promises made by God to Moses and the Israelites in Egypt, these are the fundamental tenets of the Bible. Only when We the People commit to and follow through on these covenantal agreements, only when We the People stay loyal to the principles that brought us out of Egypt and gave us the courage, the strength, the faith to enter the land of Canaan, can we defeat the charlatans, the idolators, the fascists! It takes more than a fascist regime to defeat the people who adhere to the Covenant, who are partners with the Ineffable One in living into the fullness, the richness, the greatness of being human!
I keep hearing this call to DO SOMETHING and I never experience that I am doing ‘enough’! I think this is a plague that visits itself upon so many people who are, like the little boy, putting their fingers in the dam only to have more leaks spring up. Yet, I also realize that I can do only what I can do and I am powerless to make another person hear me, to dictate to another person what they should do. I can, however, influence, cajole, manipulate another person into seeing the path of living well that is uniquely theirs. I can and have helped people find their way through a mass of confusion, lies they tell themselves, see what they have been oblivious to and find their passion and purpose as well as their spiritual core. My life, these past 38 years, is lived and living in “moral and spiritual exaltation” as imperfectly as I am-this is the “address” I live at. I live with joy and spirit, passion and a moral compass that points true north, even when I can’t follow it. I am my father’s son, I am, once again, on the trek from Egypt to Sinai, from slavery to freedom and my “sacrifices” are gifts to myself which allow me to be of service to another. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark