Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 4 Day 94
“The insecurity of freedom is a bitter fact of historical experience. In times of unemployment, vociferous demagogues are capable of leading the people into a state of mind in which they are ready to barter their freedom for any bargain. In times of prosperity hidden persuaders are capable of leading the same people into selling their conscience for success. Unless a person learns how to rise daily to a higher plane of living, to care for that which surpasses his immediate needs, will he in a moment of crisis insist upon loyalty to freedom?”(Insecurity of Freedom pg 18)
OY! I read this pearls from Rabbi Heschel, I pray, I study, just as other people do the same with other teachers, philosophers, clergy, spiritual paths and I am in complete bewilderment as to why this truth of “the insecurity of freedom” hasn’t been emblazoned between our eyes, what the issue is when Jews put T’fillin on their heads that this message doesn’t go to our hearts and souls. I am in complete bafflement as to how, after millennia of experience with this truth, that humanity is unable to accept and live in to it, have a daily practice which acknowledges this “bitter fact of historical experience” and SHEMA, hear, listen and understand, the call of the universe that “freedom” is more powerful than slavery, that the “insecurity of freedom” is causes by “vociferous demagogues” leading the uninformed, the lazy, the ‘where’s mine and how can I get it’ people to “barter their freedom”.
Remembering that the title of this paper I am quoting from is called “Religion in a Free Society”, we have to wonder what Rabbi Heschel is seeing in the late 1950’s in America that makes him so concerned, exert so much energy on warning us, informing us of that which we are not seeing, according to what I hear him saying this morning, and, what we were blind to then as well as what We the People are not seeing in this moment. For some of us, these words are ringing so true, so powerfully, we search for answers as to how we got to this place, where a demagogue is so capable of “leading the people into a state of mind in which they are ready to barter their freedom for any bargain”. We are seeing this with the Law Firms who have capitulated to Trump’s demands to stop defending the law and defend his law instead, we see this with the MAGA crowd who have bartered their freedom and their well-being financially and health-wise to these charlatans for some fantasy “bargain”. We are hearing the grift of the idolators claiming to be ‘good christians’ who promote the idea that God/Christ loves you if you are rich and if you are not but donate to Pastor Paula White-Cain and buy her ‘passover blessing kit’, your life will improve. The grift of the priesthood is what caused the destruction of both the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judea) in ancient times. It is what the prophets warned about, it must be what Jesus was talking about when he bewailed and railed against the “money-changers” in the Temple. Yet, these “vociferous demagogues” have convinced almost half of the United States that doing what they did in ancient times will have a different result today-talk about not knowing, heeding, believing in “a bitter fact of historical experience”!
Rabbi Heschel is not using “times of unemployment” and “times of prosperity” to necessarily show different moments, because as we can see, even in “times of unemployment”, the rich can get richer; even in times of prosperity, the gap between rich and not rich can grow exponentially. I do believe he is telling us to be on guard no matter what economic times we are in so it is a “both/and” approach, I believe. We are living in such a time today-full stop. The gap between rich and not rich keeps growing and, no matter how much bullshit is thrown against the wall; Trump, Musk, Vance, Lutnick, Bannon are not populists who are “for the people”, they do not believe in “Government of the people, by the people, and for the people”. Yet, these power-mad individuals, as a group, have shown their capability in “leading the people into a state of mind in which they are ready to barter their freedom”. We saw this in Russia with Putin, we see this in Hungary with Orban, we are witnessing this in Israel with Netanyahu, and we are experiencing this in America with Trump. We are “not better off today than we were 4 years ago” because we are losing our freedom little by little, a lot by a lot, we are being gouged by higher prices, lower taxes on the rich, less services from the government, broken promises made by earlier administrations by the current one, the ripping apart of the Constitution by this administration and the lies of the Fox NOTNEWS! Murdoch’s own paper, The Wall Street Journal, is calling this shit nuts-yet FOXNOTNEWS continues to promote the lies, the misdirections, the “vociferous demagoguery” of Trump, Lutnick, Hegseth, Gabbard, et al.
In 6 nights We the People will begin the celebration of Passover with a gathering of people, reading the Haggadah, partaking of a meal, and promising “Next Year in Jerusalem”, next year we will freer; in 12 nights Christians will celebrate the “Last Supper” and then Easter on the following Sunday. Passover, Easter are not abstractions nor are they ‘hopes and wishes’; they are real celebrations that We the People commit to be the reality for now and for ever. They are real manifestations of God’s Will, they appeal to the truth found in our Higher Consciousness. We the People have an advantage that the people who experienced the first Easter, the first Passover, did not have. We have the knowing that these celebrations are about to happen and the question We the People have to ask is: “what inner life wrestling do I need to do, what slavery do I have to leave, what lies do I need to let go of, to be able to honor the gift of “freedom” that I/we have been graced with”. This is the crucial question before us and too many people are unaware of this question, unaware they have the ‘right’ answers to the wrong questions! What are the 4 questions the adults need to ask and how will we answer the child’s questions: “what did you do while the “vociferous demagogues” were taking away our freedoms?”
I am letting go of the slavery of needing another to validate me. I know I have kept silent at times so you would like me. I know that the phone not ringing, my requests being ignored have made me retreat. I know that I ‘talk’ to myself not understanding being left out, cut out and all of these occurrences have left me not sure of my self, not sure of my place. This Pesach, I am recommitting to BEING ME! There are two books I am publishing, Harriet is publishing one book and we are going to launch an online salon for learning together in small groups. I hope you find your slavery this year also. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark.