Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Day 29
“It is against his selfish interests that man yields to the coercion to brood over purpose, meaning or value of living;… that he often resists the tempting rewards of wealth, power or vulgar popularity;…”(Man is Not Alone pg.140-41)
The reverberations of these words can, should, must be experienced by all people. In fact, as Rabbi Heschel teaches being human is our task and this sentence above is the path to dignifying our humanness, acting in accordance with our being human, and the goal that we all have, whether we reach for it, whether we sustain this way of living or not. “We are engaged in a great civil war” both internally and externally today as we were at the time Rabbi Heschel wrote these uplifting hopeful words. The coercion spoken about here is the coercion to love I wrote about yesterday, and Rabbi Heschel is reminding us that this coercive force to love leads us to purpose, meaning and is the true value of living. This “great civil war” did not end in 1865, it has continued on for these past 156 years in many different disguises with the same goal: to see if our selfish interests are going to defeat the coercive force to love, find meaning, purpose and value the gift of life we have been given. All people are created equal, according to President Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address and to Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. This is a truth that the Talmud recognizes and our Holy Torah as well as all spiritual disciplines and foundational teaches give us the path to fulfilling this truth. None of us are better than another, no matter what we may think or hear from another person-each of us has infinite dignity and those who deny that are pathetic small people who yield to their “selfish interests” rather than their coercive love, purpose, meaning, etc.
It is time for us to all rise up and resist the “tempting rewards of wealth, power or vulgar popularity” and, instead, use our power to dignify each and every human being in our realm/orbit. Ensuring a living wage to those who work hard to make ends meet and can’t, welcoming the stranger as our ancestors were welcomed (whether they came ‘legally’ or not), caring for the poor and the needy who are unable to care for themselves, redeeming the captive, etc is within our power if we choose to follow our coercive force to love rather than hate, our coercive love to make meaning instead of comfort for ourselves, our coercive love to serve God and another instead of giving into our selfish indulgences. Using our popularity to spotlight an issue that needs to be brought to light, using our popularity to affirm the rights and the spirit and the dignity of another human being is the affirmative way to use our popularity within our small circle and for those whose circle is wider-God Bless them for winning their internal war between selfishness and caring for another human being. Using our wealth to serve another human being doesn’t mean not pampering oneself; if you can have a private Jet or JetCard, God Bless you! This issue is what else are you doing with your money? I have a friend who is very wealthy and he has built one school that is up and running and is not building another school in an area that is underserved. He has donated to Charitable Causes for a lot of years and taught his children to do the same. He is always available to listen to someone and give advice and support. This is the proper way to “resist the tempting rewards of wealth”.
None of these achievements are bad, as I read Rabbi Heschel today. The question for us is how are we going to use/celebrate our achievements? Are we going to use our ‘legal prowess’ to overpower decency and rightful claims by using our wealth to continue to harass and browbeat someone else into submission just so we can “win”? Are we going to use the ‘bully pulpit’ we have to bully another person into slavery, just to win? Are we going to find the strength to say no to the forces of selfishness, need to win, how can I get mine, hiding from truth and seeking to gain on someone else’s back? We can, and I believe must, through strengthening and growing, acknowledging and rejoicing in our coercive force to love, to serve and to be human.
In recovery, we are acutely aware that yielding “to the coercion to brood over purpose, meaning or value of living” is paramount to our continued growth; spiritually, morally and in our recovery. Without using the gifts we have been given by God/Higher Power we know we will go back to the days of selfishness and utter demoralization. In recovery, we are dedicated to not going back to this way of existing. Rather, in recovery, we are dedicated to growing our humanness, learning how to be more human, and serve another with joy, passion, humility and grace.
I am saddened that these words, this teaching from 70 years ago have gone unheard and unheeded so I find myself in a space that seems ridiculous to some: giving into the coercive force to love and going beyond my selfish interests, brooding over meaning and purpose, resisting the impulses to “get even” etc. I am overwhelmed with joy also knowing that my actions have brought more people help and assistance and I don’t feel stupid when people who can treat me with dignity and respect don’t. I just feel sad and have compassionate pity for people who give into the temptations of power, money, etc. to rule/crush another human being, forgetting that none of us own another. I am gladdened for all the people who do rise above their selfish interests and add more meaning, purpose, love and concern to our world. More on this tomorrow. God Bless and Stay Safe, Rabbi Mark