Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Day 63
“Creation in the language of the Bible is an act of expression. God said: “Let there be”; and it was. Creation is not an act that happened once, but a continuous process. The work Yehi, “Let there be,” stands forever in the universe.”(Man is Not Alone pg. 144/5).
The more I immerse myself in Rabbi Heschel’s words, the more I hear him speaking to me, to all of us. The third sentence above is one of those ideas that continue to explode in its application and meaning. Creation never stops! What an absolutely marvelous, fearful, uncertain statement of fact! Taking this truth seriously and living it means so many of our basic assumptions could crumble. The responsibility put on humanity becomes more urgent and causes us to stop being “in a box”.
Since creation is a continuous process, we can no longer be fundamentalists on either poles of the continuum. We cannot continue creation when we want to return to the “good old days” of _____(fill in the blank). We cannot continue creation when we want to destroy everything that is/was and build what we want. Continuing creation, as I am hearing Rabbi Heschel, is joining with God/Creator/Higher Intelligence to continue to expand, grow, repair, change what already exists to meet our experience and our needs. Not the selfish needs of a few, again on both extremes, rather the needs of humanity, the needs of God, the needs of harmony, respecting each other, caring for the earth and all that is in it. Truly living the command of God in the first chapter of Genesis to replenish the earth, to care for each other and the plants, the fish, the fowl and the beasts. Use them for our benefit AND care for them, hence kosher meat has to be slaughtered in a way that is least painful, all the blood has to be drained out, etc. so even in death there is care. We are not to leave a dead body to rot overnight, rather we show respect by burying as quickly as possible, even a murderer gets this respect.
Creation as a continuous process means these actions mentioned above and so much more are ways of growing the creation of our world, of our physical space, of our just and respectful ways of dealing with each other. When we use deception, mendacity, slander, libel, lies, to cause chaos, anger, hatred, etc for our own gain, we are retarding creation. When we go along to get along, we are retarding creation. When we knowingly give credence to the false accusations/claims and pay people off rather than stand up for truth “on advice of counsel”, we are retarding creation. When we accept a fine, no matter how large, rather than prosecute and hold people responsible for their actions, we are retarding creation. When we are asked to mediate/help resolve conflicts and decline because we don’t want to be involved/open ourselves up to false/legal claims, we are retarding creation. When we need to blame another because of our failings, we are retarding creation.
We help continue creation when we are engaged in radical amazement, when we are unwilling to accept the ‘old ways’ or return to ‘the good old days’. We are continuing creation when we live in today, the present, using past experience to enhance today and not being bound by religious/secular behaviorism and/or spiritual/emotional plagiarism. We continue creation through constantly seeking to improve the living standards of the poor and the needy, by seeking to connect with people who are ‘different’ than us so we can learn from them, both their needs and their gifts. We continue creation when we collaborate instead of compete to win. We continue creation when we “lift up our eyes and see” what need we can fulfill right now, see what is truly in front of us and how to make our corner of the world a little better today and every day. When we can admit our errors, our missing the marks, and repair the damage we have wrought, we are continuing creation. When we face our true, authentic self and live authentically, transparently and spiritually, we are continuing creation. Realizing the ways we continue creation and celebrating these gains is important as well to keep our self moving in the right direction:)
In recovery, we are creating a new life each and every day. We know that we continue to create anew through learning, through amends, through asking for help, through responding to calls for help, through connecting with another human being, etc. We are aware of our need to continue to continue creating a new life, one built on honesty, open-mindedness and willingness. In recovery, we turn to God/Higher Power/Higher Intelligence each day for the wisdom and energy to hear our intuitive voice clearer and act on it more often.
I am guilty of retarding creation even in my recovery and my awareness of my guilt and repairing the ways I have retarded creation is one of the ways I continue creation. Rabbi Heschel is calling me to task again, he disturbs my conscience and never leaves me alone, to work a little harder to continue creation, to move the ball forward one grain of sand more, to be a little more just, a little kinder, a little more charitable, a little more truthful, a little less self-deception, a little more concern for another, a little more compassionate, etc. ‘A little more’ acknowledges that I am acting/living in these ways, just need to grow it each and every day. I know I can and I commit to continue creation in the ways I am uniquely gifted to and ask you to do the same with your unique gifts as well. This way, we put our gifts together, in collaboration, and the world becomes the place we all want to live in. Stay safe and God Bless, Rabbi Mark