Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Day 69
“All beings are replete with the divine word which only leaves when our viciousness profanes and overbears His silent, patient presence.”(Man is Not Alone pg.145)
If we are being disturbed and concerned by this teaching, then we are also being consoled by it. The states of disturbance and concern are to remind us of what is important in the world, in our lives and in the way we live. The concern we experience about the way people are vicious and profane regarding the divine word is a good experience, though it brings worry and dismay. It is a good experience because it means that the divine word is being awakened inside of us again, we are called to act on the divine word that is in us and to act on it/them in our own unique manner. “Evil flourishes when good men/people do nothing” which is attributed to Edmund Burke, is a call to action on the divine word inside each and every one of us. We are not stuck nor trapped by the viciousness and profanity of another(s) human being and/or group, and/or country. We all have a choice to stand up against this viciousness and profanity by standing up and acting on the divine word in us.
This brings much consolation and hope to all of us. We are living in a time(not unlike other times) where negativity, mendacity, evil, subterfuge, etc seem to be winning the day and even some of our religious and spiritual leaders are participating. We are living in a time, not unlike other times, where truths are being bastardized by a few for power over the many. We are seeing a form of minority rule that could be reminiscent of the time before the American Civil War AND we can bring the divine word in us, we can fill our world back again, ie be replete, with the divine word in us and hear the divine word from and in another human being. This is our challenge, this is our task and this is our ability.
While finding the divine need that we fulfill may seem daunting, the teaching above from Rabbi Heschel brings joy and hope! One of our basic needs, as I am understanding this teaching today, is to bring the divine word(s) we are replete with to another human being, to allow them to shape our actions, then our thoughts and then our feelings. Hurt feelings is a major disease today and in the past; countries have gone to war and millions have died over hurt feelings and resentments. If we live Rabbi Heschel’s teaching above, then when we are hurt by another person, we will fill ourselves back up again with a divine word and a divine teaching and hear the divine words, even in the viciousness and profanity of the person who hurt us. Not that this means we had this vicious and profane attack coming to us, just that we get to ask ourselves the question: “What is the question this experience is the answer for” as I learned from Rabbi Jonathon Omer-man. In asking “what do I learn from this experience” we are able to divorce ourselves from the viciousness and the profanity, not carry a resentment nor give credence to this attack, and strengthen our ability to hear and speak the divine word(s) we are filled up with. It is one of the better ways of letting go of resentments and being able to forge ahead with our path and service to the Ineffable One, another human being and our self.
I love the use of the word replete, the latin is “to fill back again”. The divine word never leaves us! We are constantly being filled up with the divine word, the higher truth, a way out of the slavery of our thoughts and feelings and this is joyous and consoling for us. Many of us see the negativity as continuing to flow and being refilled in the world, which it is; yet Rabbi Heschel is telling us the antidote to negativity, divine words and deeds are also continually flowing in our self and the world. While negativity gets more attention, I hear Rabbi Heschel calling us to start paying more attention to the divine word(s) and deeds that we are filled up with again and again. Isn’t it joyous and consoling to know we are filled with higher aspirations and actions than the worst we portray? Isn’t is hopeful to know that divine word can overcome viciousness and profanity? I believe it is.
In recovery, we are able to discern the divine word(s) that fill us up and the ways we are vicious and profane, many times bastardizing divine words to be more vicious and profane. In recovery we are aware of the need to be vigilant about our actions, our words, speaking to people in ways they can hear and helping our self and another self to keep being filled back again with divine word(s) and mitigating our leanings towards viciousness and profanity.
I am thinking of a teaching that says: “Every person should see oneself as if holiness abides in one’s guts”. I am so grateful to Rabbi Heschel for reminding me that I am not my worst action, that one “oh shit” doesn’t wipe out “100 atta boys” as the saying goes. I am consoled by this teaching reminding me I am replete with the divine word and, while I have been vicious and profane, I have been kind and compassionate and of service much more often and I no longer have to resent anyone else who is vicious and I choose to not resent myself for my errors. I commit to continue to live and speak my divine word more often for my sake, for the sake of another, and for the sake of the Ineffable One. These are the best motivators of positivity and antidote to viciousness to me. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark