Daily Prophets
Day 34
“And now they go on sinning…they kiss calves! I am Adonai, your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior. But when they were satisfied, their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot Me.”(Hosea 13:2,4,6)
Hosea is repeating an inner dialogue he is having. As Rabbi Heschel teaches, a prophet is someone who holds God and human together in one moment in all moments. Here is Hosea holding both humanity and god in his being and repeating the dialogue that he hears. He seems incredulous that Israel could “go on sinning” and “kiss calves” after all his earlier prophecies. He is saddened and dismayed at Israel’s continued flaunting of the 1st and 2nd Commandments.
He is also wondering how they have forgotten who their God truly is. While this could seem like a ‘poor me’, ‘look what I have done for you’ speech, I experience it as Adonai calling out to Ephraim and reminding him who the One True God is. God’s experience is one of being the ‘foxhole’ God, when I am in trouble, I call and when things are going well, not so much. Of course, Ephraim was doing the rituals proscribed while also worshipping Baal! Adonai is bewildered and lonely and sad, not dramatic and resentful, as I experience these verses today.
Rabbi Heschel speaks to this. Verse 2 above to him is proof of the stupidity of Ephraim. How ridiculous is it to worship animals as representatives of God? How dumb is it to expect idols, animals, etc to truly respond to the calls of our souls? He states that 13:4-8 are Hosea’s attempt to shatter the serenity of the people who are trying to play both sides. He calls these verses “words fell like the blows of a hammer over their heads”(The Prophets pg.46). I love this description as it describes my experience with Rabbi Heschel’s teachings. Like the prophets, his words fall like a sledge hammer on my head and the heads of all who truly immerse themselves in his words and are open to seeing themselves clearly and honestly.
In watching the recaps of yesterday’s Senate Impeachment trial, I am struck by the similarity to the first verse above. The Senators who could not pay attention, who have called the presentation “offensive and absurd” rather than finding the call for this riot/insurrection offensive and absurd are like Ephraim above, “they go on sinning… they kiss calves”. Here, the sin is against the very soul of democracy, they only want power. The sin is against ‘the other side’ because if the ‘other side’ did this, they would investigate and prosecute forever (think Whitewater, Benghazi). Yet, their idol, Donald Trump, is the all powerful OZ, and they are still kissing his behind. They have forgotten that God, democracy, principles have been what has given them the opportunity to serve an ideal, to serve We, The People, to preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. They have aligned with and become part of these enemies. How sad they don’t read their Bibles and learn from them.
In Recovery, we are so aware of how we “go on sinning” as we know that Spiritual perfection is not attainable and we seek Spiritual progress. In our addiction we ‘kissed the different calves’ often, in fact daily. These calves were, of course, our ‘drug of choice’, money, property, prestige, self-pity, less than, perfection, etc. We worshiped at all of these altars until we realized…. “Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power-that One is God. May you find Him now”(AA Big Book, chapter 5). Along with Step 2: “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity,” we know God, we develop an intimate relationship with God and because of this intimacy and love, we are able to stay sober and truly grow in recovery. We know we can never forget God and remain free of our addictions. We know that God rescued us from the hell of our own making and continues to empower us to move forward one step at a time by following Adonai’s ways and calls to and for us.
Experiencing these verses has been invigorating for me this morning. I, of course, see how even in my recovery, I ‘kissed calves’ and I am kinda revolted by it. I know I have a reason and an explanation and I also know that I, like Ephraim, was worshiping Adonai and, at times, kissing calves. I see where one of the ‘calves’ was my own false ego and false pride. I also know that I have stood for and with God all of my recovery. I am proud to say, I did not ‘kiss calves’ often and I never forgot Adonai.
I am realizing how subtle the ‘kissing of calves’ can be, however. The times I have been more afraid of the judgements of another human being over the judgements of Adonai are examples of ‘kissing the calves’. The times I have given into impulses of anger for my own sake are examples of ‘kissing the calves’. The times I did not allow myself to be shattered by the blows of Adonai’s words and Rabbi Heschel’s words and the words of those who care for and about me are examples of ‘kissing the calves’. I ask you: When have you/are you ‘kissing the calves of idolatry’ and when do you remember Adonai? Stay safe and God Bless, Rabbi Mark