Daily Prophets
Day 91
“They use their mouths to deceive. One speaks to his fellow in friendship but lays an ambush for him in his heart. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the strong man glory in his strength, let not the rich man glory in his riches. Only in this should one glory: that he knows and understands Me, that I am the Lord Who does kindness, justice and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight.”(Jeremiah 9:7,22,23).
Jeremiah is channelling God here and adding, I think, some of his own frustration. Here again, we see the prophet calling out the people to be better. The only reason for Jeremiah to speak these words is the hope and belief of both the prophet and God that humanity can do better than we are. I pray they are correct and I pray that we commit ourselves to this endeavor.
Otherwise, we will continue to deceive with our mouths, while our actions are speaking a completely different language. The first verse above speaks to a root cause of evil in our world. People are more interested in being right, being ‘perfect’, blaming others and never taking responsibility for anything except their ‘victories’. We speak to one another as “brother” all the while planning how we are going to use/abuse them for our own gain. It has become an art form in our everyday living. How are the words on your lips matching what is in your heart? Rambam says they should.
The last two verses quoted above, “let not….” answer the question of ‘how do I follow the Rambam’s teaching I just quoted. Actually, the prophet is asking us to think about all of the attributes we have as gifts from God, as I am reading this verse today. Many of us think we should be worshiped, lauded, applauded for our wisdom, our strength and our riches and Jeremiah is telling us to stand down and not be so stuck on ourselves. We are blessed with these attributes and, while we can take credit for using them, using them for our own gain goes against the spirit these attributes were given.
Glory in “that he knows and understands Me” is the key to living well, Jeremiah is teaching us. Our wisdom, strength and riches are given to us, on loan to us, for the purpose of doing “kindness, justice and righteousness”. They are not given to us for our glory, rather the glory of God through these actions. What a different world we will have when all of us remember and adhere to Jeremiah’s words.
Rabbi Heschel teaches regarding the last two verses above: “This is sublime knowledge, sublime understanding, a new grammar of experience. What we encounter in the world is not neutral, impersonal being, things, forces forms, colors. What we encounter is full of God’s kindness, justice, and righteousness… God’s love and kindness indicate a road…It is everywhere, at all times.”(The Prophets pg. 211). Immersing myself in this allows me to look for the love and kindness God is showing me when humans are not. A very difficult inquiry, yet a necessary one; for to engage in this inquiry deepens my connection with, love for and adherence to God’s ways, not the ways of society. While a just society is the goal, too often the result is in the words of the first two verses above. We don’t glory in God, we don’t understand and know God without living on this road of ‘love and kindness” that Rabbi Heschel is speaking about. It is everywhere and I find it as soon as I look for it, as soon as I lift up my eyes and see.
In recovery, we have returned from being the deceiver, from “laying an ambush” for others, we have returned to the road of kindness and love that Rabbi Heschel speaks of. We have stopped being the center of our world and put God and another(s) in that place. We have come to realize that we are trusted by God to do God’s work in our corner of the world and not worry about the glory. Whenever a player points up to the sky at a sporting event, it is their way of acknowledging that the Glory belongs to God and I am blessed to be able to participate in God’s world. This is the reason being of service is so important in our recovery. A woman who has done so much for people over the years told me, after her eldest son died, “the only way I can cope is to give more of me so I can connect and repay God for the gift of my son.” While not an “addict” this woman has lived a life of recovery and kindness, love and righteousness all of her days.
I also know both ways these verses illuminate. The difference is for the past 32+ years I have not had betrayal in my heart. I have not betrayed the principles God has laid out for us. I haven’t always followed them and I have suffered internally when I haven’t. I have never dropped them from my core beliefs and I consider kindness, love, righteousness, justice to be core and guiding principles of my life. I also realize that the betrayals I have experienced are not personal-they are not a reflection of me, they are a teacher for me to see what is, not what I want. I also have to not glory in the wisdom, strength and riches of another(s) and glory only in my understanding and knowing of God. This is a daily struggle and I engage in it each and every day-some days better and some days not. How do you celebrate God and not self? Stay safe and God Bless, Rabbi Mark