Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 2 Day 66
“The greater the man, the more he is exposed to sin. Piety is at times evil in disguise,, an instrument in the pursuit of power.” (God in Search of Man pg. 370)
Last night we were privileged to be with Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, Rabbi Nissan and the combined communities of Temple Beth El and Valley Beit Midrash for a screening of the Documentary: The Jewish Jail Lady and the Holy Thief. Sitting with this combined community and with Rabbi Shmuly and all of the amazing work he does each and every day to promote a piety that is not rooted in ritual, rather in spirit and the call of the Ineffable One, we experienced the exact opposite of Rabbi Heschel’s warning. The reason this is important to me is because we get lost and adjusted to our negative experiences with the false piety of some of the Religious Leaders and Politicians who are promoting “evil in disguise” who want to use “piety… as an instrument in the pursuit of power”, as Rabbi Heschel warns of in his wisdom above.
We have seen forever how false piety has led to ruin, destruction, slavery, hatred, mendacity and conquering. The New World is a case in point. Spain, England, France were all going to bring Christianity to the ‘heathen Indians’, to the Aztecs, etc. They brought it here at the end of a sword, with rifles and bullets, with concentration camps called reservations, etc. It is believed that many of Columbus’ crew were made up of Jews trying to escape the Inquisition because of the false piety that “was evil in disguise, an instrument in the pursuit of power.”
What these ‘pious people’ then and now forget is the demands of the prophets to turn away from their false piety that serves only them and their pursuit of power. The prophets calling to these charlatans to end their misuse of God’s will and word for their own power-seeking and evil pursuits. Yet we are mired in their negativing and their power wielding ways. We are being called a Christian Nation and a new wave of Christian Nationalists is rising up to ‘take back our country’-forgetting that OUR country belongs to all the people, to the principle of separation of Church and State, to the principle of Freedom of Religion, Speech and the Press. All of these founding principles can and have been manipulated by these ‘pious people’ (of all faiths) and are being used “in the pursuit of power”.
Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo declare themselves for a “return” (false claim) to the US being a Christian Nation and Jews are clapping because they believe they are kin in their piety, it is a sign of the self-deception some people live under. While belief in God is important to and for many of us as a blueprint for living well, joining with these people who engage in “piety is at times evil in disguise, an instrument in the pursuit of power” is a recipe for disaster, for denying the freedoms this country was founded on to ‘those unholy heathens’ who do not bow down and worship these charlatans of false piety.
This is true not just in politics, it is happening in our daily living. Religious freedom is not a reason that Hobby Lobby should exclude birth control aids from their health insurance for their employees. Religious freedom is not a reason that a woman’s body and what she does with it should be a man’s purview. Religious freedom is not a reason to deny a person their own sexuality. Religious freedom is not a reason to misinterpret Biblical truths. Religious freedom is not a reason to enslave, to deny, to turn another human being into second class citizens. Yet, there are so many ‘pious’ people who wield their religion like a machete cutting down fruit. The brilliance of Rabbi Heschel above must give all of us pause and do our own T’Shuvah, our own personal inventory to see how our piety in any and all realms, our adherence to a fundamentalist viewpoint (extreme conservative or progressive) denies rights, freedoms and acknowledgements to/of another human being.
In recovery, we “continue to take daily inventory and promptly admit when we are wrong” in order to ensure that our piety and adherence to the principles of recovery, our principles of faith do not turn into false rhetoric, do not become “an instrument in the pursuit of power” and we do not go back to a way of living that is indecent, unkind, dishonest, etc. We are aware of the myriad of ways we have engaged in self-deception so our continued daily inventory helps us nip these destructive ways ‘in the bud’.
I have railed against this type of false piety forever. As a kid I saw that “the emperor had no clothes” and this has continued to this day. I have caused great turmoil because of the loudness and the crassness with which I have pursued and uncovered the false piety in the world and in individuals. I am not aware of when I have used my own piety as “an instrument in the pursuit of power”. I have used my passion, my beliefs, my ingenuity, my caring, love, and truth in my positions of power, just not piety. I have been aware of my flaws and my errors sooner or later and made amends/did T’Shuvah for them upon my awareness. I have been rebuked and accept the truth of what someone is telling me, even if I don’t agree with everything they say. I do this so I can stay right sized, I do this not to show my piety, but to live it. I am able to hear the call of another soul, to hear the call of my soul and to hear the demand of God because I continue to engage in my piety, my adherence to principles and clear out the falseness I am susceptible to each day. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark