Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Day 132
“How embarrassing for man to live in the shadow of greatness and to ignore it, to be a contemporary of God and not sense it. Religion depends upon what man does with his ultimate embarrassment.” (Who is Man pg. 112)
Rabbi Heschel wrote this book Who is Man based on lectures he gave at Stanford University in 1963. Some 60 years later, these teachings are as meaningful as they were then, his words are prophetic and many people still ignore them-how sad, how serious, how dangerous to the human race ignoring them is. I believe part of the reason for people ignoring the wonder, awe, beauty, and call to action of Rabbi Heschel’s teachings is they are so profound, so foundational to being human people are unable to refute them and don’t want to live them so they ignore them, they choose not to sense them. It is easier to ignore and not sense truth, a call to action, a demand from God than to refute any of these experiences. It is less confrontational, it is more convenient, it is more emotional soothing and it is a path to silencing the spirit within us. Yet, Rabbi Heschel’s teachings in general and above shake us out of our willful blindness, as he has called our way of being, like the prophets of old Rabbi Heschel gives us a bad conscious, he disturbs us and he is a constant voice of judgement and mercy in our souls; when we accept his wisdom and his call to action.
By ignoring the “shadow of greatness” we live in, we work hard to deny truth, deny God’s call, deny our own humanity, and deny our own basic goodness of being. As we see what is happening in the world today and we have a keen sense of history, we can hear God’s warning that the greatness that is God, the greatness that God’s shadow provides for us is being used against us by smooth talkers and grifters. We know this in our soul and we know this to be true “in our bones” yet, we are feel powerless to do anything about the Pandemic of Prejudice that keeps spreading and growing inside some people and infecting more and affecting every one. Rabbi Heschel calls prejudice “an eye disease, a cancer of the soul” and, as we learn from the teaching above, prejudice is incongruent with living “in the shadow of greatness” and being aware of this truth. Hence, the reason so many people ignore the “shadow of greatness” we live in each and every day.
It is time for “all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country” a phrase used in typing books from Charles Weller, is especially pertinent right now. I would change it to: Now is the time for all People to come to the aid of God and Now is the time for all People to come to the awareness of the greatness we live in the shadow of. When we come to the aid of God, when we become aware of the greatness we live in the shadow of, we are adopting this teaching of Rabbi Heschel and we are implementing God’s vision of us and for us. Coming to the aid of God, awareness of of the greatness we live in the shadow of is the carrot for our willful blindness, the orange juice for our scurvy of our souls, the vaccine for the pandemic of prejudice, hatred, bastardization and idolatry. We have had the solution to what ails humanity at our fingertips and we continue to ignore it and Rabbi Heschel’s words are like a hammer on the anvil trying desperately to break through the hard shell that we have encased our hearts, our souls and our connections to God and to fellow human beings.
The so-called leaders of our country, secular and religious, who are exploiting the ignorance of ‘the masses’ and using people to further their interests, not the interests of God are the idolators and the modern day Pharaohs. We see this in the rise of authoritarianism and the unmasking of the prejudice, hatred and ill-will they and their followers are unleashing through mendacity, deception and fear-mongering. It is truly time for all GOOD PEOPLE to come to the aid of God, of our fellow human beings and of our own souls!
This is the foundational truth we who are in recovery live by: letting go of the lies and the prejudice, the anger and the hatred, the ill-will and fear-mongering that our former lives were built on. Leaving the narrowness (Egypt) of self-centeredness and journeying with the help of and guidance of God to our rightful home, our right actions and our the serenity/clarity of service to God and to humanity. In recovery, we learn to rejoice in each day, put on a new pair of glasses and hone our vision to see how to make our corner of the world a little better each day.
As Socrates once said: “the unexamined life is not worth living” and Malcom X reminded us: “the examined life is painful” describes the both/and of Rabbi Heschel’s teachings for me. I have to examine my life, the ways I live each and every day for want of improving my actions and living the Mitzvah/demand of God to do T’Shuvah and return. I have to face myself and how I have honored the “shadow of greatness” I live in and how I have ignored it. Doing this is painful, disappointing God, neglecting the call of my own soul and the needs of another is the most excruciating pain I can experience and this daily action gives me more insight on how to live better the next day and how to serve God and humanity a little better the next day and I experience the embrace of spirit and the embrace of community, family, friends a little more each day. Taking the blinders off, seeing clearer and rejecting the idolatry of ignorance enhances me and my life each day. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark