Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Day 151
“I am afraid of people who are never embarrassed at their own pettiness, prejudices, envy and conceit, never embarrassed at the profanation of live. A world full of grandeur has been converted into a carnival.” (Who is Man pg 114)
Rabbi Heschel was afraid of people as described above in 1965, can you imagine his fear in today’s world? We are living at a time where pettiness, prejudices, envy and conceit are, I hope, at their pinnacle. I say hope because if this is the pinnacle, then these ways of being can begin to lessen day by day, till embarrassment becomes the norm. I hear Rabbi Heschel call us to revel in our embarrassment because it is a sign of awareness and response to our engaging in these ungodly ways of being. All of the issues we face in our living, both on a political/national level, local level, familial level and personal level, are centered around the words and teachings above.
On a national level, both parties engage in pettiness and prejudices rather than compromise and doing the next right thing. The left is prejudiced against the right and vice a versa. They disengage from one another and there is no room for compromise and no way to move the country forward towards the promise of 1776, the hope of the Declaration of Independence, the goal of the Bill of Rights. We are witnesses to the attempted destruction of the democracy that is 248 years old. This is happening because the politicians in DC are not willing to be embarrassed by nor recognize their pettiness and prejudices, they continue to lie and manipulate people while lining their pockets and claiming their adherence to their principles! What a load of horse dung!
We see this phenomenon on a global stage as well. Putin’s lies and pettiness regarding the Ukraine and his subsequent invasion of Ukraine is nothing more than envy and conceit. He is envious of the West, envious of China, envious of Ukraine, a small country, and he is conceited enough to believe the Ukraine would just surrender and the world would leave him, the great Vladimir Putin, do what he wants to. He believed Russian Oil would save him and make everyone cower before him. At the time of this writing, it seems as if he is mistaken and he is not embarrassed by his errors, his conceit nor his envy-he is doubling down by bombing maternity hospitals, residential neighborhoods, etc. Saudi Arabia’s MBS is not taking President Biden’s call and speaks to his good pal Vlad? Yet they get so much aid from the US-maybe he needs to be cut off, held responsible for Khashoggi’s murder which he ordered, etc. We are witnessing the issues that are based in Rabbi Heschel’s wisdom above. Without being able to experience embarrassment, these people are dangerous, evil and destructive.
For those of us who are embarrassed by our own pettiness, prejudices, envy and conceit, we are suffer from the fatigue of fighting against these people who revel in their pettiness, etc. While it has been increasingly clear that some of the people in our government and in the world have always been incapable of embarrassment, these Spiritual diseases of pettiness, prejudice, envy and conceit are rapidly increasing in the population of this country and the world. When almost 1/2 of the country cannot accept the free and fair election results of 2020, we are witnessing the triumph of the leaders who lead from and appeal to the pettiness, prejudices, envy and conceit of their followers. When we make a health issue like the Pandemic of 2020 a political football and prolong the effects through inaction of vaccinations and masks, we are witnessing the triumph of these deceivers. When we cannot pass a national Voting Rights Bill, when women’s free will choices are again under assault, when sexual orientation overrides decency and kindness, we are witnessing the success of the Charlatans who falsely wrap themselves in flag and God. They are the true idolators of our time and they have no loyalty to God, to our Bill of Rights, to our Declaration of Independence. We have to fight through our battle fatigue and never let these mendacious people win, never let these Traitors to God and Faith succeed.
In recovery, we engage in a “searching and fearless moral inventory” to root out our prejudices and pettiness’, our envy and our conceit. It is an essential foundational footing for our recovery. We have to be embarrassed by these ‘ugly’, inhumane behaviors and thoughts so we can begin to trudge the road to wholeness, community, decency and sense of agency for our self that reflects the authenticity of our souls. In recovery, we are liberated from these ways of being that lead to us isolating, separating and defeating God’s vision and call for us.
I am embarrassed and have been when I have engaged in these thoughts which always lead to inhumane behaviors. I realize there have been times when I wasn’t aware of envy and believed my prejudices against the charlatans was a good thing. I realize that I was envious of people who were recognized on a large scale for what I was doing and/or for bastardizing or quoting me without attribution. I realize that I was prejudiced against people who were for the bullies, who hung out with people who meant me and my people harm, who said one thing and did another, who looked good on the outside and were hiding their insides because it was ‘polite’. I was prejudiced towards people who were judgmental about me and prejudiced against me-doing what was hateful to me to another person. I am embarrassed and grateful to be more aware through Rabbi Heschel’s wisdom. God Bless, pray for Ukraine, and stay safe, Rabbi Mark