Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Day 195
“Man cannot think of himself as human without being conscious of his indebtedness. Thus it is not a mere feeling, but rather a constitutive feature of being human. To eradicate it would be to destroy what is human in man.” (Who is Man pg. 108)
Immersing myself in these words, thoughts, wisdom has overwhelmed me these past days. I am thinking about all the subtle ways we try to eradicate this “constitutive feature of being human”. We become victims and wear this mantle like Joseph wore his coat of many colors, with pride, with entitlement, with the sense that we are the ones owed and we owe nothing. We see this in the “identity politics” of our time, not that identities are not discriminated against-of course they are and always have been-rather the identities that are fighting for recognition and a seat at the table are willing to leave another identity out, ie the anti-semitism, anti-zionism, anti-islam, of some groups and/or their leaders. They are claiming, with good reason, to be discriminated against, demanding their “unalienable rights” that our Declaration of Independence speaks of, and are willing to discriminate against another ‘group’. How sad is this?
There are people who are always a “victim”, all the while victimizing another(s). Take Tucker Carlson, for example, he has made the “poor white man” the victim of all those radicals who want equality and freedom for all! How UnAmerican can one get!? Yet, he has millions of followers, he has led the fight for mendacity and self-deception and continues to claim that he and his followers are the victims, are the “poor me” and the ones being discriminated against. He is a white male with the most watched cable show and he is crying about ‘his whiteness’ being discriminated against? And the people who follow him, who listen to him, who are willing to take action on his lies, they are also saying that they are the ones who are being discriminated against. Carlson and his minions have learned the lesson of Josef Goebbels well, “accuse others of what you yourself are guilty of”. In fact, I believe they have perfected this teaching of Goebbels. Yet, no one says anything to him, not Rupert Murdoch, not the FCC, no one can stop this lying sack of S*&%# from spouting his lies. Unfortunately, as Rabbi Heschel teaches, self-deception is a major disease and the people who are listening to Carlson et al, are being deceived and loving it. How sad is this?
There are people who use some slight as a wound that will not heal and take it out on everyone they meet. There are people who want to claim victimhood because it will get them a payout and or there is a payoff for it. We see it in the ways parents will indulge their children-make sure their grades reflect their potential, not their actions. There are parents who always make their children ‘right’ and will use political, vocal, financial power against teachers, administrators, clergy in order to get their children what they(both parents and kids) want. We see it in the ways adults still feel owed by the world and they have to make no effort other than, “I am here and aren’t you lucky that I grace you with my presence” attitude. We have all met people like this and then, in a work setting at least, when you say, “ah no, you actually have to do the job you were hired to do, you actually have to learn from and with others, you actually need to be the leader you were hired to be, you actually can’t pawn off your work on another person, etc” the adult files a lawsuit, a worker’s compensation claim, etc. All of these are done in the name of ‘fairness’, ‘poor me’ ‘my feelings were hurt’, etc. Another case of people using the vulnerabilities of another against them, what Dr. M Scott Peck calls the definition of evil. How sad is this way of living?
All of these are ways in which people are subtly trying to eradicated the awareness and consciousness of their indebtedness, I realize now. There are a myriad more ways that people continue to try to eradicate this “constitutive feature of being human” and we have to stop engaging in them, we have to stop indulging people who are engaging in them and we need to hold ourselves and one another accountable for our indebtedness if our world is to survive; physically, morally and spiritually.
Recovery, as researched by two Harvard-trained researchers, Charles and Ronnie Blakeney, is where we recover our integrity, our humanness, and, I would add, our sense of indebtedness. This is a daily task, a daily endeavor, a daily treasure hunt that we who choose to be in recovery from the human condition of self-centeredness, victimhood, shame, blame, etc. get to engage in.
I realize my own subtle ways of trying to eradicate my sense of indebtedness and also realize, that while I always have known I owe, I was becoming less human, less engaged, my hearing was poor, my eyesight was dimming and my gifts were atrophying when I felt hurt, betrayed, exiled, shunned, etc. I also realize by engaging in being me I am repaying my indebtedness, I am answering the call and doing the task/work. I also know that I deal with some of the people I wrote about today and, truth be told, I have had bouts of being some of these descriptions myself. Being aware of this teaching in this manner has allowed me to grow again, change the dial of my living and have compassionate pity for the people who are still stuck. I apologize for being missing in action and I am back, I am here and I am planning a next chapter, to be revealed soon. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark