Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Day 290
“Yet what I mean is not outward ceremony and public demonstration, but rather inward appreciation, lending spiritual form to everyday acts. Its essence is to call attention to the sublime or solemn aspects of living, to rise above the confines of consumption.”(Who is Man pg. 117)
“Lending spiritual form to everyday acts” is a challenging endeavor for all of us and it is the most worthwhile and invigorating endeavor we can engage in. Yet again, this is an internal experience, an individual experience and we are bombarded with all of the “experts”, “religious” leaders, “faith-based” groups who are trying to tell us there is only one way to achieve the experience of appreciation and spiritual form! It is so antithetical to Rabbi Heschel’s beliefs, his friendships and connections with people of faiths different from his, with people whose level of observance was different and these connections were deep, respectful, connected and open.
Today, we have Hillsdale College setting the tone for our public education in many states, they have as their goal to educate our children to revere “good Christian values” according to them, according to the conservatives like the Kochs, the DeVos’, the far right promoters like Tucker Carlson, et al. We are in danger of losing our freedom on all fronts and we are in danger of losing our ability to lend “spiritual form to everyday acts” unless it is the spiritual form that someone else, some human has decreed! Going against everything the Bible teaches us, going against the wisdom and teachings of Rabbi Heschel, yet they call themselves “godly people” all the while worshiping the idols of power, money and prestige. When religion and riches blend into one, when there is such a cozy relationship, we can, in my opinion and study of history, know that what is being promoted is not God’s Will, but the will of the rich and famous. When religion and government blend into one, when the laws have to be ‘in line with someone’s vision of the divine’, we know we are losing freedom, autonomy, and the few want to crush the spirit of the many. Yet, we sit back and watch as the few attempt to take over our lives, crush our freedom and use the tactics of Pharaoh against us again!
The Diary of Anne Frank is being banned in a Texas School District because it could be interpreted as and/or used as a teaching in Critical Race Theory, as a teaching in slavery, in Europe and a correlation can be made to our Country’s history. Can’t have this happen according to these Hillsdale-trained, Hillsdale-supporting conservatives. How are they “lending spiritual form to everyday acts”? THEY ARE NOT! These and so many more actions by the Plutocrats, the Religious Far Right, the Conservatives are not meant to lend “spiritual form to everyday acts”, they are meant to crush the spirit of anyone who is not like them, they are meant to co-opt the unwitting people who believe they are being saved while being used as slaves and pawns, they are meant to deny people of color, people of another faith than theirs, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press! Hillsdale, Peter Thiel, Donald Trump, Moscow Mitch McConnell, Conniving Kevin McCarthy, and their sycophants want power and control for 100 years, America has their own ‘visionaries’ of a 100-year rule; sound familiar?
“Lending spiritual form to everyday acts” calls us to live and act according to the lessons found in the Bible. It calls to us as individuals, just as everyone at the Red Sea and everyone at Mt. Sinai heard the words of God differently, had a different experience of being saved, of being connected to God, so too are each one of us having a different experience of being called, a different experience of understanding and following God’s Will. This is not to say that the values change, only the ways we each live them is different because we are all different. Rabbi Heschel is calling us out on our sameness, I believe. He is reminding us to not fall into the trap of religious behaviorism and spiritual plagiarism that Hillsdale, Koch’s, Carlson’s, Thiel’s et al’s ways are demanding. Don’t fall into the trap of fear, hatred, mendacity and deception they are setting and lets get the people who have fallen into these traps free. This is an everyday act that has to have a spiritual form to it.
In recovery, we are focused on our ability to live according to spiritual principles and each day we ask for guidance to see, hear and act on what “God would have me do”. We know that we are susceptible to the lies of our minds, the deceptions of our desires, and the mendacity of another. We are aware of our propensity to lean into the “easier and softer way”. So each day, we begin with awareness, prayer, meditation and continue to check in with ourselves and another(s) throughout the day to stay on track.
I have a deeper, richer and more meaningful life because I have been able to follow the teaching above. Spiritual forms are the pathways of my living and, sometimes I fall off the path. Yet, T’Shuvah, amends, are part of the pathway of life according to God so engaging in them is also “lending spiritual form to everyday events”. I am aware of my inner Pharaoh, my inner Egyptian, my inner Israelite in Egypt and in the Desert, my inner Moses and work hard to stay in the Desert and be more redeeming than enslaving. A new freedom has been thrust upon me and I am engaging with it and finding new ways to make my actions into spiritual forms, to celebrate the beauty and awesomeness of life, good and bad. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark