Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Day 293
“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)
Remembering these words were spoken in 1963 to a group of students and faculty at Stanford University and hearing them, reading them today is mind boggling and totally in keeping with the “good old days” and “old ways of being”. In the “good old days” of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the kingdom of Judea, the Greeks, the Romans, the Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Spanish, the Ottomans, the Germans, the British, and, now the Americans, people in power become more interested in consumption than in celebration, more interested in self than in living up to the threshold of God, more interested in consumption than in the plight of the poor, the needy, the stranger.
The prophets, whom some of us still study and learn from while many more of us read as an assignment to be forgotten immediately, foretold the dangers of this grave error and the people in power did not listen then nor have they since. The lure of consumption is as addictive as any drug, any drink, yet we congratulate consumers on their purchases, on their filling up with more and more, we are envious of the people who can suck all the oxygen out of the room, fly on their private jets, buy multiple homes, automobiles, jewelry, clothes, etc. We are in awe of the people who have forgotten that once they were poor, once they were on the outside and now, having a seat at the table, have forgotten, denied, their obligation to include everyone, to make a “bigger table”, as my friend John Pavlovitz teaches. This is how addictive and blinding our desire for consumption is, for us the onlookers and for the people consuming.
We see it in all the fad diets, all the get rich quick schemes, all the long cons/ponzi schemes, we see it in the ways people will ‘bet their rent money’ on the false hope of winning the lottery. We see this desire play out in our searching for mates, for friends, for likes on social media. We see evidence of our need to consume in our closets and in our refrigerators, in our offices and in our homes, we see it in our hoarding, in our clutter, in our envy and in our jealousy of another(s). Yet, we are still unwilling and/or unable to admit to ourselves how confining this consumption is, how confining our desire/addiction to consumption is and how it is threatening our very freedoms, both internally and externally. Consumption confines us through scarcity and deception. We have become believers that the consumers at the top of the pyramid know what they are doing so we try and copy them, we listen to them as if they are wise and caring, as if they have our best interests at heart and then we find ourselves enslaved to them, we find we “owe our soul to the company store”, we become encircled in the chains of consumption, in the chains of deception and in the chains of slavery.
We are witnessing the beginning of the ruination all of the civilizations mentioned above experienced, I believe. We are at the beginning of the lies from religious leaders who are bastardizing God’s words, God’s Will, our individual, personal connection and understanding of the Ineffable One’s call and demand for us. We hear them constantly tell us Christ was the Lion, Christ was the conqueror, while the words of Christ in the Gospels is about treating the poor, the needy, the stranger, the addicts, the whores, the thieves, etc with love and respect, with kindness and assistance. We hear them speak of how God wants perfection, how doing as many mitzvot as possible is all that matters, how making someone else wrap T’Fillin, is good whether they want to or not, whether they understand the meaning and the inner connection or not. We hear them tell us there are 70 ways to understand the Bible and only their way is the correct ONE WAY. We hear and take in their lies like dogs waiting for a treat, we let go of our ability to discern wheat from the chaff, lies from the truth, soul knowledge from our self-deception.
In recovery, we check in with our self each day to find the lies we are telling ourselves, to find the meaningless consumption we are engaging in, to find the unwitting ways we are still enslaving ourselves and another(s). We work hard each day to practice the principles of the prophets, the principles of spiritual connection and growth.
I am guilty of consumption and the slavery of same. I have been enslaved by my need for the latest and best in electronics, shoes, etc. I also have learned to wait and discern the differences between my wants and needs, I also make sure that I take care of God through my Tzedakah/tithing prior to taking care of me. I am grateful for what I have and want my life, my stuff, my friends, my enemies, my family, and my spirit. I know where consumption takes me and I have stayed out of the depths I went to prior to 1988 and continue to grow and learn. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark