Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 3 Day 163
“Consciousness of God is a response and God is a challenge rather than a notion.”(God in Search of Man pg. 160)
A “challenge” is a “call to take part in” and a “notion” is “a conception or belief in” according to the dictionary. Rabbi Heschel’s teaching above calls out to me, to us to “take part in” the world, to “take part in” in making our corner of the world better. It is a call to action rather than believing, as I hear him today.
God, higher consciousness as “a conception or belief in” doesn’t necessarily mean we have a call to action, it allows us to contemplate ideas and have discussions as to what is the next right thing to do. As a “challenge”, the universe is calling upon each of us to act in ways that are in accordance with our Holy Texts, with our innate “knowing”. As a “challenge” the creative force in the universe is attempting to move us to be human, care for one another, live with our opposing inner forces, solve our outer conflicts with one another. As a “notion”, we can decide what God wants rather than responding to the challenge that the “prime mover” is calling us to.
The “challenge” has never changed, it began with Adam and Eve and it continues till today-“ayecha, where are you”. It is the “challenge” of the “Footprints” poem, it is the “challenge” of Francis of Assisi, it is the “challenge” of kindness, compassion, truth, love, in our everyday actions and living. It is the “challenge” of caring for the poor and the stranger. It is a call to get out of our narrow places and be a part of the world, a part of the healing our world needs. We are constantly being called to, we hear this call in the rustle of the trees, in the cry of the beggar in our midst. We are being called to “take part in” the joy of life as well as in the sorrows we see and face. We are being called to “take part” in the search for and the revolution needed to make all people free.
Each year we celebrate the same holidays, be they religious and/or secular. Each holy day is a “call to take part in” an aspect of the freedom, inner and outer, the day commemorates and celebrates. Easter has just passed,Passover is approaching, and Spring has begun, all points of rejuvenation, resurrection, liberation. While many of us want to sit back and enjoy the beauty of spring, the hope of Easter and Passover, we are being called to “take part in” the spiritual meanings of these moments, these holy days. The challenge of Easter is to resurrect our humanity, to hang out with the people Jesus hung out with-the poor, the leper, the hooker, etc. It is to resurrect his teachings and live into them rather than change them, put words in his mouth to suit our need for control over women, our control over ‘those people’. It is to resurrect our spiritual life and not believe the charlatans, the ‘money-changers’ who are hocking religion and Bibles for their own purpose. It is to resurrect and engage in the actions of Jesus rather than continue to put oneself first, last, always. While many Christians celebrate Easter in a myriad of ways, the “challenge” of Christ, the “challenge” of Christianity seems to get lost and overtaken by the “notion” of both.
The challenge of Passover is to ask ourselves the hard question: “what are you a slave to”, this year. What is the Egypt, the narrow place, one needs to leave this year? What are the emotional, spiritual, physical bondages one is still subject to? Passover is a time for us to welcome “all who are hungry” and “all who are in need” to our tables, to our celebrations, to our journeys. While many of us Jews celebrate the Seder, most are unable to engage in the “challenge” of leaving Egypt. There is a midrash/explanation that says only 20% of the Israelites left Egypt because they could not respond to the “challenge” of liberation, the “challenge” of freedom. We also know that more than just Israelites left Egypt, the Jews were accompanied by other slaves who took advantage of the opening to leave and responded to the “challenge” of liberation.
Both Easter and Passover “call us to take part in” something greater than ourselves, a movement that serves more than our particular needs. Both can be considered “notions” because they represent “conceptions and beliefs” and they are, at their core, “challenges”: “Proclaim Freedom throughout the Land and to all its inhabitants therein”(Leviticus 25:10). This “challenge” has been a notion for so long, it has been a slogan and jargon, a saying and is on the Liberty Bell which is a museum piece rather than a call to action. This “challenge” is a logical outgrowth of the words of St. Francis, the actions of Rev. King, the call to Adam and Eve. This “challenge” is calling us all to “take part in” the liberation of Passover, that is calling us to “take part in” resurrecting the goodness, kindness of Christ, that is calling us to “take part” in the “detaching with love” of the Buddha. While many people write and speak of these challenges as abstracts, as notions/conceptions to aspire to, Rabbi Heschel’s teaching is reminding us that we are able to meet our “challenges”, we are able to “take part in” the liberation of the captives (ourselves and another(s)) and to spread the goodness and love that is within us to all those around us.
I remember Passover 1987 in prison. Rabbi Mel Silverman “challenged” all of us to experience the freedom of liberation. I understood, at that moment, how enslaved I had been, the burdens I had been living under and with. I have lived into that “challenge” ever since. I am constantly searching for the narrow places I fall into and ask for help to get out of them. I have proclaimed freedom throughout the land I live in and helped many of its inhabitants get free from their narrow places. Each day I resurrect my spirit and the spirits of another so we can live the goodness and love that consumes our inner life. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark