Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 4 Day 278
“The prophet disdains those for whom God’s presence is comfort and security; to him it is a challenge, an incessant demand. God is compassion, not compromise; justice, though not inclemency. The prophet’s predictions can always be proved wrong by a change in man’s conduct, but never the certainty that God is full of compassion.” (Thunder in the Soul pg. 31)
I have continued with this passage because I concentrated on only the first sentence yesterday. The difference between compassion and compromise is great and important. To have compassion, as I am understanding Rabbi Heschel this morning, is to “suffer with”, to feel the burden that another person is carrying, since the root of the word for compassion in Hebrew also means womb. To compromise, one needs to give up on a principle, on a belief, to make concessions that may not be holy, good, or right. While compromise is important and good and holy and right at times, it is not a substitute for compassion and it is certainly not what God’s compassion in all about. Divine Pathos, divine compassion is the goal for We the People to strive for, it is embedded in each and every mitzvah, it is the centerpiece of T’Shuvah, it is the acknowledgement of our human imperfections and frailties.
The prophets are prime examples of divine compassion! This just occurred to me as what is more compassionate than telling all of us that We the People are better than our worst mistakes, that We the People do not have to be defined by our past errors, no matter what society says. What can be more compassionate that calling from the rooftops that God wants us back, that God will heal our shortcomings, that God loves us with all of our flaws and errors, that God keeps the gates of T’Shuvah open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! What can be more compassionate than taking up the cause of the stranger, the widow, the orphan, the poor and the needy? What can be more compassionate than speaking truth to power? What can be more compassionate than NOT standing idly by the blood of our neighbors? What can be more compassionate than rebuking us so we can change, rebuking us because of the faith that We the People can do better and are better than cruelty, grifting, murdering the soul of another(s), putting stumbling blocks before the blind and cursing the deaf! While the prophets’ language is considered harsh at times, isn’t it compassionate to speak to people in the ways they can hear? Isn’t it compassionate to love humankind so much that one is willing to take the wrath of We the People when speaking truth to them? Isn’t it divine pathos and compassion to love God so much that one is willing to go to jail for spreading the Word? I am aware that this is a radical thought.
“Justice, though not inclemency” is another wonderful phrase. It describes perfectly one of the main themes of the Bible. God believes in and practices “justice”, teaches human beings what justice is and how to administer it AND, it is not to be harsh, it is not to be inclement. Hence, arguing with Abraham about Sodom and Gomorrah, Jethro telling Moses to find “God-fearing men, men of truth” to be judges over the people, “Do not pervert justice, don’t take a bribe, don’t favor someone you know, add righteousness/charity in to make a righteous judgement”. Justice is not to be harsh nor cruel, in fact, even though the Rabbis want to use the Bible as a weapon at times, thanks to Ezra and some of the editors who put the Bible together(as my friend and teacher Rabbi Danny Maseng has taught me)! Justice is not to be pursued to hurt another human being, it is not to be perverted as it is now, and probably always has been. Justice is not to be used as “retribution” as Trump is proclaiming and Bondi-Patel are carrying out. Justice can never be achieved behind a mask and by manhandling people, it can never be lauded for targeted prosecution because of the color of a person’s skin, the license plates on their cars(as has happened to a few Canadians here), or for any other reason.
We the People are descendants of the prophets, we are their heirs and it is WAY past time for us to live into their teachings, their ways, and find our own unique modus operandi to spread the word. It is not their words we need to spread, it is not our own words we need to spread, rather it is the WORDS that are continually coming from Sinai, the words and deeds in the Bible that teach us how to live together in harmony, in respect, with dignity for self and for every human being. We the People are being called to “tear down the wall” between callousness and compassion, between inclemency and justice, between compromise and divine pathos. We the People have to demand of ourselves, the elected officials, the people whitewashing Hamas and the Arabs like Linda Sarsour, TRUTH, JUSTICE, COMPASSION not the bullshit lies and grifts being promoted by both extremes. We the People are being called to hear the prophets words, heed them and live into them so America will continue to be a democracy and Israel will live the promise of their Declaration of Independence.
I look at myself and see when I was not compassionate, not just, not kind and it hurts me. My spiritual awakening did not cure me of never doing these ugly actions. It has made me think more before I am about to do something, it helps me realize when I am compassionate, just and kind, when I am in truth and when I am not. Divine Pathos is a path I follow, compassion, justice, truth, kindness has allowed me to not have any resentments, to do my T’Shuvah without any expectations and be sad when I see people who are still stuck in their shit. I continue to live into the prophets words and ways and my gratitude for being alive shows in my compassion, my engagement/fight for justice and living in truth. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark