Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 4 Day 314
“He feels, acts, and thinks as if the sole purpose of the universe were to satisfy his needs. To the modern man everything seems calculable; everything reducible to a figure.” (Thunder in the Soul pg. 58)
In speaking about human beings some 50-70 years ago, Rabbi Heschel captures the issue we have faced from time immemorial; how to end our narcissistic beliefs that our needs come from first, last always! It seems as if our religious institutions have done a piss-poor job of helping us, our secular education institutions have seemed to promote our narcissism, and at the family dinner table(if there is family dinner time) these issues are, seemingly, not deeply discussed. Hence the proliferation of people and ways to get “the universe” to “satisfy his needs”. Nowhere is this on display more than here in the United States under Donald J. Trump and his ‘family’ of crooks and power-hungry fascists and in Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu, Ben G’Vir, Smotrich and the rest of their thugs. Both of these leaders who just met again, play the game of calculation, how much do I have to give to get what I want-Trump wants recognition, adoring fans, idolized behaviors, and Netanyahu gives it to him. He doesn’t contradict him in public, he breaks Israeli policy in giving Trump the Israel Prize so Trump feels important and wanted, loved. Trump, in return, gives Netanyahu wiggle room in dealing with Gaza, the West Bank, the Palestinian statehood question, etc.
To people of faith, like myself, these calculations, the satisfaction of needs uber alles is anathema and, that they are being fortified and supported by the phony clergy of christianity and judaism is infuriating! While these phony clergy have obtained ordination from mostly legitimate schools, people, I call them phony because they are not wrestling with the contradictions in the Bible, they are not listening to the Voice from Sinai who says DO JUSTLY, LOVE MERCY, WALK IN THE WAYS OF GOD-rather they have decided to PERVERT JUSTICE, BE UNMERCIFUL, WALK IN THE WAYS OF THEIR NEEDS, not God’s. And they call themselves and their followers “true christians”, “the only real Jews left”, “keepers of the flame” etc, when in reality they are putting out the light that was the first word of God, they are returning to the chaos and emptiness of the beginning of Genesis and all they want is to be Masters of their Universe.
Rather than learn that the “Elohim”, the giants, the “men of renown” shitted up the world so badly God sent the Flood, these Hookers, have become these same “men of renown” and unlike Nathan, Elijah, Amos, the rest of the prophets these idolators preach pap to the people in power, going along with their grifting, their treasuring needs over deeds, their satisfaction over God’s calling, and holding their hands out for their cut of the action. This is NOT the markings of truly religious people, this is NOT the path of the righteous, this is NOT the way to “BE HOLY”! This is the ROT we are facing and it ain’t getting any better, these people who are described in Deuteronomy as those who “say in their hearts” they can give lip service to the Bible and then go do what they want will bring the house down, as we have seen throughout history and throughout the Bible!
We the People need to examine, re-examine our “needs” and see which are authentic and which are false ego driven. Food, clothing, shelter are authentic needs; connection and covenantal love are authentic needs; transactional relationships are authentic needs as long as they are reciprocal. Billionaire status and no taxes are inauthentic needs; power over people, ie being Pharaoh or her taskmasters, is inauthentic; needing a bad guy to blame is one of the sins of Adam and Eve in the Garden- not authentic; hating/fearing the stranger is inauthentic; hiding from God, from another person(s) is inauthentic;
We the People are being given a new beginning both in terms of the calendar year changing and the fact that today is a new day, it is the “day God has made for us to rejoice in it” and rejoicing comes from doing the next right thing, rejoicing is synonymous with serving something greater than our inauthentic needs, our narcissistic wounds. Rejoicing comes about when we can look in the face of another and see our soul’s reflection, rejoicing happens when we can look in the mirror and not hide from ourselves. Rejoicing becomes the through line of our lives when we are dedicated to loving the stranger, loving God, loving our selves, loving our neighbors, engaging in righteous justice, eschewing slavery, hearing, listening and understanding the unique call of each of our soul’s and living into our call.
It is not easy to do this, I know. Yet, it is the most satisfying way to live. AS the Bible teaches not hiding, not living in secret, not living in the either/or of societal norms will bring us to joy. As Ben Zoma says in Pirke Avot 4:1: “who is rich”, one who wants what he has; not to say we don’t learn and grow into more-rather to say we have to want what we have, we have to experience the satisfaction of where we are and what is happening in our lives before we can grow, it is not about settling, it is about rejoicing. I have to wrestle each day with this concept, I have to see the “question this experience is the answer for” and be joyous that I can see, I can hear, I can learn, I can grow, especially when it isn’t going my way.
Today is the last day of 2025 and marks the end of my 5th year of writing a daily blog, first using the prophets and now almost 4 years using Rabbi Heschel. I mention this to put into context the immense joy I receive from writing these blogs, the powerful learning/relearning I receive from the quotations I use, and the gratitude I have for all of you who read these missives daily, weekly, periodically. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark