Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 4 Day 152
“In the words of prophet Amos(5:24): “Let Justice roll down like mighty waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” A mighty stream, expressive of the vehemence of a never-ending, surging, fighting movement-as if obstacles had to be washed away for justice to be done.” (Insecurity of Freedom pg.99)
Happy Father's Day to all Fathers! Happy post-No Kings Day to my fellow protesters, Happy Birthday to the American Army, and sending prayers to the families of the Minnesota State Representative, Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark along with prayers of healing to State Sen. John Hoffman, his wife, Yvette, and their families who were targeted by a killer-much because of the climate that has been established by Trump, by ICE, by Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller, et al.
Many of us have heard the words of Amos before, whether we knew it came from him or not. Thinking about what we are going through today, here in America and around the globe, I am struck with how personal a statement this is. While it is easy to point our fingers at ‘those people’, don’t get me wrong Trump and his thugs need to be pointed out and voted out, it is much more difficult and important to look at ourselves. How are we, ‘the defenders of justice’ in need of the “mighty waters” of “Justice”? How are we, ‘the good people’ in need of “righteousness” cleaning us up with “mighty stream”?
I rail about what is happening here and abroad in the macro sense and I attempt to find the solutions for the issues we constantly confront in the micro, personal realm of We the People. Thinking about the words above, jumping into the “mighty waters” and the “mighty stream” allows one to be cleansed of the negative thoughts that creep in, the evil that worms its way into the goodness of being we all strive to achieve, the slyness of the Yetzer HaRa. We all need to be looking in the mirror and checking to see what “the man in the glass” is reflecting back to us, not just what we want to see, not just live in the self-deception of “our righteousness”. We all know many a do-gooder who loses their way because they believe they are fighting for “truth, justice and the American Way”, like Superman and forgetting that each of us has our own Kryptonite, each of us has our self-deceptions, our blindspots and our arrogance. We see this on display today just as the prophet Amos was confronted with it in his time. Amos, unlike the Republicans of today, confronted the injustice within him so he could confront the injustice before him. This is the challenge facing all of us today. Are going to just point our fingers at “them”, and not look at ourselves? Are we going to keep denying our own need to have the “obstacles” “washed away for justice to be done”? Herein lies the salvation and the trap of being human.
We the People are aware of the ways in which sociopaths, autocrats keep the chaos going so they can continue to be unjust and not righteous in a myriad of ways and areas. Trumping up a crisis in Los Angeles, sending the ICE ‘masked men’/goons, the National Guard and the Marines is Trump’s way of getting the Senate to fuck over We the People with his ‘big, beautiful bill’ that will mortgage the future of our children, medicaid to millions, seek to screw over the Seniors who need medicare and find a way to fuck those of us who collect Social Security-which is NOT AN ENTITLEMENT. We paid into it for years and we counted on the promise of a democracy to be fulfilled. However, as long as there is chaos ‘over there’, the belief and proof is that the autocrat can do anything ‘over here’. The only way to stop this raping of our country is for We the People to make sure we are not raping “justice” and “righteousness” in our daily affairs. Hence, the need to jump into the “mighty waters” and be carried down the “mighty stream”.
It is not as scary as one may think, it is about surrender to a higher truth, higher power, higher logic, higher consciousness. Rather than take shelter from the rain, use the powerboat to navigate the stream, I hear the prophet Amos and the descendant of the prophets, Rabbi Heschel, saying it is time to ride the waterfall near you so one can be pushed and pulled, one can have the inner arrogance and surety washed away. Our blindspots, our adjustment to conventional notions and mental cliches have to be cleansed from our being for us to be able to truly fulfill the dictate: “justice, justice, you shall pursue”(righteousness can be substituted for justice per the Hebrew)(Deut. 16:20). In the Bible we are told to be careful not to take bribes if we are a judge, not to allow our feelings of pity for the poor to influence our decisions as well as our wanting to cozy up to the rich for these ways will blind us to justice and righteousness, JOHN ROBERTS, Clarence Thomas, Sam Alito, etc. It is only through the “never-ending surging, fighting movement” of these strong waters and streams that we can become clean enough to judge each case on its own merits and not with an eye towards our agenda, someone else’s agenda; judge them according to God’s agenda, according to what is right and just. This is the goal of human beings and it does take “mighty waters” and a “mighty stream” to begin the process and continue to visit both of these cleaners often because We the People become blind quickly. The Klan is alive and well in the MAGA movement, the National Socialist Party is thriving in MAGA, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is the banner of Trump, Lutnick, and the billionaire class of sycophants and knee-benders. OY, do we need these “mighty waters”, “mighty stream” right now!!
I have needed and been blessed to have these “mighty waters” and “mighty streams” wash over me, cleanse me, and set me on a path of learning, living and constant vigilance. Because I was subjected to both the “waters” and the “streams” at the same time, I was able to hear the words of Rabbi Heschel personally, I was able to find solutions to my issues in the personal language and teachings of the Bible, I have been able to ‘keep my side of the street’ pretty clean because I have continued to have these vehicles of Truth, Justice, Righteousness, Love wash over me daily. There are spots that they miss, of course, and as I continue my living into the principles more and more, I find new and subtler ways of letting and welcoming these waters to cleanse me and steer me on a more forward, more just, and more righteous path. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark