Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 4 Day 203
“The world is in need of redemption, but the redemption must not be expected to happen as an act of sheer grace. Man’s task is to make the world worthy of redemption. His faith and his works are preparations for ultimate redemption. (God in Search of Man pg. 380)
“Redemption” is an overarching theme in the Bible. It comes from the Latin meaning “to buy back”. We call God the “redeemer of Israel” in our prayers and in immersing ourselves in the Bible, we experience the “redemption” of so many, beginning with Cain. Cain ‘kills’ his brother Abel (Abel in Hebrew means mist) and then complains to God about his consequences and God guarantees he will not be killed, even though it is supposed to be “a life for a life”. Cain is redeemed by God. Cain’s soul, his very life force is “bought back” by God. We see this often in the Bible, someone screws up, cries out to God and God “buys back” their soul and restores them to life, a life, hopefully, of mitzvahs, of doing the next right thing. As is said above, however, this act of redemption is not done out of “sheer grace”, rather it only happens when the person(s) needing redemption participate in their own redeeming either by crying out like Cain did, admitting their errors as Judah does, and/or doing both and bringing their offerings to the priests in the Bible and now, doing T’Shuvah so we can return and be nearer to God who redeems.
What is most striking is the time in which these words were written, early 1950’s. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, after bringing an end to the pinnacle of man’s inhumanity to man, Rabbi Heschel is reminding us that our redemption is not complete, it is not an entitlement. Redemption, having our souls “bought back” is a partner ship between God and us, that begins with us. This is the crux of our issue, Rabbi Heschel knew that human beings are loath to admit their errors, We the People are more like Jacob than Judah, We the People are more like Korach than King David; admitting our errors is like drinking poison because doing this acknowledges our imperfections and We the People so desperately believe we should be and must be perfect. What a lie we are telling ourselves and what a lie being perpetrated by societal norms and cliches. This lie is killing the freedom that leaving Egypt and accepting the Torah at Sinai promises, this lie is killing the spirit of the individual, it is a denial of “all men are created equal”, that no one soul is inherently worth more than another, We the People all have “certain unalienable rights” no matter the color of our skin, the religion we adhere to, the political party we affiliate with. This is the only way “redemption” can even begin.
Alas, what we have going on now is none of these prerequisites for “redemption”. These ‘good christian folk’, these ‘saviors of Judaism’, these ‘real muslims’ have done more to bastardize “redemption” than any non-believer. These PAGANS keep supporting the worst of the worst for political offices so they can manipulate them, ‘own’ them, get their agendas through and crush the spirit of freedom, bastardize the 10 Sayings we received at Mount Sinai, crush the spirit of Christ. Instead of hastening “redemption”, these charlatans are retarding “redemption”. Instead of “being a light unto the nations” as Isaiah tells us to be, these assholes are darkening the world, shutting out the Or HaGanuz, the hidden light of God/the first days of creation, so we walk around in darkness and, instead of raising one another up, instead of doing what will “make the world worthy of redemption”, these so-called ‘people of god’, are crushing goodness, truth, justice, mercy, and love.
We the People are being called upon each and every day to “make the world worthy of redemption”. We the People are asked to do one act of T’Shuvah each day, one act of redemption for ourselves and one act to redeem another. The Bible teaches us to “love the stranger”, “love your neighbor”, “righteousness, righteousness you shall pursue”, “do justly”, “redeem your kinsman”, “don’t stand idly by the blood of your neighbor”, etc. The Bible is not asking for perfection! On the contrary, it is asking us to be one grain of sand better each day, to do our amends, to repair the damage to another and to our soul, to learn from our errors and the errors of another, to not repeat our same mistakes over and over again. We the People are able to bring about “redemption”! We the People are capable of repairing our corners of the world so the Messiah doesn’t have any work to do when she/he arrives and the Messiah will only congratulate We the People on the wonderfully imperfect job we have done to bring about “redemption”. When We the People commit and follow through on our covenant with God, when We the People take the next right action, when We the People practice our authentic faith(s) out loud, when the Bible (or whatever spiritual text you engage with) becomes our road map to living well, We the People have done our part to bring about “ultimate redemption”!
I have been living in the world of T’Shuvah for 38 years, it is a hard world to live in and it is the most freeing world to live in. Not needing to be right, knowing when I am and when I am wrong, gives me a freedom that I sought for the first 36 years of life. My life’s work is dedicated to “redemption” of both my self/soul and the souls of those I encounter. I am not soft-spoken, I am loud, I am abrasive, because I know what is at stake: the life of the individual, the family, and the community that becomes infected with the lies that “a leopard doesn’t change its spots”, and the writing off of people who make mistakes as ‘lost souls’. I believe in the possibility of “redemption”, I work hard to help people redeem themselves with the help of God and the people around them. I am GRATEFUL for my mission and love my purpose. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark.