Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 4 Day 228
“Though deeply aware of how impure and imperfect all our deeds are, the fact of our doing must be cherished as the highest privilege, as a source of joy, as that which endows life with ultimate preciousness. We believe that moments lived in fellowship with God, acts fulfilled in imitation of God’s will, never perish; the validity of the good remains regardless of all impurity.” ( God in Search of Man pg. 406)
Immersing ourselves in the words above, in the thoughts and actions above, I believe, is the only path to ending the senseless hatred and violence that was once again on display yesterday in Utah. Charlie Kirk was not killed by a “radical left lunatic”, he was murdered by a sick individual who had easy access to guns and who believes violence is the only way to solve problems. This is not what America has stood for, ideally, constitutionally, for most of our 249+ years. Yet, today, in our country, in our world, suicide bombers, over the top retaliation, assassinations, are happening more and more in schools, in the streets, in Israel, in Gaza. At what point do We the People say ENOUGH!!??
In reading and hearing Rabbi Heschel call to us in love, kindness and truth to stop worrying if we are perfect, we are not! Whew, now that perfection is off the table, we can appreciate the “privilege” of being able to fulfill a mitzvah, a divine need, help another(s) human being. What a wonderful way to see the “yoke of heaven”, “as a source of joy,” a “privilege”, as “that which endows life with ultimate preciousness.” Consider how our lives change when seeing ourselves and our deeds through this lens-forgetting about our inner impure thoughts, forgetting about our less than perfect performance, just living into the sheer “joy” of being alive, the “privilege” of being able to do a mitzvah, a “deed”, and the realization of the preciousness of the moment, the “deed”, and our “life” has meaning and purpose. It is the realization by We the People that We MATTER TOO!
In a society steeped in falseness, awash in optics, demanding perfection since Greek civilization, it is absolutely diametrically opposed to the wisdom and truth stated by the Bible, the New Testament, Rabbi Heschel and so many others. If God wanted perfection, humanity would not have been created. Since we are here, appreciating the “preciousness” of the moment we aer in, being in awe of the privilege to serve something greater than our narcissistic selves, the joy of being free to be who we are, to know our actions matter, to rejoice in the “deeds” of another(s) that give aid and comfort to us and to so many others, is essential! Without living into this appreciation, awe, freedom, joy, we are left with anger, with resentment, with “where’s mine”, with shame. In these states, we seek retribution, blame, winning at all costs, our ‘pound of flesh’, control, power, wealth, etc. The stark difference between what society demands, the “conventional notions and cliches” under which society has operated-white people should rule, wealth is reserved for the few, hate the stranger, suspect one’s neighbor, be sycophants to the powerful, corrupt the clergy, etc- and what the Bible demands-love your neighbor, help the poor, loan to the needy, love the stranger, every human being is infinitely worthy and dignified in their soul and the different talents each of us possess is for the benefit of society, not to be ostracized because of them, and, most of all, speak TRUTH TO POWER! All of these ‘good christian folk’ like John Roberts, Mike Johnson, are perpetrating the societal lies of life, not the Spiritual, Christian, Jewish, Muslim way of living well, of honoring the “privilege”, of realizing the “joy” of doing the next right action, of reveling in the “preciousness” of purpose and meaning!
“One ‘oh shit’ wipes our 100 atta boys” the saying goes and the last sentence above denies this bullshit, this “conventional notion and cliche”. Just as the negativity we wrought doesn’t leave the world, the impact is always embedded in the moment we committed it, the good doesn’t leave either, it will “never perish”. While we may forget it, people may forget it, the universe doesn’t and is better because of the “good” we have done! This is an important knowing for all of us who get down on ourselves, who beat ourselves up because of our “missing the mark”. In this month of Elul this year, it is up to We the People to remember the negative, repair it, put it in the past where it belongs for both the one we harmed and ourselves, have a new path and way of responding to the same triggers that will come up again, and see the good we have done, enjoy the actions that have helped another(s) and ourselves, use them as a step ladder to climb more rungs to do more “deeds” that are “lived in fellowship with God”, “acts fulfilled in imitation of God’s will”. If this isn’t a “privilege”, what is? We the People are needed, called and have the wherewithal to rise above the negativity of perfection to the positivity of service.
I realize that my competitive nature, my impatience with my own imperfections is showing up at Bridge and with Harriet! I realized this fact in the writing today and I will change it- not sure how yet and Harriet will give me some advice along with friends and advisors. It is a privilege to serve, it is awesome to be able to take an action that serves my soul and the soul of another(s), to serve God in ways I never would have imagined possible. It is a constant source of joy, doing the next right thing and not allowing my ego to become puffed up by my actions, in fact it is the opposite. Each time I am in the preciousness of purpose, my ego gets more and more right-sized and I am able to live better. I am so grateful for life, for being able to respond rather than react, for the month of Elul taking the time to see what is good and not good-repairing both. God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark