Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 4 Day 320
“The flood of wretchedness is sweeping away our monstrous conceit… Indeed, out of a system of ideas where knowledge is power, where values are a synonym for needs, where the pyramid of being is turned upside down - it is hard to find a way to an awareness of God.” (Thunder in the Soul pg.61)
Unfortunately “the flood of wretchedness is sweeping away our monstrous conceit” has not happened yet! Rather, because of the system Rabbi Heschel describes above, “wretchedness” and “monstrous conceit” are on the rise and in power as we see across the globe, especially here in America and, to my great pain, in Israel. Reb Nachman is quoted as saying forgetfulness is a great gift and I understand the need to forget our errors that we have done Tshuvah for, that we have made our amends and emended our ways of living. It is not a gift to forget these errors and repeat the same harms that we have already done T’Shuvah for! What it means when this happens is that our T’Shuvah was more about saying ‘I’m sorry’ to get the heat off, to fool those around us into trusting us again so we can fuck them over once more. This is the way of the con, the way of the grifter, the way of the Republican Party leadership and Congressional people. The “flood of wretchedness” that comes out of the mouth of Mike Johnson is never ending and to use “god” as his motivator in being so wretched is abominable! Lindsey Graham, that ‘good old boy’ who has some dark secrets, who is a betrayer of his friend John McCain’s legacy, laughing at Trump telling us that he wants Greenland and it belongs to the United States is another example of “the flood of wretchedness”.
“Monstrous conceit” is on display each and every day from Trump, Miller, Rubio, Hegseth, Bondi, Noem, Vought, Thune, et al. Their display of hatred towards we the people is atrocious, despicable, and demeaning. Is it not time for We the People to stand up and say NO to these conceited BASTARDS?? Isn’t it time for We the People to demand a reckoning with truth, a return to our constitutional order, a moving forward in the spirit of the Civil War to re-establish a “government of the people, by the people, for the people will not perish from this earth”! It is in danger of perishing, we are in danger of losing not just the soul of America as one of Jon Meacham’s books is titled, we are in danger of losing our own souls, our sense of kindness, love, concern, truth, mercy, compassion, is at stake right now and We the People are being called to respond to the cruelty and “wretchedness”, the “conceit” and enriching of the few with “a strong hand and an outstretched arm.” We the People are being called to smash the mendacious beliefs of those in power that their ‘knowing’ is their power and they can abuse anyone and everyone because they believe they ‘are the smartest person in the room’. Trump’s belief that he is a “stable genius” would be laughable if he wasn’t in power and wielding his power for his own gain, for the enrichment of his family, friends, and, of course, his pal Vladimir Putin!
That ‘good christian folk’ espouse his theories as gospel, speak of him and what is happening as ‘Jesus’ desire’, that ‘good jewish people’ can say he is following the Bible is RIDICULOUS! These idolators, these charlatans are proving “when’re values are a synonym for needs, where the pyramid of being is being turned upside down - it is hard to find a way to an awareness of God.” What is most difficult for many of us to understand is how We the People are going along with these lies, with these ruses, with this “flood of wretchedness” with this “monstrous conceit”!?!? Yet, it seems as if we are. Yes there are protests each day, yes there is organizing going on, yes there is hope in the midterms, AND the wretchedness that has become so ingrained in America is not going to be rooted out nor healed quickly, it is not just Trump who is the perpetrator, it is the system which allows the Republican lawmakers to go along while they hold their noses, which allows them to be puppets rather than human beings, which allows them to proclaim the “Oneness of God”, their loyalty to “Jesus Christ, my personal savior”, their adherence to “the laws of Moses and the Torah” while violating every sense of decency, morality, kindness, love, holiness found in the ways of Jesus, the words of Jesus and the Hebrew Bible! WTF!!!
I have been on both ends of “the flood of wretchedness”, being a perpetrator prior to my recovery-constantly saying “I’m Sorry” to get the heat off and continuing to lie, cheat, steal-it makes me shudder just writing these words. I have been on the receiving end of this “flood of wretchedness” as well, being betrayed by people I trusted, being shunned by people I have helped, being exiled for being who I am, granted not politically correct, not always appropriate, and always me. I have suffered from my own “monstrous conceit”, especially when I was ‘out there’. I truly believed I was invincible, even so far as to believe they would realize they made a mistake and let me out of prison upon my arrival the first time! Witnessing the “monstrous conceit” of another has forced me to look at my self and do my own inventory before just accusing another of that which I have been guilty of. In recovery, I still am guilty of conceit, just not as monstrous as before my TShuvah! I also have received the whipping of people who believe the lies they tell themselves about how smart, how progressive, how religious, how wonderful, how they are always on the ‘right side’ and it has shown me the damage “monstrous conceit” does. I have, to the best of my ability, tried to engage with another prior to making decisions and adjusted my beliefs upon being shown a better path. It is hard to look at ourselves this way and it is imperative if we are to end the reign of terror, the reign of “wretchedness” we are in. It is up to all of us to smash the “monstrous conceit” that is rampant within ourselves and within another(s). God Bless and stay safe, Rabbi Mark