Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 4 Day 365
“The true meaning of existence is disclosed in moments of living in the presence of God. The problem we face is: How can we live in a way which is in agreement with such convictions?” (Thunder in the Soul pg.81)
Waking up to the news of a new wave of strikes against Iran yesterday, on Shabbat, by Israel and the United States, knowing that two opposing thoughts are true: Iran sponsors terrorism throughout the world, the United States wants it’s sovereignty protected and using military force to create regime change in Iran, Venezuela, or anywhere is an invitation for China and Russia to do more of same. Praying for the wounded in the Middle East, for the safety of U.S. soldiers, for the innocents in Iran-there is no such thing as no collateral damage. It also brings up the question of Israel’s reign of terror against the people of the West Bank-do we just ignore this because it is ‘our people’ doing the senseless killing, land grabbing, etc? AND the Iranian regime was horrible to the people of Iran, yet we the people of the United States failed in Afghanistan, Iraq-just saying!
Hence, “the problem we face” confronts us at all times and it is not a one and done, there is no such thing, I believe, as a ‘one size fits all’. Each “moment of living in the presence of God” is a different challenge, a different set of circumstances, a different response is needed. AND every moment we are alive is one of the “moments of living in the presence of God” and most of We the People are willfully blind to this truth, oblivious to it, just plain ignorant of it, and/or use it to appeal to the desire to be deceived found in most of us. The moment of birth is a moment of KNOWING we the parents are “living in the presence of God”, the moment of discovery as infants, children, adolescents, young adults, all through life are “moments of living in the presence of God”, the experience of love, of friendship, of learning, of intuitive knowledge are “moments of living in the presence of God”, as well. The issue is not whether there are these “moments”, the issue is are We the People willing to acknowledge them, are We the People so afraid of living “in a way which is in agreement with such convictions” that we remain willfully blind to these “moments”? Are We the People so stuck in our societal norms that self-deception overrules what is right in front of our faces? Are We the People so power-hungry, false ego-driven that we twist the truth of the statements above to say “God wants you to send me money”, “If you suffer, if you are poor, it is because God doesn’t love you”, and other such bullshit so this segment of we the people can deceive, can steal, can grift and can capture and remain in power. Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump were friends and co-conspirators in this practice of abusing the willful blindness of we the people to exploit us, to exploit people around them, using money, fame, access as the currency to steal, to manipulate, to NOT “live in a way which is in agreement of such convictions”, to proclaim that they are the ones who know “the true meaning of existence” and only they can help you/us. It is the same tired old song that has been used by autocrats, con men, schemers and scammers, forever, like Bernie Madoff, Jared Kushner, et al.
The response to Rabbi Heschel’s question above has to be, in my opinion, Hear, listen, understand our better angels. Living into the mitzvot, finding new and fresh ways to experience the infinite dignity and worth of every human being-including our self- is a daily occurrence. Remembering that we are GIFTED this day and say a prayer of gratitude and commitment each morning with the Modeh Ani, prayer thanking God for returning our souls to us with compassion and faithfulness-hence even before we rise from our beds, we are “living in the presence of God' and this “presence” never leaves us even though many of We the People choose to ignore the “presence” for the rest of the day, or at least when it is not ‘convenient’ for us to do what we want to do. The Bible gives us a path to not ignoring “the presence” by instructing us to “make fringes on the corner of their garments” so that looking at them will ensure that We the People “do not follow after our hearts and our eyes and WHORE after them! Since the beginning of time, God learned the difficulty humanity has in “living in the presence of God” and has given us clues, protections, connections to overcome our fears, our over-sized false egos, our inauthentic needs and desires-not to get rid of them, OH NO, rather to acknowledge them and rise above them. We the People have the path, we have the power, we have the Spirit and Soul to do this-what we the people seem to lack is the spiritual maturity to live into “the presence”! I have been facing “the problem” for my entire life and it wasn’t until December of 1986 that I truly allowed myself to be confronted and hear, listen, understand what “living in the presence of God” means and entails. The gifts I have received are not “beyond my deserving” AND they are so much more than I ever dreamed of receiving. Living with acceptance and pathos, love and joy, connection and conviction, passion and purpose, responsibility and accountability is my response to the problem stated above.
ACTION STEPS:
Acknowledge God’s Presence each morning with some ritual that has meaning for you.
See the reflection of the divine in those whom you love and those whom you don’t-remembering that God cried when the Egyptians were drowning-“my people are dying”
Make a list of the moments when you jettisoned your knowing for your momentary egotistical, financial gain
Each night, write a gratitude note to those whom helped you this day.
Each night make your amends to God for the hours/moments you were not aware of living in God’s presence.
GOD BLESS and STAY SAFE, Rabbi Mark