Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 5 Day 18
“The cause of nearly all failures in human relations is this - that while we admire and extol the tasks, we fail to acquire the tools. Neither the naked hand nor the soul left to itself can effect much. It is by instruments that work is done…The meaningful of the mitzvoth(commandments) consists in their being vehicles by which we advance on the road to spiritual ends.” (Thunder in the Soul pg. 86)
Continuing on from Friday’s writing about these sentences; the crucial insight, which while obvious to some of We the People, some of we the people stay willfully blind and oblivious to these truths. Without “instruments” we the people are left to our own devices, left to the banishment of our intuitive mind by the rational, reptilian mind. Our intuitive mind is NOT all good and our rational mind is NOT all bad-the issue is using both in proper measure, as Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz teaches in his book Thirteen Petalled Rose. The only way to use both “sides” of our brain is by using the correct “instruments” properly. The intuitive mind doesn’t know that 2+2=4 and the rational mind cannot see the meaning, the power, the truth of; Choose Life!, Be a Blessing, etc.
Humanity will not fail itself nor God for want of more money, more power, more scientific breakthroughs, more buildings, more, more, more. Humanity will fail itself and God for want of “spiritual ends”. A case in point: when the President of the United States celebrates the death of a war hero, a trusted public servant who devoted everything to truth, dignity, honor, decency and NO REPUBLICAN CONGRESS PEOPLE condemn him, this is a failure of humanity! When money is the goal of the ‘negotiator’ in the Middle East conflict, when the prejudice is for the grift and the graft rather than being biased for what is good for the American People, the people of the world, this is a failure of humanity! When the sanctions are lifted on Russian oil, Iranian oil so Trump can get the gas prices down, which it probably won’t, and claims that “I thought it would be worse” and Rubio, Vance, Hegseth are like trained seals applauding him, when our allies are being asked to intervene without ever being briefed before this war began, this is a failure of humanity! When cruelty is the point, when prejudice is the path, when only “White Men” should have power, we have a failure of humanity! When the goal is power, prestige, saving face, hiding one’s “dirty laundry”, making “deals with the devil” and doing everything to protect image, facade, and falseness, we have a failure of humanity!
These failures and so many more occur because we the people have ourselves jettisoned learning how to use the “instruments” correctly and, instead, found the myriad ways to bastardize them while claiming, feigning innocence, all the while knowing what is right and good, what is holy and Godlike. Yet, we the people into our stupidity, our willful blindness, our fears, our ‘wanting in on the action’, allow these failures to continue, to tear at the fabric that is the Bible, that is the New Testament, that is the basis for living well. We the People are being called upon to, again, STAND UP and be counted among those of us who claim to be descendants of the prophets, who know we are to serve something greater than ourselves, who realize our lack of knowledge as to how to use the “instruments” at our disposal. This is a constant theme of Rabbi Heschel’s, a constant call of God’s in the Bible, a main thrust of Jesus’ teachings.
You Matter is not just a signature I end every email with, nor is it just a saying on a coin I give out, You Matter is a way for We the People to be responsible to learn how to be on the “road to spiritual ends”. It is a reminder of how meaningful each and every action we take is, how the “mitzvoth” are the navigators for living with passion and purpose, with finding our Ikigai, our unique talent and fulfilling a divine need that only each of us as individuals can fill. It is the essence, in my opinion, of what the Call from Sinai is, what the 10 sayings encapsulate. Why would God ‘waste God’s time’ with us if we are not important? This is not about oversized ego, this is not about undersized ego, You Matter reminds us to live right-sized, knowing what we do well and what we need help with, what is ours to do and what is not, reaching out to the stranger with LOVE, because we were strangers in Egypt. Caring for the poor in the material and the spiritual, relieving the unnecessary suffering that we the people fall into. You Matter is reminiscent of the prophets’ call for us to “return” and know that God “takes us back in love” and will “heal our backsliding”.
This is the ‘secret to my success’ as a human being these past 38+ years, growing one grain of sand a day:) I am not perfect, I keep learning more and realizing my errors more each day. I continue to engage with the “mitzvoth” in new ways, using my insight, combining my intuitive and rational minds in my actions and I know I have to “keep on keeping on” as my way of serving!
ACTION STEPS:
Write down the many ways you are willfully blind to what your intuitive mind calls for
Write down the mendacious self-deceptions you use to continue to promote the “failure of humanity” that is so prevalent today
How did you engage in using the “instruments” wisely and well to be a better human being.
Take stock each day of your progression on the “road to spiritual ends”
Make YOU MATTER a way of being that impacts all of your actions.
GOD BLESS and STAY SAFE, Rabbi Mark