Daily Life Lessons from Rabbi Heschel
Year 5 Day 28
“The problem of the soul is how to live nobly in an animal environment; how to persuade and train the tongue and the sense to behave in agreement with the insights of the soul.” (Thunder of the Soul pg. 89)
Happy First Day of the Omer, the first day of the countdown to Shavuot, where according to Jewish lore, the 10 Sayings were delivered to the People and the Tablets of Torah were delivered to Moses. I pray we all engage in our own personal liberation from the slavery we are in, the Egypt/narrow place we find ourselves stuck in -either a new one or an old one that keeps revisiting, trapping us anew.
Passover is the action step We the People are blessed to participate in as the solution to the “problem” stated above. Leaving the narrow place of EGO, of SELF-DECEPTION, of GREED, of … allows us to realize that We the People are more than our animal environment, our animal instinct, our animal urges. This is not a judgement on the part of us that is ‘earthly, animal’, it is a statement of fact. We the People need our “animal instinct” to get along in the world, to be safe from the dangers of nature, of another animal, from the dangers another human being can present to we the people. The proper use of our “animal instinct” is what can and will allow us “to live nobly in an animal environment” and, please God, teach another person, another group of people how to do the same. This is, after all, what the journey to and the experience of Sinai is all about. The Bible from the crossing of the Red Sea/Sea of Reeds till now is about this very topic-“how to live nobly in an animal environment”.
Today is Good Friday and I wish peace and love to the Christian Communities who celebrate it, who are readying themselves for Easter Sunday. I also know the words above are in line with the thoughts and actions of Christ. It is very important, in my opinion, for Christians, Jews, Catholics, Muslims to find the common ground of the finding the solution to “the problem of the soul is how to live nobly in an animal environment”. While the different spiritual traditions including the Eastern Ones, have different paths, different languages, all of them are in search for the solution to this ‘sticky wicket’. All spiritual disciplines are engaged in living “nobly in an animal environment” and it is time for us to join together, to acknowledge our common goal, respect our different pathways, and bring about the renaissance, the promises of God, of Jesus, of Islam, etc: living “nobly in an animal environment” and, going beyond this to change the “animal environment” to an “elevated environment”, from ‘dog eat dog’ to feed the hungry, help the poor, love the stranger, have one law for citizen and stranger alike, proclaim FREEDOM throughout the land and to ALL its inhabitants therein, love our self so we can truly love our neighbor, etc.
IT AIN’T EASY!! And it is possible and doable to “live nobly in an animal environment” as millions of recovering people attest to each and every day through our actions. It is possible and doable as tens of millions of unsung heroes attest to each day by the kindness’ they show, the truth they speak, and their reaching out to those less fortunate. It takes a willingness to learn, a leaving of the EGYPT we find ourselves in by taking one small wrong turn and not self-correcting quick enough. Redemption is, unfortunately, not a one and done, it is something we have to be hyper-aware of and avoid the traps that our “animal instinct” and “animal environment” lay out for us. Their disguise, their being “societal norms” only help to fill us and lull we the people into a false sense of security. Hence the need to review where we are and what we are doing at Passover and 6 months later at Yom Kippur. This is a time for elation at being liberated and acceptance of the hard work to stay out “going back to Egypt” and/or finding a new Egypt. I know the difficulty, I fall back, get out, fall back, and get out again-which is the ‘victory’-never staying in the Egypt of our choosing, our being trapped in and continuing to find ways to “live nobly in an animal environment”.
ACTION STEPS:
Identify the Egypt you are going to leave this year, not the ones you would like to, the ONE you will, the ONE you are capable of leaving
Make a plan to “get out”, taking with you your bare essentials, your authentic self, which includes your “animal instincts”.
Make a path to follow that helps you use your “animal instinct” in the most positive of ways, helping you navigate the insanity of the world, the cruelty of another(s) and redeeming the souls you can.
Tell the story of your ‘slavery’ and your ‘liberation’ to another(s) and ask for their help in staying out of your Egypt, their help in seeing the traps that you are still blind to.
Count the days of the Omer and see how you ready for the surrender of Sinai, the acceptance of the authority of God, you have become!
GOD BLESS and STAY SAFE, Rabbi Mark