Ghosting God, Ghosting Self
Day 35
“I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you to me in righteousness, and in justice, and in kindness and in mercies.” (Hosea 2:21) Along with the verse from yesterday, Jews say these two verses every morning when we “lay tefillin”, put on our phylacteries. Most people say it by rote, getting through the verses as quickly as possible and herein lies the issue I have with prayer, with people. Each and every prayer has to be said slowly, with meaning, immersing ourselves in what is the call of this prayer on this day. We the People are “doing” the words of the V’Ahavta prayer, the first prayer after the Shema, we are expressing our commitment/love to God in accepting God’s “betrothal” and we are making a sign between our eyes and a sign upon our hand as commanded in the Shema, so why are we the people rushing through the words without taking in the meaning for us this day, without understanding the actions we are taking with “laying tefillin” and immersing ourselves in this most intimate of relationships, God and us, and we with ourselves.
This is a prime example of the name of this blog; we ghost God whenever we say this prayer and are not having an intimate relationship with God/intuitive mind/higher consciousness, which is most of our daily living. We the People have bought into the lies, the deceptions, the self-deceptions that dogma is what God wants. Some Orthodox Jews believe following the Mitzvot, learning Talmud, and wearing the proper clothes is having an intimate relationship with God-WRONG! Some Conservative/Reform Jews believe it is all about spiritual connection and the laws are “not relevant” to me, to life today, etc- WRONG! The first verse above says it all: “FOREVER”. The issue most people get wrong most of the time is that there is NO DIVORCE, no LEGAL SEPARATION from God, no matter what we the people do, think, believe. God and humanity are forever linked in an intimate relationship, in finding ways of living into our covenant, living into our continuing errors and learning from them, living into our awesomeness and wonder/radical amazement of being alive! Whether a person is ‘religious’ or ‘secular’, whether they are active in their church or not, we the people are all in a relationship with God and, by extension, with one another.
No matter what Trump et al say: each one of us needs the whole of humanity so we can live because “no man is an island” as John Donne’s poem teaches us. He says what Hosea is saying, what God is reminding us of in a different way: “any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.” And, by extension, every birth uplifts me, fills me! This bullshit happening in New Jersey with ICE and the private prison contractors has to STOP, you “Fine Christian Folk”, you “Upstanding Fruma Yidden(observant Jews)! No one, be one Christian, Jewish, Catholic can proclaim the Name of God, proclaim Allegiance to Jesus and allow our fellow human beings to be treated in this manner. THIS IS NOT THE SOLUTION TO THE UNDOCUMENTED WORKER PROBLEMS! It is not in keeping with being married to, “betrothed” to, God! I say in the name of the prophet Hosea, to Rubio, Hagee, Cain-White, Kushner, Lutnick, Bessent, Trump, Vance, Miller, Wytkoff, et al, and all of we the people who are still supporting them: STOP YOUR BULLSHIT, STOP YOUR LIES, STOP YOUR DESECRATION of GOD’S NAME, STOP YOUR HARLOTRY!
The anger, sadness, empathy with God, bewilderment with the people is coursing through my veins right now. I get so ‘crazy’ because I HAVE BEEN IN THE SAME PLACE AS some of We the People, who are still under the ether are and it is so devastating when our eyes open, when our vision becomes clear and we see what we have wrought with our harlotry, with our breaking of the “betrothal” vows, with our foray into false judgments, taking bribes, believing that “forever” doesn’t mean anything any more. There is a solution, however. It is one that takes discipline, commitment, love, and faithfulness. The pathway back to being in this intimate relationship with God begins with our self. Looking at the false rumors I have believed and given voice to, the self-deceptions I have been unwilling to let go of, the using of people’s vulnerabilities against them, thinking my family always has to take me back, etc. Seeing the truth of the words when I “lay tefillin” in the morning, when I say any of my prayers and living into their truth rather than my lies or societal lies and mental cliches. Staying maladjusted enough to see everything today as if it was the first time-my wife, my daughter, my family, my friends, the bridge game, etc. This is the challenge and the way.
ACTION STEPS:
1) Ask yourself how intimate you are with your soul, with God
2) Write down the “forever” lies you hold onto and the “forever” truths you hold dear
3) Make a list of what/whom you hold dear and how you honor them and you by showing up and taking actions of them
GOD BLESS, STOP GHOSTING GOD, GHOSTING SELF, Rabbi Mark