Ghosting God, Ghosting Self
Day 110
“And the sign said, “the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls and whispered in the sound of silence.” I love the ending of this song because it encapsulates the experience of Elul through Yom Kippur for me. We the People read the words of the prophets each day, the words of the Psalmist, we are able to see them in the faces of the people we love and, if we are aware, focused and attentive, in the faces of those we do not love. This is one of the many challenges of these 40 days from Elul till Yom Kippur.
Of course, greatest challenge for We the People is to SEE! To see “the words of the prophets” that are written wherever and whenever there is poverty, injustice, enslavement, cruelty, money-grabbing, power-hungry individuals who want to take away our FREEDOM, as the Pharaoh did so long ago in Egypt, as the horrific Kings did after King David, and in both of the kingdoms that splintered after Solomon. Hence, “on the subway walls and tenement halls”. Yet, the place We the People fear most and ignore, block our ears to, is “the words of the prophets…whispered in the sound of silence”. Thinking about this phrase, I realize just now that if we the people stay busy enough with housework, homework, work itself, TV shows, movies, even books, then we the people don’t have to deal with “the words” that are “whispered in the sound of silence”.
Knowingly or unknowingly, Paul Simon used his prophetic voice in creating this song, in giving us the gift of a roadmap to how to live into this month of Elul. We the People on the other hand, for the most part, are afraid of “the sound of silence”, we keep refusing to hear “the words of the prophets”, we refuse to take in, to revel, to learn from, to change our ways that “the words of the prophets are written” compel us to do, so we the people continue to not SEE. How terribly frustrating for the “Freedom Riders” among us, how tremendously infuriating for the “People of the Book” who take these “words” to heart and act upon them with focus and attention. Yet, as long as society continues to ‘reward’ the hater, give ‘power’ to the oppressor, practice injustice and favor the rich and powerful, the autocrat and the dictator, NOTHING WILL CHANGE!
I am totally enthralled with this song, always have been and never delved into it in this depth. I keep wondering how we the people, including myself of course, have kept “the words of the prophets” from our hearts, from our souls and kept them at bay while reading them each week, each month, each year. It is, without question, one of the great conundrums for me. To listen to them beg we the people to return to God, to do T’Shuvah, to care for the poor and the needy, to love the stranger because we were strangers in the land of Egypt and, before the Pharaoh who did not know Joseph arose, treated we the people very well! To read of their undying love for both human beings and God, in the same moment, to remind God of the Covenant and to scream at We the People to honor the Covenant is both spiritually uplifting and breaks one’s heart.
This last phrase, “whispered in the sound of silence” reminds we the people to STOP being afraid of “the sound of silence” and, instead, listen for it, hear what “the words of the prophets” so We the People, both individually and collectively, can move forward towards our destiny-to live the life each and every one of us is created to live. Listening to “the sound of silence” allows We the People hear the call of our soul, to hear the cry of the needy, to hear the love from the stranger who believes being here is being saved, to listen to the wisdom of the universe, and to understand “the words of the prophets” in today’s world, to meet the challenges of today armed with their strength and wisdom, with the confidence that We the People have joined God’s army, are fighting for what is RIGHT, JUST, MERCIFUL, LOVING, KIND, and HOLY!
I was afraid of “the sound of silence” for a long time because it kept telling me that I was better than my worst actions, that I did not need to keep the lies I was telling myself going, that I needed to return. “The words of the prophets….whispered in the sound of silence” scared the hell out of me. In these past almost 40 years, what scared me the most, brings me the most joy. What I ran from-my true self-is what I run towards. What I purposely misunderstood, I now am maladjusted to. I continue to read and re-read “the words of the prophets” so I can grow in knowing my soul, knowing what God wants from me. I continue to listen to “the sound of silence” because it is now a comfort place for me, to learn from my errors and to rejoice in the ‘wins’ I get to do for another, for God. This is the joy of “the words of the prophets written…whispered in the sound of silence”!
ACTION STEP:
Set aside time each day to read “the words of the prophets” and to hear, listen understand what is being said in “the sound of silence”
God Bless, STOP Ghosting God, STOP Ghosting Self, Rabbi Mark