Ghosting God, Ghosting Self
Day 90
In 10 days Jews across the globe will begin the month of Elul, the month prior to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the month when We the People get to review our year(s) and see what harms we have brought to another(s), make our amends and change our patterns. Before there was psychology, there was/is T’Shuvah, there was/is Elul, there was/is the practice of prayer; looking inside oneself and seeing what we need to change, what we need to enhance and what we need to tame within us.
Last Shabbat we read from the Torah an immensely important verse that goes unnoticed, not heard, not listened to, not followed too often: “You shall eat, be satisfied and bless God for the good land God has given you”(Deut.8:10). Of course, eating is not the problem, most everyone is more than happy to eat, blessing is not the issue either because many people are willing to give gratitude before and/or after a meal. The issue is the middle command: “be satisfied”. This is the greatest issue for humankind today as it has been in every age. The prophets spoke about it, King David was chastised for his inability to be satisfied and, as my friend and teacher, Rabbi Hazzan Danny Maseng says: “King David lost his connection to God after his sin of having Uriah killed so he could have Bathsheba for a time”. Wars are fought because We the People have been unable to “be satisfied”. Our world today is being run by idolators who claim they are “living according to Jesus’ words and deeds”, “living what the Bible teaches” and they are LIARS! They are unable to “be satisfied” with “the good God has given you”. They are insatiable, they want more, more, more and it is in direct violation of the Bible’s commandment above.
Trump, Netanyahu, Putin, Xi, et al are NEVER satisfied, so we are in a war with Iran that is driving the world into both a financial and energy crisis, we are not supporting the Free Country of Ukraine because Trump has a man/homosexual(?) crush on Putin, taking over Venezuela’s gas business for his gain and the gain of his cronies, threatening to take over Cuba, etc are all examples of Trump’s inability to “be satisfied”. Kushner, that ‘fine orthodox jew’ is willing to sell out the United States for a pot of gold from the Saudis, the Qatari’s, the Emirates, etc because he, like his father, never has enough! And this is whom some of we the people have foolishly and proudly put in charge of our welfare-people who could not give a shit what happens to We the People because all they care about is “Getting Mine”! Yet, it is not just the assholes in charge who are unable to follow this simple commandment from God. Many of the most ‘God-fearing, ie Idol worshipping’ people are unable to follow this simple instruction. The erroneous thinking of most people is that if I am satisfied, I will not strive for anything more, I will settle for what is and not try to get/make more. THIS IS NOT WHAT THE COMMANDMENT IS SAYING! In fact it is saying the exact opposite!
Our insatiable needs are one of our traits that push We the People out of proper measure, out of the path of living well. Hence our daily T’Shuvah, our using the Month of Elul to prepare our souls, our bodies, our minds for the forgiveness we receive on Kol Nidre and the amends we have to make prior to Yom Kippur are the paths We the People need to take to tame the traits that push us away from God, away from another(s), and away from being our authentic self. What the Commandment is really saying, in my opinion/experience, is: You need to nourish your body and this is a good thing, you need to not overindulge in eating, drinking, or anything lest you become insatiable, and you need to remember to be grateful, to share your bounty with those in need, and to bless the people who help you be able to provide food, no matter how meager it may seem, and to bless God for giving you life. AND we eat 3-5 times a day, so this comes to teach us that satisfaction is short-lived and we have to keep reminding ourselves to be satisfied, to be grateful for what we have, to nourish our minds, bodies, spirits so we can stay connected to the Source of All. This is the great challenge We the People face, how to keep moving the ball forward, moving towards greater and stronger connection with our own authenticity, with our connection to God, our connection to one another and not fool ourselves into believing the lies of ‘more, more, more’, ‘smartest person in the room’, ‘the one with the gold rules’, ‘the one with the most toys wins’, and other such bullshit.
I bought the bullshit above for far too long and my dissatisfaction brought me to jails and prisons, to raping the trust of so many people including family, and I just can’t do it anymore. I am grateful for what I have, I am satisfied with my life, I do strive to be one grain of sand better, I am uncovering more and more of my authentic self and not being embarrassed by being me. This is the joy of this commandment and it is the way out of our current example of what ‘more, more, more’ does to We the People
ACTION STEP:
Keep an inventory of when you are satisfied and when you aren’t
God Bless, Stop Ghosting God, Ghosting Self, Rabbi Mark