Ghosting God, Ghosting Self
Day 126
We the People have 6 whole days to get our priorities in order, to decide if we the Jewish people are going to continue to follow in the footsteps of the ancestors who defied God, who Ghosted God, who only called out “from the depths” as the Psalmist describes, or are We the Jewish People going to, this year with more conviction, with a better plan that in any previous years, going to be Stiff-Necked in the pursuit of connecting to God, connecting to self, living into the soul we are created to be more and more in 5787? This, of course, is the positive aspect to being stiff-necked.
The history of the Jewish People, however, doesn’t show us too many of the people staying stiff-necked for the sake of God, there are the stories of Moses saying “all who are for God…” after he comes down from the Mountain with the Tablets that he threw and cracked, there are the stories of Mattathias asking “all who are for God follow me” and in both of these cases, the result was the killing of Jews, Israelites, so these words were used for Civil War, for power grabs, for retribution, and the words of the prophets to return, to be stiff-necked for God, for decency, for the poor, the stranger, the needy, etc fell on deaf ears.
Of course we have many examples of people being stiff-necked for their power, for themselves, and it is time to focus on the stories, the examples of We the People who have, are, did stay stiff-necked for the sake of heaven, for the sake of decency, for the promotion of freedom, for fighting agains tyranny, against hatred, racism, anti-semitism, islamaphobia, etc. These stories begin in the Bible, they are scattered throughout the Torah and then when it comes to the story of David before and after he became King of Israel, we the people see what it is like to be stiff-necked for the sake of God. David listens to good advice, even from women!! He is humble enough for most of his life to take direction from God, and when he isn’t he suffers from the loneliness of separation and is referred to only as King. When he returns to God, to his authentic self, he is called David again. The prophets are so stiff-necked in the service of God they are willing to die!
What of We the People today? Is there really anything we are willing to die for? Have we the people forgotten the commandment to “not run after the majority to do evil”, Lutnick, Bessent, Jewish MAGA Republicans, et al? While it is well-documented that many people are willing to go to any lengths to make money, to support Trump and family in their grift, where are We the People who are willing to stay stiff-necked in service of Freedom, of Democracy, in love for God, in duty to be authentic?
We are alive and well, voting in elections, opposing the lies and frauds, the grift, the wars, the cozying up to dictators like Putin, Orban, et al, that both Bibi and Trump are doing with the consent of their followers, their advisors, their people. We are the people who are in recovery from a myriad of compulsions, addictions, We are the people who are actively participating in making Judaism relevant and alive, recapturing the dynamic nature the Rabbis had in mind. We are the people sitting in the pews demanding truth from our Clergy, not dumb rhetoric, not mind-numbing bullshit about “one People Israel” because We the Jewish People have never been of one mind, maybe for part of King David’s reign were We the Jewish People actually united, not the inauthentic melody of the confessional, not the coming late, leaving early that so many Jews do on these Holy Days. NO! We, the stiff-necked people who are serving a higher power, a greater purpose, who are able to rise above our own self-interest, are tapping our chests realizing these prayers are not for nor to God, they are calls to action for We the People both as a group/community and as individuals. We are the people who are at the No Kings Marches, at the Protests on street corners against the authoritarian wishes of Trump, his ‘fine christian nationalists friends’ and his ‘outstanding jewish supporters’. We are the people who have made both the decision and taking the actions to STOP GHOSTING GOD!
I have been stiff-necked my entire recovery. While there were times when my stubbornness was wrong and hurtful, most of my recovery has been about standing up for the poor, loving the stranger, helping the blind and the deaf, rebuking people when they were screwing up, loving my neighbors, fighting for what is good and right, and, “let the record show, I took the blows and did it” God’s way. I am sorry, as I have written for the lava that harmed people from my eruptions, AND I am not apologizing for staying stiff-necked in what I know was the right thing, I am apologizing for, once in a while, standing for Godliness, for what is right, for uncovering the liars, the lies, the deceivers, the deceptions in horrific ways and I am not apologizing for taking these actions. I am stiff-necked and it costs me, I don’t really belong anywhere, I am not a part of a Jewish community, and, like the prophets of old, I have to rely upon my relationship with God, with the people I know “get me”, and those I am connected to for community, for strength, for staying stiff-necked!
ACTION STEP:
What are the positive ways you are staying Stiff-Necked?
God Bless, Stop Ghosting God, Ghosting Self, Rabbi Mark