Ghosting God, Ghosting Self
Day 133
“This is the Day Adonai has made and I will rejoice in it”! Harriet is very ambivalent about this phrase. She understands its meaning and agrees with the sentiment, it is difficult for her to “rejoice in it” with all that is happening in the world, with the aging process, and the tearing down of everything her life has been about: thinking, individuality, helping the needy and the poor, Being Human. I understand Harriet’s dilemma and it got me thinking this morning that many of We the People must have the same dilemma, in one form or another.
The fact that an estimated 27% of children are estranged from their parents is astounding. The fact that Washington DC is no longer a place of ideas and arguments for the sake of ensuring that “a government of the people, by the people, for the people will not perish from this earth” are no longer happening, that the President of United States is a thief and a liar, a conman and a despicable being who is unable to BE HUMAN are some of the causes of this dilemma. That the very faith which birthed so many other faiths, remember Abraham was the father of all the faiths-in my opinion even the Eastern traditions, is now engaged in senseless hatred, making another group “the other”, going along with autocrats and using Judaism as an autocratic faith, exploiting the masses is certainly adding to this dilemma. The Christian Nationalists and Prosperity Gospel preachers and followers who are bastardizing the words and actions of Jesus Christ is adding to this dilemma. The fear of being our elections no longer being free nor fair, our freedom of the press being no longer true, our freedom to assemble, to worship being destroyed is adding to this dilemma.
All the more reason to engage in this way of being. All the more reason to live in the radical amazement Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel taught and lived. All the more reason to be “maladjusted to norms and words” rather than go along with the societal norms and mental cliches that are ruining our lives. In watching the movie: Hannah Arendt on Apple TV, the dramatic portrayal of her life during and after the Eichmann trial, Harriet and I agreed with Ms. Arendt that without thinking how can one live into their humanity? The crimes of Eichmann, et al, were that they chose to be non-thinking, they chose to “follow orders”, they chose to be amoral and, these choices led them to no longer have choice. Ergo: without choice, without thinking, it is impossible to BE HUMAN. It is what we are witnessing all around the globe and it could be overwhelming.
Yet, the melancholy brilliant, bright light and spirit, Reb Nachman tells us the greatest sin is to despair, the worst thing we can do is give in to the melancholy and defeat ourselves. Of course, “the world is a narrow bridge” and Reb Nachman’s response is: “the core principle is to not be afraid.” Another way to understand “the world” is to use the root of Olam, world in Hebrew, which means “to conceal”. Reb Nachman’s teaching could be “All the concealments are within in us, the most important thing is to not be afraid.” We the People do not have to be afraid of what is concealed, as Moses tells us in Deuteronomy, that is God’s business-our business is to deal with what we know, what we can see, never taking anything for granted, being surprised by both the evil in the world and dealing with the evil and the goodness that is also abundant in the world.
For me, “this is the day Adonai has made and I will rejoice in it” teaches me and holds me accountable to add greatly to the goodness in the world each day and lessen my additions to the evil that is in the world. In thinking about what is concealed, I have to search to uncover what I am concealing about myself, what I am concealing about another human being that will help them be a better person, what keeps me in fear rather than following Reb Nachman’s dictate. I am very certain that God doesn’t put stumbling blocks before me. I am very certain that God doesn’t speak to me in ways I cannot understand. I am very certain that the more I immerse myself in my living, in my soul, in my inner life, the more that will be revealed and the more good I can put into the world. I am moved by this phrase to NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE IN to the bullshit of Bibi, of Donny, of their henchmen and women. I am moved by this phrase to never be estranged from my siblings, my family, my daughter, my Harriet, my authentic self! This is what makes me to “rejoice in it”!
ACTION STEP
Whom have you become estranged, how to you build a bridge back?
How have you given up thinking in order to belong to a group?
Do you “rejoice in it” this day?
God Bless, Stop Ghosting God, Ghosting Self, Rabbi Mark