Answering the call
I again indebted to Krista Tippett, host of the podcast, On Being, for the 2008 rebroadcast on September 21, 2017 of her conversation with Arnold Eisen chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. He is author of many books and writes a blog called “On my mind.” The conversation was about the life and work of Rabbi Abraham Joshua, “a mystic, a 20th-century religious intellectual, a social change agent.
Rabbi Heschel is one of those people whose influence on my life and my thoughts have been profound and, yet, as is true for so many of my thoughts, I had forgotten the source of these thoughts. So often I look back at the roads that I have traveled and then remember someone such as Rabbi Herschel. I say to myself: “Oh! Rabbi Herschel’s, God in Search of Man and many other books in which he challenged me to think outside of the many boxes I have attempted to live.”
Once again I encourage all readers to listen to or read the transcript of this On Being podcast. For those who may not be familiar with Rabbi Herschel’s often wise and thought provoking thoughts his books are readily available at most public libraries or for sale at your favorite book sellers.
The title of one of the Rabbi Herschel’s books, God in Search of Man, prompted me to again contemplate and re-examine my beliefs about He/She that we call God or “I am” and what it means to be in relationship with this God. First, of course, I want to think about why God would be in search of man/humans. Generally, we have thought of God as this omnipotent being who is in charge of the universe(s). Our prayers are often supplications for intervention in matters of health, finances, natural events or relationships. Occasionally our prayer may be “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Arnold Eisen in his conversation with Krista Tippett reminds us that Rabbi Herschel posits that the purpose of prayer is to give praise. Ms. Tippett quotes Rabbi Herschel from an unreview with Carl Stern:
“First of all, let us not misunderstand the nature of prayer, particularly in Jewish tradition. The primary purpose of prayer is not to make requests. The primary purpose of prayer is to praise, to sing to chant, because the essence of prayer is a song, and man cannot live without a song. Prayer may not save us, but prayer may make us worthy of being saved. Prayer is not requesting. There is a partnership of God and men. God needs our help.”
There we have it. Beginning with the “I am” (Elohim) definition or name of God in the Old Testament, there is no whole without the parts. The parts are not the whole and, yet, they are an essential part of the whole. In this sense, we acknowledge that we are part of the whole – that we are called to come home to that wholeness – to give thanks for being an essential part of that whole. Paradoxically we can only offer up that prayer of praise if we are able to give praise for who we are. That requires that we know ourselves and to know ourselves requires that we be vulnerable. It is only within the context of that vulnerability that we are free to connect with our part of the song – to truly exist.
This song of praise requires that we be passionately present- that we sing from the deepest part of our soul.
I was talking to a man who is in recovery for drug addiction. He explained to me what he likes and misses about the high – that feeling of being free from pain or stress. Later that same day we heard a speaker at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting who I have known for many years. This man, who I will call Glenn, is passionately grateful, in all his humanness, for being able to be in recovery. He exudes passion – his pain and his joy. He forces one to be present with him or to leave. One cannot just sit and listen. I asked the man I was talking to earlier how being present with the speaker compared to the high he got when taking certain drugs. He said it was the same high. Nothing I could have said to him would have brought this truth home to him better than the talk by Glenn.
Glenn was present with God – present to everyone in the room who could hear his voice. He has claimed his place in the whole and is ready from this space to do the work of creating a more just and loving world.
It is not surprising that Rabbi Herschel joined Martin Luther King in his work to truly free the slaves of racism, poverty and all forms of oppression. Rabbi Herschel was called to teach which he did in the classroom, in books and with his feet.
When the 12 step programs call one to be part of a “we” I hear the same call which Rabbi Herschel heard. It is the same call which challenges all of us to sing our song of praise. We cannot do that if we are attached to proving our worth and/or hiding our vulnerability. We have to be fully present as the humans who is in the words of the late Louise Hay “perfect in our imperfection”.
We are called to come home to our role in being a part of the whole – a part of “I am”.
Written September 23, 217
I again indebted to Krista Tippett, host of the podcast, On Being, for the 2008 rebroadcast on September 21, 2017 of her conversation with Arnold Eisen chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. He is author of many books and writes a blog called “On my mind.” The conversation was about the life and work of Rabbi Abraham Joshua, “a mystic, a 20th-century religious intellectual, a social change agent.
Rabbi Heschel is one of those people whose influence on my life and my thoughts have been profound and, yet, as is true for so many of my thoughts, I had forgotten the source of these thoughts. So often I look back at the roads that I have traveled and then remember someone such as Rabbi Herschel. I say to myself: “Oh! Rabbi Herschel’s, God in Search of Man and many other books in which he challenged me to think outside of the many boxes I have attempted to live.”
Once again I encourage all readers to listen to or read the transcript of this On Being podcast. For those who may not be familiar with Rabbi Herschel’s often wise and thought provoking thoughts his books are readily available at most public libraries or for sale at your favorite book sellers.
The title of one of the Rabbi Herschel’s books, God in Search of Man, prompted me to again contemplate and re-examine my beliefs about He/She that we call God or “I am” and what it means to be in relationship with this God. First, of course, I want to think about why God would be in search of man/humans. Generally, we have thought of God as this omnipotent being who is in charge of the universe(s). Our prayers are often supplications for intervention in matters of health, finances, natural events or relationships. Occasionally our prayer may be “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Arnold Eisen in his conversation with Krista Tippett reminds us that Rabbi Herschel posits that the purpose of prayer is to give praise. Ms. Tippett quotes Rabbi Herschel from an unreview with Carl Stern:
“First of all, let us not misunderstand the nature of prayer, particularly in Jewish tradition. The primary purpose of prayer is not to make requests. The primary purpose of prayer is to praise, to sing to chant, because the essence of prayer is a song, and man cannot live without a song. Prayer may not save us, but prayer may make us worthy of being saved. Prayer is not requesting. There is a partnership of God and men. God needs our help.”
There we have it. Beginning with the “I am” (Elohim) definition or name of God in the Old Testament, there is no whole without the parts. The parts are not the whole and, yet, they are an essential part of the whole. In this sense, we acknowledge that we are part of the whole – that we are called to come home to that wholeness – to give thanks for being an essential part of that whole. Paradoxically we can only offer up that prayer of praise if we are able to give praise for who we are. That requires that we know ourselves and to know ourselves requires that we be vulnerable. It is only within the context of that vulnerability that we are free to connect with our part of the song – to truly exist.
This song of praise requires that we be passionately present- that we sing from the deepest part of our soul.
I was talking to a man who is in recovery for drug addiction. He explained to me what he likes and misses about the high – that feeling of being free from pain or stress. Later that same day we heard a speaker at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting who I have known for many years. This man, who I will call Glenn, is passionately grateful, in all his humanness, for being able to be in recovery. He exudes passion – his pain and his joy. He forces one to be present with him or to leave. One cannot just sit and listen. I asked the man I was talking to earlier how being present with the speaker compared to the high he got when taking certain drugs. He said it was the same high. Nothing I could have said to him would have brought this truth home to him better than the talk by Glenn.
Glenn was present with God – present to everyone in the room who could hear his voice. He has claimed his place in the whole and is ready from this space to do the work of creating a more just and loving world.
It is not surprising that Rabbi Herschel joined Martin Luther King in his work to truly free the slaves of racism, poverty and all forms of oppression. Rabbi Herschel was called to teach which he did in the classroom, in books and with his feet.
When the 12 step programs call one to be part of a “we” I hear the same call which Rabbi Herschel heard. It is the same call which challenges all of us to sing our song of praise. We cannot do that if we are attached to proving our worth and/or hiding our vulnerability. We have to be fully present as the humans who is in the words of the late Louise Hay “perfect in our imperfection”.
We are called to come home to our role in being a part of the whole – a part of “I am”.
Written September 23, 217
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