Creative Maladjusted
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel used the phase creative maladjusted. Martin Luther King, Jr. seem to borrow the phase from Rabbi Heschel. For example, in his June 27, 1956 speech to the annual convention of the NAACP he said, “History still has a choice place for the maladjusted. There is still a call for individuals to be maladjusted. The salvation of our world lies in the hands of the maladjusted as the prophet Amos who in the midst of the tragic inequalities of injustice in his day cried out in the words that echoes across the generations: ‘Let judgment run down like water and righteousness like a might stream.’”
In the February 18, 2021 On Being podcast conversation between host Krista Tippett and Rabbi Ariel Burger, author of Witness – Lessons Elie Wiesel’s Classroom, there is a discussions of creative maladjustment. Interesting, but not surprising, this week I have been thinking a lot about the teachings of Jesus in what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. More specifically I have been thinking about my understanding of the mandate to love your neighbor as yourself. What does this mean in our day to day interactions with people? Rabbi Berger recounts the story of his son’s friend, Mason, visiting a former guard at a Nazi compound where they were doing experiment on rabbits looking for a cure for typus. Mason’s grandmother had a cut which was badly infected. As a prisoner her infection was not treated, One of the guards in this Nazi camp cut himself and pressed his open wound on Mason’s grandmother’s wound thus causing an infection. He could then get antibiotics which he then shared with Mason’s grandmother. Mason found the guard who was still living and thanked him for his life. Is this creative maladjustment?
Elie Wiesel would not meet with Holocaust deniers because he did not want to dignify that position with a debate. Yet, those deniers are our neighbors just as the white supremist are our neighbors. The question is whether one gets a pass for not loving the neighbor who is a racist or a Holocaust denier. Does one get a pass for not loving the neighbor who sexually abuses children? Does one get a pass for not loving the loving the person who murders his family? Does one get a pass for not loving those who have imprisoned people without a trial since 2001?
What if there are no passes? What if Jesus and other spiritual teachers really do expect one to see all people as one’s neighbor? What if one’s neighbor includes the thousands of people on the sexual offender’s list? Many on the sexual offenders list – most actually – did not sexually abuse children even though viewing child pornography of any person under a certain age (age varies in each state in the United States and in each country) counts as child sexual abuse. One can also be convicted of pandering for just viewing child pornography. Perhaps Jesus intends us to only love some of those on the sexual offenders list such as the person who had sex with an underage prostitute who lied about his or her age. Perhaps Jesus would exclude all those on the sexual offenders list from being our neighbor.
Perhaps certain people are evil monsters and not those Jesus or other spiritual leaders would consider our neighbors. Perhaps they are throw away people.
What if Jesus and other spiritual leaders somehow understood that many factors can affect the brains of us humans; can determine thoughts and thus actions? What if Jesus and other spiritual leaders had the ability to hear all our unspoken unkind and lustful thoughts? What if people knew we should be the throw away people? What if my son is justified in not having any contact with me because he knows I am one those who should be on the throw away list?
On the other hand, what if we are called to be creative maladjusted members of the human race? What if we are called to honor that tension between those who know only the questions and those who think they have the answers? What if we are called to find the common song in the space between our various opinions and “sins/ways of hurting ourselves and others”? What if we only find pure joy when we face the depts of the fear and grief within each of us?
Rabbi Burger asserts “If someone blesses you, they really see you, and they give their seeing of you to you. There is a certain sense of responsibility that comes with that. To be witnessed is a responsibility.
What if we are all blessed and, thus, all called to witness to the responsibility of loving our neighbor as ourselves? What if we find we have a common song with all others? No exceptions?
Written February 19, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel used the phase creative maladjusted. Martin Luther King, Jr. seem to borrow the phase from Rabbi Heschel. For example, in his June 27, 1956 speech to the annual convention of the NAACP he said, “History still has a choice place for the maladjusted. There is still a call for individuals to be maladjusted. The salvation of our world lies in the hands of the maladjusted as the prophet Amos who in the midst of the tragic inequalities of injustice in his day cried out in the words that echoes across the generations: ‘Let judgment run down like water and righteousness like a might stream.’”
In the February 18, 2021 On Being podcast conversation between host Krista Tippett and Rabbi Ariel Burger, author of Witness – Lessons Elie Wiesel’s Classroom, there is a discussions of creative maladjustment. Interesting, but not surprising, this week I have been thinking a lot about the teachings of Jesus in what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. More specifically I have been thinking about my understanding of the mandate to love your neighbor as yourself. What does this mean in our day to day interactions with people? Rabbi Berger recounts the story of his son’s friend, Mason, visiting a former guard at a Nazi compound where they were doing experiment on rabbits looking for a cure for typus. Mason’s grandmother had a cut which was badly infected. As a prisoner her infection was not treated, One of the guards in this Nazi camp cut himself and pressed his open wound on Mason’s grandmother’s wound thus causing an infection. He could then get antibiotics which he then shared with Mason’s grandmother. Mason found the guard who was still living and thanked him for his life. Is this creative maladjustment?
Elie Wiesel would not meet with Holocaust deniers because he did not want to dignify that position with a debate. Yet, those deniers are our neighbors just as the white supremist are our neighbors. The question is whether one gets a pass for not loving the neighbor who is a racist or a Holocaust denier. Does one get a pass for not loving the neighbor who sexually abuses children? Does one get a pass for not loving the loving the person who murders his family? Does one get a pass for not loving those who have imprisoned people without a trial since 2001?
What if there are no passes? What if Jesus and other spiritual teachers really do expect one to see all people as one’s neighbor? What if one’s neighbor includes the thousands of people on the sexual offender’s list? Many on the sexual offenders list – most actually – did not sexually abuse children even though viewing child pornography of any person under a certain age (age varies in each state in the United States and in each country) counts as child sexual abuse. One can also be convicted of pandering for just viewing child pornography. Perhaps Jesus intends us to only love some of those on the sexual offenders list such as the person who had sex with an underage prostitute who lied about his or her age. Perhaps Jesus would exclude all those on the sexual offenders list from being our neighbor.
Perhaps certain people are evil monsters and not those Jesus or other spiritual leaders would consider our neighbors. Perhaps they are throw away people.
What if Jesus and other spiritual leaders somehow understood that many factors can affect the brains of us humans; can determine thoughts and thus actions? What if Jesus and other spiritual leaders had the ability to hear all our unspoken unkind and lustful thoughts? What if people knew we should be the throw away people? What if my son is justified in not having any contact with me because he knows I am one those who should be on the throw away list?
On the other hand, what if we are called to be creative maladjusted members of the human race? What if we are called to honor that tension between those who know only the questions and those who think they have the answers? What if we are called to find the common song in the space between our various opinions and “sins/ways of hurting ourselves and others”? What if we only find pure joy when we face the depts of the fear and grief within each of us?
Rabbi Burger asserts “If someone blesses you, they really see you, and they give their seeing of you to you. There is a certain sense of responsibility that comes with that. To be witnessed is a responsibility.
What if we are all blessed and, thus, all called to witness to the responsibility of loving our neighbor as ourselves? What if we find we have a common song with all others? No exceptions?
Written February 19, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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