Avoiding Spiritual Numbness

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Avoiding Spiritual Numbness

Here we will be dealing with “spiritual numbness”, a term used to describe an all too common phenomenon that results when ritual observance loses its emotional charge and we find ourselves just going through the motions. Judaism is a religion based on behavior backed by a certain belief but; compliance outranks spontaneity in its scale of values. Ritual acts mark the path of their daily lives. This is not something that is a mark of Judaism only, but can be found in many different religions. But what are we to do when we find our inner state and outer actions do not match? Lifeless religion is what remains when ritual has become utterly routine. From an external perspective we are complying, but deep down we are disengaged and unsatisfied. We know that "Words not from the heart never go up to heaven.” The spiritual numbness of religion is graphically portrayed when Moses tarries atop Mount Sinai too long. In his absence, the Israelites demand of Aaron, their priest, a visible and permanent symbol of God's presence in their midst. From their gold jewelry, Aaron casts a molten calf, proclaiming, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!" Relieved, the Israelites celebrate with sacrifices, feasting and dancing.

The scene really upsets God who is ready to abandon "this stiffnecked people", except for the persuasive intercession of Moses. But when Moses descends and actually witnesses the outrageous revelry, he turns prosecutor. His anger matches God's: "As soon as Moses came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he became enraged; and he hurled the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain" (32:19). The stark reality of human infallibility overwhelms the moment of divine revelation. It is said as long as the tablets bore the inscriptions etched by God, they transported themselves and Moses along with them. But once they caught sight of the drums and dancing around the calf, the holy letters fled their setting and reascended to heaven, leaving Moses to carry the heavy tablets on his own. Helpless, he threw them to the ground. As such, the image of tablets whose words have taken flight, becomes a vivid symbol for the state of just religion.

How burdensome are rituals that no longer speak to us, that we perform out of habit, duty or piety long after their meaning has evaporated! The loss may come from opposite directions, from too little practice or too much, from ignorance or routine. To encounter God we first need to develop a relationship with God. The Mishnah, which insists that we shrink our egos before we reach out to God, reports that the early mystics would ready their minds for an hour before they started to pray. We seem to do good if we pray an hour altogether! In all honesty, I think it would take a lot longer to “ready my mind” than an hour. Actually, our concentration should be of such a magnitude that even the greeting of a king or the presence of a snake would go unnoted. Each of us must develop our own techniques to keep the danger of spiritual numbness at bay. Above all, we should be mindful of the principle enunciated by the sages of YHVH not long after the destruction of the Temple by the Romans: "It matters not if we pray a lot or a little, as long as our hearts are firmly fixed on God." Shalom