The Sleep of Reason

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Goya_Sleep_of_ReasonI admit it. I am beset with depression and dread as I contemplate our present political environment here, in the United States (and in Israel, as well, but that is another, difficult matter).

It has not been easy to secure the values of freedom and equality, human dignity and democracy and see to it that they be put into real practice in our society. And there is so much more to be done! These values are precious to every person. However, throughout history there have been those who have sought to limit the benefits of these values to themselves and their chosen allies, while denying them to others. I argued last month that such an approach is the very antithesis of the Judaic call toward holiness. It is painful for me to acknowledge that there are serious and sincere Jews who are not guided by this principle.

For a century, and even more rapidly, in the last generation or so, it seemed that these values were finally being applied to society at large, and not only to the privileged few. But we are in the midst of a growing backlash against this movement, and the backlash, which, ironically, also often justifies itself as necessary to protect our freedoms and values, has taken on a very ugly aspect.

As I write these words I am acutely conscious of how they can be read by those who disagree with me. The atmosphere in our society is poisoned with the bitterness each side feels toward its foes. And, yes, we have become each other’s foes. Our disagreements seem impossible to resolve. Any admission that the other opinion might have some value is considered treason. Nor do we confine our scorn to the ideas themselves. It is all personal now. Our main weapons of argument are no longer reason and research, but contempt and derision.

Why? For some time – and repeatedly – I have suggested that a major factor in leading people toward ugliness of spirit and action is one’s fear. I try to confront my fears and overcome them, and I try to persuade others to do the same. My conviction that people are misled by their fear helps me – a little – to avoid my own propensity to think badly of those with whom I disagree. A little – but it is a real struggle. Because, as much as I can explain their position as stemming from fear, they also make me afraid. I fear their fear. For fear really does lead to madness, madness that is not romantically picturesque, but socially poisonous and murderous.

Fear may be a useful survival reaction in times of peril, but it is a disastrous guide for long term behavior and for realistic perspectives on the challenges of life. Fear is not meant to be a guide. It is meant to be a wake up call. But what are we supposed to wake up to?

The answer was already given to us at the start of our morning prayers. As I discussed in the Kol Emunah issue of January 2014, our morning blessings open with thanks to God for the gift of intelligence, or wisdom – binah. The great artist, Goya, entitled one of his haunting etchings from his series, The Disasters of War, “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.” We need to grapple with our fears by arousing our slumbering intelligence and wisdom. As I explained in that column, this means anticipating the light even though one is still enveloped in darkness.

It is instructive to pursue this idea as it reappears in the blessings of our Amidah prayer. We have arrived in our series at the first blessing of the middle section, specific to the weekday Amidah. The blessing reads:

“You [- God] freely endow the human being with intelligence and You teach humanity wisdom. Do grant us, from out of Yourself (me’itkha), intelligence (de`ah), wisdom (binah) and understanding (has’kel). You abound in blessings, Eternally Present One, Who bestows knowledge.”

The blessing is beautiful and intriguing. We praise God for generously endowing us with intelligence and wisdom. But then we immediately ask God for that very gift, as if we have not already received it! Perhaps we should understand the blessing to be saying something like: “God, You have been known to grant human beings intelligence and wisdom, so could You please do so now, to us?” Now, when we need it more than ever.

Or, perhaps the plea is rooted in the qualification of what kind of wisdom we seek. “You have already granted us human wisdom, God. But could You further grant us wisdom that come from You – Godly Wisdom?” We know that many people, on all sides of the political divide, are very intelligent and smart. And they use their smarts to advance their cause and to clobber their opposition. Would that happen if we were granted wisdom from out of the Divine? After all, God’s Wisdom went toward one very specific goal, to create a good world for us. If we were granted wisdom that partook of the Divine holiness, would we use it to consolidate our position against those less fortunate, or would we create a world that was “very good” (Gen. 1:31)?

Or, perhaps, the point of the request is that we ask for something more than intelligence and wisdom. We ask for “has’kel.” This word is often translated as “understanding” or “discernment.” The word, as used in the Bible, is related to two other connotations – one meaning relates to looking at or into someone or something.

So maybe we are asking for the ability to get past our own sense of intelligence so that we will not be blinded by our own brilliance. We seek, instead, the power to really see other things and people. To gain some perspective on ourselves and others. To see them requires that we overcome our fear of them, for no one can look closely at someone or something that they fear. Again and again we have learned that fears and prejudices dissolve when the object of one’s hatred and fear is finally perceived in proper perspective, to be a real human being and not the monster that our fears have projected them to be.

One other meaning that this term has in the Bible relates to succeeding in life or in a challenging situation. This latter meaning derives from the premise that sensitive use of discernment will lead to success.

But what kind of success are we hoping for? Are we seeking more wisdom so that we can win more arguments? Well, that depends on the result of winning the argument. If, for example, winning the argument would mean winning rights for those who have been oppressed, then I guess it would be very good to win that argument. But, too often, we simply wish to win arguments for the sake of our own ego gratification. The arguments never get beyond the Facebook or email chain of comments. Winning the argument brings no real benefits to those who deserve them the most. And winning the argument brings us no closer to understanding and seeing each other. It serves, instead, to help us preen before our friends.

The word has’kel may also remind us of the familiar Yiddish form of the Hebrew word that is its cousin – sekhel – common sense. Perhaps we are asking for more than intellectual acuity and comprehension. Perhaps what we ask for is the commonsense ability to apply our intelligence successfully, so as to bring our well thought-out plans to fruition. If that is the case, then perhaps this prayer is needed more than ever in this dark time. It seems that the camp that has made elaborate, well thought-out plans devoted to closing women’s health clinics, crippling liberal education, obstructing sane immigration policies for the refugee and the homeless, foreclosing people’s rights to vote or to be safe in the workplace and safe in their environment – that camp has been blessed with increasing measures of has’kel – of figuring how to put their convictions into practice.

But those of us who believe that such an agenda is the betrayal of humanity created in God’s Image, need to pray a lot harder for more has’kel. We need more intelligence, more wisdom, understanding, empathy and perspective, so that we can recognize fear and give it its due. So that we can overcome our fears and help others overcome theirs. So that we can reawaken our reason and dispel the monsters we have allowed to engulf us.

When I recite this blessing, this is my prayer.

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