“At the first conference on religion and race, the main participants were Pharaoh and Moses. Moses’ words were: ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, let My people go, that they may celebrate a feast to me.’ While Pharaoh retorted: ‘Who is the Lord that I should heed this voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover I will not let Israel go.’
“The outcome of that summit meeting has not come to an end Pharaoh is not ready to capitulate. The exodus began, but is far from having been completed. In fact, it was easier for the children of Israel to cross the Red Sea than for [an African-American man] to cross certain university campuses. Let us dodge no issues. Let us yield no inch to bigotry, let us make no compromise with callousness…” (The Insecurity of Freedom, pg. 85)Fifty-one years ago, Rabbi Heschel acknowledged with striking language that, in his time, there was a battle akin to that of the Exodus story, a struggle for freedom from oppression. One perhaps even more challenging then the crossing of the Red Sea!
Rabbi Heschel was even more condemning in a telegram that he on the eve of a meeting with President Kennedy in 1963: “I look forward to privilege of being present at meeting tomorrow four pm. Likelihood exists that [African-American] problem will be like the weather. Everybody talks about it but nobody does anything about it.”
This coming Shabbat, we at Anshe Emet are planning on doing something about it, as we commemorate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On January 16 at Anshe Emet Live, Hazzan Mizrahi will lead a Friday night service when we will sing about freedom, and discuss how we can create a world with more freedom for all. And on Sunday, January 18, we are honored to host various churches, organizations, ONE Northside, and more as we talk about our respective faiths, the legacy of Dr. King, and systematic injustices in our community related to racism and gender inequality. We will also learn about how we can begin battling against these inequities. We’ll conclude with some food, breaking bread together as we reflect on how to make change as a community.
So this weekend, help us commemorate the legacy of Rabbi Heschel and Dr. King by doing something about it.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi David Russo
