Rabbi’s Monthly Message

As an American-Jew, I grew up in an era of Jewish commitment to Tikkun Olam – social justice.

That was a legacy built over generations of Jewish engagement in activism and education, but

perhaps most notably built in the wake of Jewish involvement in the American Civil Rights

Movement of the 1960s. I found great power and inspiration from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and

always appreciated celebrating MLK Day with members of our community. It was a day that

reflected the bridging of our Jewish values with our American ideals.

Early in my rabbinic studies I took a class in the Prophets. It was a deep dive into the prophetic

voices of the Bible, and for the first time I was engaging in meaningful learning around those

voices that most closely aligned with Dr. King’s call for justice, righteous indignation, and moral

courage. The prophets call for justice and loving mercy is powerful and moves Jewishness from

thought to action. Calls for caring for the stranger – the most often repeated commandment in the

Bible, are echoed in the prophets call for seeking justice, pursuing justice, and ensuring justice. It

is Amos who demands that “justice roll down like a river and righteousness like an endless

stream.

” Micah calls for us to “do justice, love goodness, and walk humbly before the Divine.” And

Isaiah invites us to “learn to do good, devote yourself to justice, aid the wronged, uphold the rights

of orphans, defend the cause of the widow.”

The call for justice echoed in the voices of the prophets and carried on by the American Civil Rights

movement is not just meant to underline the vulnerabilities of those who are oppressed in that

moment. It is a vision of a world where no one is oppressed, and a reminder that we must

continue to work for justice until it is known to all people everywhere. MLK Day serves as a

continued reminder of America’s search for justice and a call to give voice to those who are

silenced. We, both as Jews and Americans, are called to look after those who might otherwise be

forgotten by society, and to care for those who are at risk of being left behind. In this way, MLK

Day is a merging of the most deeply powerful and shared Jewish and American values.

Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionism, argued Jewish life in America could be

fully Jewish and fully American. In making that case, he noted the shared values of both cultures

and pushed back against the notion of being a “Jew at home and an American in the street.” MLK

Day is just one example of how that truly comes to life.