MLK SHABBAT 5783

Every January, Americans observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Rather than celebrating a broader Civil Rights Movement Day, we prefer to tell the story of a singular hero who represented and led the struggle for justice and equality, giving his life for it—long before his work was done. And Dr. King gave us exactly the story we need.

Today, Jews began reading from the Torah the book of Shemot—Exodus. Throughout his life, when Dr. King preached, he often turned to the Book of Exodus to build his homilies. And each year during January, for thousands of years, Jews have told this story of the Exodus from Egyptian bondage. It is the story of our struggle for freedom. In Exodus, we read of Moses, a leader who spoke truth to power, who wouldn’t take “no” for an answer, who stood his ground against the cruelty of the most powerful man in the world— Pharaoh. Dr. King was a lot like Moses.

Dr. King was never a mighty person growing up. Like me, he was not very tall, but he had strong roots. His grandfather was a sharecropper, and he couldn’t go to the high school he wanted…why? because he was black! But his parents had raised him right and he followed in his father’s footsteps as a preacher. And like Moses in today’s parsha, he also freed the slaves—so to speak. In fact, he changed the course of history.

Sometimes, the little man is to be admired because he might be the strongest of all. That’s what happened with the crossing of the Red Sea. When the Israelites saw the Egyptians pursuing them, they cried out for help. Gd then told Moses (Ex. 14:15): “Why do you cry to me? Speak to the Children of Israel and tell them to go forward.” However, the waters hadn’t parted yet and no one moved. Then, the Midrash (Mechilta d’Rabbi Yishmael 14:22) tells us, one man named Nachshon—prince of the tribe of Judah—had the faith and the courage to jump in—and the waters didn’t recede until it was up to his neck. 

Nachshon was a humble man. If you look at the names of the princes of the other tribes, almost all had Gd’s name in their name. They had names like Netanel (Gift of Gd), or Tzuriel (Rock of Gd). But Nachshon did not. Only Nachshon, who never flaunted his piety, proved to be the greatest hero of all. To this day in Israel, when you want to speak of someone who leads in a difficult or dangerous assignment, you call them a Nachshoni—someone like Nachshon.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Nachshoni. He could have remained in the background—not protesting or calling attention to himself. Certainly, he saw that those who did protest the bigotry in our country paid a high price—and he paid the highest price! We commemorate his life now every year so that we pay attention to the fact that the plagues of discrimination, poverty, violence and injustice still afflict America.

We soon will read from the Torah about the beginning of the 10 plagues Gd brought upon the Egyptians to free the Jewish slaves. Of the plague of darkness, the Torah (Ex. 10:21-23) tells us it was so dark, that, “People could not see one another, and for 3 days no one could get up from where he was.” The Gerer Rebbe understood that this darkness was so debilitating because people could not see one another—they could not see their neighbor’s pain. The ancient Egyptians were afflicted with this plague from the moment they enslaved the Jews. The Egyptians refused to see their slaves’ pain—they were engulfed in the darkness of prejudice, hatred and indifference.

My friends, this same plague still afflicts our world. We still have not reached the Promised Land that Dr. King dreamed of and prayed for. Yes, I can say that in my lifetime significant progress towards racial equality has been made. Today it is in poor taste to utter racial slurs. It is now illegal—although it too often happens—to discriminate against anyone in schools, housing, employment or anything else.

But, as our African American members will tell you, they still must have that “talk” with their children—telling them they must be polite and cooperate with police when they encounter them for their own safety. They are still approached in stores as if they work there because they’re black. African American mothers have told me that they still worry whether their children or husbands will come home in one piece when they leave in the morning. Yes, despite its progress, America still suffers at times from the plague of darkness, prejudice, hatred and indifference. Dr. Martin Luther King’s example inspires us to fight this plague whenever and wherever it raises its ugly head.

I end with a verse from the prophet Malachi (2:10) that sums up Dr. King’s life’s mission: “Have we not all one father? Did not one Gd create us all?” This was Dr. King’s message.

To speak more about this message, I call upon Dr. Tarece Johnson-Morgan. Dr. Tarece is a Doctor of Education from Emory, an entrepreneur, an author, an artist, and Chief Officer of Belonging, Culture, & Equity. Her love for teaching and mentoring children led her to create Global Purpose Academy and co-create a school in Central America. She is also a School Board Chairperson. As a public figure, Tarece aims to make a difference through antiracism and anti-hate education. She believes that justice, love, and art can bring peace to our world.