In the 1980s, I remember attending rallies in support of Soviet Jewry. As we marched on the streets of my hometown Philadelphia, singing “Leaving Mother Russia” by Safam, I remember feeling the importance of the moment. Through my parents and my community, I learned what it meant to stand up for what you believe, no matter when, no matter where it was needed.
At a Martin Luther King luncheon last week, each table was presented with a quote from the famous preacher to ponder. My table’s quote was: “our lives begin to end when we become silent about the things that matter.” This speaks exactly to this week’s Torah portion Vaera where Moses is presented with a challenge to confront Pharaoh demanding freedom for the Israelites. Moses first reaction is: “Why me? I have a stutter. I’m a lowly outsider.” God responds, “why not you?”
This past Sunday, my family and I helped to set up the house of a new Jewish Ukrainian family. Many of the others with us, including the organizer Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin, were children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. We were there to show the new family and one another that we would be there whenever we were called.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex