Looking at the pictures of people protesting throughout the world – from LA to New York, Paris to Melbourne – the words from a song from Bette Midler called out to me: “From a distance we are instruments
Marching in a common band
Playing songs of hope
Playing songs of peace
They are the songs of every man.”
As an older African American Pentecostal minister remarked to me at the gathering at MLK Park on Sunday, smiling broadly behind his mask, “everyone is here, all the colors of the rainbow.”
The first racial epithet on record comes in this week’s Torah portion, Be’Ha’alotcha, where Aaron and Miriam call Moses’ wife Tziporah the “K-Word.”
The story concludes with Moses having to be convinced to pray for his sister.
I leave you with the words of the Bette Midler song:
“From a distance you look like my friend
Even though we are at war
From a distance I just cannot comprehend
What all this fightings for
From a distance there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
And it’s the hope of hopes
It’s the love of loves
It’s the heart of every man
It’s the hope of hopes
It’s the love of loves
This is the song for every man
God is watching us
God is watching us
God is watching us from a distance.”
Here is a video of my remarks at MLK Park on June 7, 2020:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E5NUv1MnZI[/embedyt]
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex
Last Updated on 07/04/2020 by Marc Slonim