I am thankful that I was invited to offer the opening prayer this past weekend at the Vigil for George Floyd. In this epidemic environment, I have avoided anything resembling a crowd, because having had open heart surgery, I am at elevated risk.
But I could not stay away. I did wear a mask and did my best to social distance, but the reality is that it’s hard to maintain social distance in crowds. Masks are important.
I was there to demonstrate my love and support along with the love and support of the Jewish community for the African American community, our friends, and family members. I stress this latter point, “our friends and family members,” because very often in conversations about the Jewish community, Jews of Color are forgotten and people of color who are part of Jewish families are ignored entirely. Long gone are the days when the Jewish community could think of issues related to racism and civil rights as issues with which we as Jews, all white Ashkenazim, didn’t have to worry ourselves, but needed to act to help others.
The Jewish community of Des
Moines today is multiracial and, increasingly, Jewish communities around the
world are becoming more and more so. Racism is now an issue of immediate
relevance and concern to members of our community as well. It is about us too. Some
members of our community now face Antisemitism AND Racism.
Racism and bias are issues that need to be addressed in terms of work that needs to be done within our community, raising awareness about prejudice and privilege for some of us, on the one hand, while also needing to be seen as something that many Jews have to deal with in their daily lives because of the color of their skin on the other.
So, when I go to speak about racism, I do so thinking not only about other communities, but about those in our community as well, including our good friends and family members.
And when asked to speak, well… those who know me well, know that I’m not one to keep silent. Our tradition teaches that the greatest sin of our age is silence. I’m going to speak.
Jewish tradition teaches us, as well, several things that are important for us to think about in relation to the death of George Floyd. First, in the words of Hillel:
When people around us are acting without humanity, our job is simply to act like a human being.
When those around us are showing callousness and absence of concern about the well-being of others, as those officers did, not responding to cries for help, it is upon us to show concern and care. We are supposed to be a mensch, a human being.
The Torah reminds us as well, “v’ahavtah re’ekha camokha,” “love your neighbor as yourself.” Act with concern for the well-being of others as you would act on your own behalf.
Racism and bias, even just in regard to policing alone, much less as found across our society, aren’t concerns that are going to be fixed easily or quickly. What can one person do?
Our tradition teaches us in the words of Rabbi Tarfon:
It is not our obligation to complete the work, but neither can we avoid doing our share.
Individually, we may not be able to end racism and other forms of hatred, but it is our obligation as individuals to do what we can.
We can chant. We can march. We can protest. We can listen and we can teach. We can vote. We can be present at vigils alongside our friends and family members.
Kneeling has been a part of
these protests. Kneeling is not part of the Jewish tradition. We do not kneel
as part of our worship and we bow only before God.
But in protest, we have knelt, not to bring ourselves low, not to humble ourselves, but to remember. We knelt at the vigil this past Sunday. In my opening prayer that day, I prayed that our kneeling would elevate our passion and our commitment to bring positive change to our community and our world.
Kneeling, we recalled the words, “I can’t breathe!” We remembered that there was no response, instead of callousness and silence. We WILL and MUST respond!
Kneeling, we remembered all of those brought low and held down by hatred, a long history of suffering, the vast majority of it unrecorded, at the hands of those with the power to prevent it from being known. May we will pledge ourselves to remember that long history, as we pledge to reach out our hands to respond to the cries of the oppressed.
Kneeling, we joined ourselves together, united in our commitment to justice.
It was moving to see police officers and protesters kneeling together and in some cases marching and dancing together. And it was good to see our Republican Governor accompanied by Des Moines’ Democrat Mayor and African American Leaders including Democrat State Representative Ako Samad, along with police officials working together and holding a press conference together, the other day. Together, we can change our world.
As we look out at what is happening in America, may we constantly be reminded that we are all created in the divine image and that each and every one of us is deserving of love and care.
May God give us strength in our efforts. Let us be strong and strengthen one another.
Kneeling, by the hundreds, by the thousands, by the millions across our nation, we are united in the urgent need for change.
We have much work to do.
As we take action, on this Shabbat, in
this time of epidemics of disease and of hatred,
May we do so in health and safety.
And let us say, Amen.
