Jewish Musings Monday, MLK Day, January 15

[hollygail]

What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.

Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:

Frieda (hopefully)?
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy

And for those of you who stop by to read this thread without posting — you are welcome to, but you are also welcome to chime in. Don’t be shy!

[hollygail]

I want to take a brief detour from discussing the Torah portion to talk about the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and his connection with Judaism. I think we may all be familiar with the famous "I Have a Dream" speech. But are we also aware that the beginning is based largely on [Deutero-]Isaiah 40:1–26? Take a look at the beginning of each of these two.

"I have a dream that one day 'Every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall it it together.'"

And the opening of the haftarah for Va-etchanan (beginning with the third verse, rather than verse 1):
3 A voice rings out: Clear in the desert
A road for GOD! Level in the wilderness
A highway for our God!
4. Let every valley be raised,
Every hill and mount made low.
Let the rugged ground become level
And the ridges become a plain.
5 The Presence of God shall appear,
And all flesh, as one, shall behold —
For God has spoken."

(I used one specific translation (from JPS) above.) It's almost word for word, right? (Okay, synonymous words.) I imagine many of us knew King was heavily influenced by the Prophets in our TaNaKh (the Hebrew or Jewish Bible or Scriptures). This haftarah is chanted on the first Shabbat following Tisha b'Av, the day on which many (a great many, historically speaking) tragedies befell the Jewish people. (Its first word, Nachamu, "Comfort," is repeated: "Comfort, comfort my people," the first two words of Isaiah 40:1).

Whether or not you are familiar with the Prophets and/or their teachings, did you realize how closely King's famous speech is to our haftarah's?

There are additional ties between King and the Jewish people. He was perhaps our most famous ally in the 20th century. Here are some other pieces of information about the close ties between MLK and the Jews.

In 1965, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel was the presenter to Dr. King of the Judaism and World Peace award. Heschel (1907 – 1972) marched with King (and many other people) during the 1960s, both in the US South (Selma being the site of some of the more famous photos showing King and Heschel together in the front line of the marches) and in Washington, DC (where I too was a marcher several times).

Toward the end of his life, Dr. King devoted significant time and energy to strengthening what were becoming increasingly strained ties between Black Americans and U.S. Jews. One issue Dr. King was particularly concerned with was the growing mischaracterization of Zionism as racism. Dr. King spoke and wrote often about Israel. However, the true depth of Dr. King’s commitment to Israel was readily apparent in a September, 1967 letter he sent to Adolph Held, then president of the Jewish Labor Committee. Dr. King wrote Held after the Jewish leader contacted him regarding press accounts of a conference that Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference participated in. At the meeting, strongly worded resolutions blasting Zionism and embracing the position of the Arab powers had been considered.

Understanding Held’s worries, Dr. King explained that, beyond offering opening remarks, he had no part in the conference. But, Dr. King said, had he been present during the discussion of the resolutions (and this is a direct quote from King to Held in that letter), “I would have made it crystal clear that I could not have supported any resolution calling for Black separatism or calling for a condemnation of Israel and an unqualified endorsement of the policy of the Arab powers.”

King continued: “Israel’s right to exist as a state is incontestable.” He then added (prophetically?), “At the same time the great powers have the obligation to recognize that the Arab world is in a state of imposed poverty and backwardness that must threaten peace and harmony.”

In a March 25, 1968, speech to the Rabbinical Assembly, Dr. King said: “peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality.”

There are additional instances, but it's early and I must get a move on.

What memories or information do you carry about MLK, whether about the Jewish community or otherwise?

[lee058]

Good morning everybody. Hope you are all warm and SAFE! Please pray for Israel.

Re today's topic: hollygail, MLK's commitment to the Jews was considerable, unlike that of others, who blame Jews for their troubles, ignoring the many years and sacrifices that Jews put towards helping EVERYONE be safe, well-housed, well-fed, and well-schooled. I wish more people today knew about what MLK said about Jews!!

Have a peaceful day, Lee

[peachymom1]

Good morning everyone, and I hope you are having a good day so far. DH just reminded me that our cat has a checkup at the vet this morning; I've been so distracted that I totally missed that.

I did know about MLK's commitment to the Jewish people, not because of school or the news, but because Rabbi Harold Schulweis (z"l) talked about him many times, and I sat up and listened. When my kids were in Hebrew school, they came home singing songs about Dr. King and his dream, and this led to discussions at home.

I'll BBL - got to get the kitty in her carrier and get going.

[gazelle18]

I live in a city that is majority Black. MLK Day is a big deal here. One memory of MLK Day is that I once had a Black employee who never (like NEVER) missed a day of work. But once a year she asked for a work day off, on MLK Day, so she could go to the parade.