D'var Torah

I can’t help but think of the similarities between Moses, who is born in this week’s Torah portion, Shemot, the first portion of the book of Exodus, and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was born this weekend in 1929. Is this a coincidence that both “birthdays” occur on the same weekend this year; that both these heroic figures stood on the symbolic shores of freedom with songs of redemption that brought hope and strength? 

Moses, whose speech problems still allowed him to speak confidently for a people, triumphed over evil and used his words to bring change. He was a biblical model for Dr. King whose charismatic speech galvanized people and changed the world. Both marched for freedom – away from degradation and towards self-determination.

Dr. King used the Exodus narrative to frame many of his speeches and bring hope to the Black community as he encouraged them that, just like Moses, the future would be full of glory even though they had to endure the hardships of the past. Dr. King’s famous mountaintop speech drew parallels to the biblical narrative because he wanted Black America to have the structure of the story of Moses who successfully won our people’s freedom. In a commentary on Dr. King, Ramon Tuason of the Stanford Freedom Project writes that Dr. King:

... reminds his followers that the Israelites suffered before gaining their freedom from the pharaoh, just like how his own listeners were suffering. King made this point because, as he did not want his followers to feel discouraged in their efforts, he wanted to help them understand that difficult trials were only part of their quest for justice. The Exodus narrative helped King’s supporters comprehend the past, present, and future of their movement; it led them to understand that, if they fought against the discriminatory society of the past and present, God would give them a blessed future just like with the Israelites.

This Shabbat and Monday on MLK Day, as we join hands in projects to make our community stronger, may we remind ourselves of what we have in common with people everywhere who are still oppressed. We can make a difference and repair our world. We may have a long way to go, but as Dr. King says, “We have been to the mountaintop..." and “we will get to the Promised Land.” 

 
Shabbat Shalom,

Cantor Michael Shochet