(ד) וְשָׁפַט֙ בֵּ֣ין הַגּוֹיִ֔ם וְהוֹכִ֖יחַ לְעַמִּ֣ים רַבִּ֑ים וְכִתְּת֨וּ חַרְבוֹתָ֜ם לְאִתִּ֗ים וַחֲנִיתֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙ לְמַזְמֵר֔וֹת לֹא־יִשָּׂ֨א ג֤וֹי אֶל־גּוֹי֙ חֶ֔רֶב וְלֹא־יִלְמְד֥וּ ע֖וֹד מִלְחָמָֽה׃ (פ)
(4) Thus God will judge among the nations And arbitrate for the many peoples, And they shall beat their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning hooks: Nation shall not take up Sword against nation; They shall never again know war.
(יט) וַאֲהַבְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־הַגֵּ֑ר כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
(19) You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
(א) וְאַחַ֗ר בָּ֚אוּ מֹשֶׁ֣ה וְאַהֲרֹ֔ן וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֑ה כֹּֽה־אָמַ֤ר יְהוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל שַׁלַּח֙ אֶת־עַמִּ֔י וְיָחֹ֥גּוּ לִ֖י בַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃
(1) Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Let My people go that they may celebrate a festival for Me in the wilderness.”
To be a Jew is to be an agent of hope in a world serially threatened by despair. Every ritual, every mitzvah, every syllable of the Jewish story, every element of Jewish law, is a protest against escapism, resignation or the blind acceptance of fate. Judaism is a sustained struggle, the greatest ever known, against the world that is, in the name of the world that could be, should be, but is not yet.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
http://rabbisacks.org/future-tense-how-the-jews-invented-hope-published-in-the-jewish-chronicle/
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
http://rabbisacks.org/future-tense-how-the-jews-invented-hope-published-in-the-jewish-chronicle/
(טז) לֹא־תֵלֵ֤ךְ רָכִיל֙ בְּעַמֶּ֔יךָ לֹ֥א תַעֲמֹ֖ד עַל־דַּ֣ם רֵעֶ֑ךָ אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃
(16) Do not deal basely with your countrymen. Do not profit by the blood of your fellow: I am the LORD.
(יד) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אִם אֵין אֲנִי לִי, מִי לִי. וּכְשֶׁאֲנִי לְעַצְמִי, מָה אֲנִי. וְאִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו, אֵימָתָי:
(14) He [also] used to say: If I am not for myself, who is for me? But if I am for my own self [only], what am I? And if not now, when?
If Not Now
Carrie Newcomber
2010
If not now, tell me when
If not now, tell me when.
We may never see this moment
Or place in time again
If not now, if not now, tell me when.
I see sorrow and trouble in this land
I see sorrow and trouble in this land
Although there will be struggle we'll make the change we can.
If not now, tell me when.
I may never see the promised land.
I may never see the promised land.
And yet we'll take the journey
And walk it hand in hand
If not now, if not now, tell me when.
If not now, tell me when
If not now, tell me when.
We may never see this moment
Or place in time again
If not now, if not now, tell me when.
So we'll work it 'til it's done
Every daughter every son,
Every soul that ever longed for something better,
Something brighter.
It will take a change of heart for this to mend.
It will take a change of heart for this to mend.
But miracles do happen every shining now and then
If not now, if not now, tell me when?
If not now,
Tell me when.
But miracles do happen every shining now and then.
If not now tell me when x3
Carrie Newcomber
2010
If not now, tell me when
If not now, tell me when.
We may never see this moment
Or place in time again
If not now, if not now, tell me when.
I see sorrow and trouble in this land
I see sorrow and trouble in this land
Although there will be struggle we'll make the change we can.
If not now, tell me when.
I may never see the promised land.
I may never see the promised land.
And yet we'll take the journey
And walk it hand in hand
If not now, if not now, tell me when.
If not now, tell me when
If not now, tell me when.
We may never see this moment
Or place in time again
If not now, if not now, tell me when.
So we'll work it 'til it's done
Every daughter every son,
Every soul that ever longed for something better,
Something brighter.
It will take a change of heart for this to mend.
It will take a change of heart for this to mend.
But miracles do happen every shining now and then
If not now, if not now, tell me when?
If not now,
Tell me when.
But miracles do happen every shining now and then.
If not now tell me when x3
The Prophetic Message of Justice for the Oppressed
"The covenant included specific provisions for human relations, including establishing fair courts, protecting the vulnerable (the non-Israelite, the widow, the orphan, and the poor), lending to the needy without interest, treating wage laborers fairly, and much more.
In this context, justice meant observing the rules of the covenant, only some of which could be enforced in a court of law. When the biblical prophets express God’s anger at the people for doing injustice, the failure to uphold these laws concerning the poor and the vulnerable is often at the core of their critique.”
Tzedek: The Jewish Value of Justice
Rabbi Toba Spitzer
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/tzedek-the-jewish-value-of-justice/
In this context, justice meant observing the rules of the covenant, only some of which could be enforced in a court of law. When the biblical prophets express God’s anger at the people for doing injustice, the failure to uphold these laws concerning the poor and the vulnerable is often at the core of their critique.”
Tzedek: The Jewish Value of Justice
Rabbi Toba Spitzer
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/tzedek-the-jewish-value-of-justice/
(יז) הֲלוֹא־עוֹד֙ מְעַ֣ט מִזְעָ֔ר וְשָׁ֥ב לְבָנ֖וֹן לַכַּרְמֶ֑ל וְהַכַּרְמֶ֖ל לַיַּ֥עַר יֵחָשֵֽׁב׃ (יח) וְשָׁמְע֧וּ בַיּוֹם־הַה֛וּא הַחֵרְשִׁ֖ים דִּבְרֵי־סֵ֑פֶר וּמֵאֹ֣פֶל וּמֵחֹ֔שֶׁךְ עֵינֵ֥י עִוְרִ֖ים תִּרְאֶֽינָה׃ (יט) וְיָסְפ֧וּ עֲנָוִ֛ים בַּֽיהוָ֖ה שִׂמְחָ֑ה וְאֶבְיוֹנֵ֣י אָדָ֔ם בִּקְד֥וֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל יָגִֽילוּ׃
(17) Surely, in a little while, Lebanon will be transformed into farm land, And farm land accounted as mere brush. (18) In that day, the deaf shall hear even written words, And the eyes of the blind shall see Even in darkness and obscurity. (19) Then the humble shall have increasing joy through the LORD, And the neediest of men shall exult In the Holy One of Israel.
(טו) וּבְפָרִשְׂכֶ֣ם כַּפֵּיכֶ֗ם אַעְלִ֤ים עֵינַי֙ מִכֶּ֔ם גַּ֛ם כִּֽי־תַרְבּ֥וּ תְפִלָּ֖ה אֵינֶ֣נִּי שֹׁמֵ֑עַ יְדֵיכֶ֖ם דָּמִ֥ים מָלֵֽאוּ׃ (טז) רַחֲצוּ֙ הִזַּכּ֔וּ הָסִ֛ירוּ רֹ֥עַ מַעַלְלֵיכֶ֖ם מִנֶּ֣גֶד עֵינָ֑י חִדְל֖וּ הָרֵֽעַ׃
(15) And when you lift up your hands, I will turn My eyes away from you; Though you pray at length, I will not listen. Your hands are stained with crime— (16) Wash yourselves clean; Put your evil doings Away from My sight. Cease to do evil;
"Arise" came out of the wake of the Las Vegas shooting in October 2017. In the aftermath, I was searching for inspiration and guidance in the texts of our tradition. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐉𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐀 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭. 𝐀 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤. This song is based on a collection of verses that were ringing in my ears that week, and as the one year anniversary of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue shooting is this weekend, they unfortunately still continue to ring just as true today.”
Facebook, Josh Warshawksy Music, 10/24/19
Facebook, Josh Warshawksy Music, 10/24/19
Arise
Rabbi Josh Warshawsky
2017
Verse 1
Look straight ahead, my son, look straight ahead (Proverbs 4:25)
As you overflow your cup you just remember what I said (Psalm 23)
Like a bloodstained multicolored coat a signpost dipped in red (Genesis 37)
Heed my call.
Verse 2
Guard your soul, your heart inside your chest (Proverbs 4:23)
The wicked lie and wait in darkness, they give you no rest (Proverbs 4:19)
How devious and cursed, is your mind up to the test?
You will not fall
Chorus
You will walk and not break stride
You will not stumble when you ride (Proverbs 4:12)
Let the stranger be your guide in how to love
Lift them up, heed their cries
Do not be wise in your own eyes (Proverbs 3:7)
Let the truth defeat the lies and come to light… and come to light
Verse 3
When you spread your hands in prayer (Isaiah 1:15)
Do not expect to hear an answer when there’s smoke still in the air
Your hands are full of blood and still you talk of what is fair?
We know not all...
Wash your hands, stop doing wrong. (Isaiah 1:16)
Learn to do right, and come together, we have waited far too long
Arise, it’s time, seek justice, for together we are strong
We will not fall
Bridge
I can hear the bells ringing
I can hear their voices singing
I can hear their feet marching
I can hear their hearts drumming
I can hear those people praying...
Halelujah!
Rabbi Josh Warshawsky
2017
Verse 1
Look straight ahead, my son, look straight ahead (Proverbs 4:25)
As you overflow your cup you just remember what I said (Psalm 23)
Like a bloodstained multicolored coat a signpost dipped in red (Genesis 37)
Heed my call.
Verse 2
Guard your soul, your heart inside your chest (Proverbs 4:23)
The wicked lie and wait in darkness, they give you no rest (Proverbs 4:19)
How devious and cursed, is your mind up to the test?
You will not fall
Chorus
You will walk and not break stride
You will not stumble when you ride (Proverbs 4:12)
Let the stranger be your guide in how to love
Lift them up, heed their cries
Do not be wise in your own eyes (Proverbs 3:7)
Let the truth defeat the lies and come to light… and come to light
Verse 3
When you spread your hands in prayer (Isaiah 1:15)
Do not expect to hear an answer when there’s smoke still in the air
Your hands are full of blood and still you talk of what is fair?
We know not all...
Wash your hands, stop doing wrong. (Isaiah 1:16)
Learn to do right, and come together, we have waited far too long
Arise, it’s time, seek justice, for together we are strong
We will not fall
Bridge
I can hear the bells ringing
I can hear their voices singing
I can hear their feet marching
I can hear their hearts drumming
I can hear those people praying...
Halelujah!
Songs of Hope in Times of Despair
‘Zog nit keynmol az du geyst dem letstn veg' (Never say that you are walking the final road), also known as ‘The Partisans' Song’, is perhaps the best-known of the Yiddish songs created during the Holocaust. It was written by the young Vilna poet Hirsh Glik, and based on a pre-existing melody by the Soviet-Jewish composer Dimitri Pokrass. Inspired by the news of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, the song was adopted as the official anthem of the Vilna partisans shortly after it was composed in 1943, and spread with remarkable rapidity to other ghettos and camps. The song is powerful and defiantly optimistic, acknowledging Jewish suffering in the past and present, and urging the Jewish people to continue fighting for their survival. It is one of the most frequently performed songs at Holocaust commemoration ceremonies.
זאָג ניט קײנמאָל - Zog Nit Keynmol
Do Not Ever Say
Hirsh Glik (1922-1944), music by Dmitri Pokrass
Zog nit keyn mol az du geyst dem letstn veg
Khotsh himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg
Kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho
S'vet a poyk ton undzer trot - mir zaynen do
Fun grinem palmenland biz vaysn land fun shney
Mir kumen on mit undzer payn, mit undzer vey
Un vu gefaln s'iz a shprits fun undzer blut
Shprotsn vet dort undzer gvure, undzer mut
S'vet di morgnzun bagildn undz dem haynt
Un der nekhtn vet farshvindn mitn faynd
Nor oyb farzamen vet di zun in dem kayor
Vi a parol zol geyn dos lid fun dor tsu dor
Dos lid geshribn iz mit blut un nit mit blay
S'iz not keyn lidl fun a foygl af der fray
Dos hot a folk tsvishn falndike vent
Dos lid gezungen mit naganes in di hent
To zog nit keyn mol az du geyst dem letstn veg
Khotsh kimlen blayene farshteln bloye teg
Kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho
S'vet a poyk ton undzer trot - mir zaynen do
Never say that you have reached the very end
Thru leaden skies a bitter future may portend
For the hour for which we've yeared will yet arrive
And our marching steps will thunder, we survive.
From land of palm trees to the land of distant snow
We are here with our pain and with our woe
And whenever our blood was shed in pain
Our fighting spirits will resurrect again.
The morning sun will brighten our day
And yesterday will disappear with our foe.
But if the sun delays to rise at dawn,
Then let this song be a password for generations to come.
This song is written with our blood, not with lead,
It is not a song of a free bird flying overhead.
Amid crumbling walls, a people sang this song,
With grenades in their hands.
So, never say the road now ends for you,
Although skies of lead block out days of blue.
Our longed-for hour will yet come -
Our step will beat out - we are here!
Do Not Ever Say
Hirsh Glik (1922-1944), music by Dmitri Pokrass
Zog nit keyn mol az du geyst dem letstn veg
Khotsh himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg
Kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho
S'vet a poyk ton undzer trot - mir zaynen do
Fun grinem palmenland biz vaysn land fun shney
Mir kumen on mit undzer payn, mit undzer vey
Un vu gefaln s'iz a shprits fun undzer blut
Shprotsn vet dort undzer gvure, undzer mut
S'vet di morgnzun bagildn undz dem haynt
Un der nekhtn vet farshvindn mitn faynd
Nor oyb farzamen vet di zun in dem kayor
Vi a parol zol geyn dos lid fun dor tsu dor
Dos lid geshribn iz mit blut un nit mit blay
S'iz not keyn lidl fun a foygl af der fray
Dos hot a folk tsvishn falndike vent
Dos lid gezungen mit naganes in di hent
To zog nit keyn mol az du geyst dem letstn veg
Khotsh kimlen blayene farshteln bloye teg
Kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho
S'vet a poyk ton undzer trot - mir zaynen do
Never say that you have reached the very end
Thru leaden skies a bitter future may portend
For the hour for which we've yeared will yet arrive
And our marching steps will thunder, we survive.
From land of palm trees to the land of distant snow
We are here with our pain and with our woe
And whenever our blood was shed in pain
Our fighting spirits will resurrect again.
The morning sun will brighten our day
And yesterday will disappear with our foe.
But if the sun delays to rise at dawn,
Then let this song be a password for generations to come.
This song is written with our blood, not with lead,
It is not a song of a free bird flying overhead.
Amid crumbling walls, a people sang this song,
With grenades in their hands.
So, never say the road now ends for you,
Although skies of lead block out days of blue.
Our longed-for hour will yet come -
Our step will beat out - we are here!
Ani Ma'amin
I Believe
Azriel David Fastag (1942)
I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah, and, though he tarry, I will wait daily for his coming.
I Believe
Azriel David Fastag (1942)
I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah, and, though he tarry, I will wait daily for his coming.
|
אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה בְּבִיאַת הַמָּשִֽׁיחַ, וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁיִּתְמַהְמֵֽהַּ, עִם כָּל זֶה אֲחַכֶּה לּוֹ בְּכָל יוֹם שֶׁיָּבוֹא |
|
Ani ma'amin b'emunah sh'leimah b'viat hamashiach, v'af al pi sh'yitmameah, im kol zeh achakeh lo b'chol yom sheyavo |
Azriel David Fastag was a Modzitzer hasid known for his beautiful voice, a chazzan and composer of Hasidic tunes before World War Two. Although the Modzitzer Rebbe had managed to escape Poland before the Holocaust, arriving in New York in 1940, Azriel David Fastag was not so lucky. In 1942 he was put on a train to Treblinka, along with hundreds of other Jews.
While on the train he composed a melody for the words of the twelfth “Ani Maamin”: אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶאֱמוּנָה שְלֵמָה בְבִיאַת הַמָשִיחַ, וְאַף עַל פִי שֶיִתְמַהְמֵהַ עִם כָל זֶה אֲחַכֶה לּוֹ בְכָל יוֹם שֶיָבוֹא – “I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah, and even though he may delay, nevertheless, I wait each day for him to arrive.”
Azriel David began singing the song, at first quietly, and eventually with his full voice. Soon everyone on the train was singing the moving, haunting melody together with him, as they were transformed from human wreckage into beacons of hope and faith. After some time had passed, and they had sung the melody many times, Azriel David asked for silence and announced that he would give half of his heavenly reward to anyone who would deliver this new melody to his revered mentor, the Modzitzer Rebbe, in New York.
The idea seemed fanciful and far-fetched. How would any of them – prisoners on a locked train to a death camp – manage to get Ani Mamin to New York? Nevertheless, although the train was locked from the outside, two young boys still managed to escape off the train, through a gap in the roof of one of the carriages. One was killed falling from the train, but the other one ultimately made it to New York, where he delivered the melody to the Modzitzer Rebbe. The rebbe was deeply moved by the melody and the story of its composition, and told his followers: “With this tune they went to the gas chambers; with this tune we will march to greet Moshiach.”
How Ani Ma’amin Survived the Shoah - Pini Dunner, APR 24, 2017,
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/how-ani-maamin-survived-the-shoah/
While on the train he composed a melody for the words of the twelfth “Ani Maamin”: אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶאֱמוּנָה שְלֵמָה בְבִיאַת הַמָשִיחַ, וְאַף עַל פִי שֶיִתְמַהְמֵהַ עִם כָל זֶה אֲחַכֶה לּוֹ בְכָל יוֹם שֶיָבוֹא – “I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah, and even though he may delay, nevertheless, I wait each day for him to arrive.”
Azriel David began singing the song, at first quietly, and eventually with his full voice. Soon everyone on the train was singing the moving, haunting melody together with him, as they were transformed from human wreckage into beacons of hope and faith. After some time had passed, and they had sung the melody many times, Azriel David asked for silence and announced that he would give half of his heavenly reward to anyone who would deliver this new melody to his revered mentor, the Modzitzer Rebbe, in New York.
The idea seemed fanciful and far-fetched. How would any of them – prisoners on a locked train to a death camp – manage to get Ani Mamin to New York? Nevertheless, although the train was locked from the outside, two young boys still managed to escape off the train, through a gap in the roof of one of the carriages. One was killed falling from the train, but the other one ultimately made it to New York, where he delivered the melody to the Modzitzer Rebbe. The rebbe was deeply moved by the melody and the story of its composition, and told his followers: “With this tune they went to the gas chambers; with this tune we will march to greet Moshiach.”
How Ani Ma’amin Survived the Shoah - Pini Dunner, APR 24, 2017,
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/how-ani-maamin-survived-the-shoah/
Shir LaShalom
Yaakov Rotblit & Yair Rosenblum
1969
Yaakov Rotblit & Yair Rosenblum
1969
תנו לשמש לעלות
לבוקר להאיר,
הזכה שבתפילות
אותנו לא תחזיר.
מי אשר כבה נרו
ובעפר נטמן,
בכי מר לא יעירו
לא יחזירו לכאן.
איש אותנו לא ישיב
מבור תחתית אפל,
כאן לא יועילו
לא שמחת הניצחון
ולא שירי הלל.
לכן, רק שירו שיר לשלום
אל תלחשו תפילה
מוטב תשירו שיר לשלום
|
He whose candle was snuffed out and was buried in the dust bitter crying won't wake him up and won't bring him back Nobody will bring us back from a dead and darkened pit here, neither the victory cheer nor songs of praise will help So just sing a song for peace don't whisper a prayer Just sing a song for peace in a loud shout |
Shir LaShalom was first performed by the Infantry Ensemble of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the War of Attrition (1969–1970). The soloist was Miri Aloni, who later became a well-known singer and actress. Inspired by the anti-war songs of the 1960s, the song was written as if spoken by the fallen, calling on the country to fight for peace. The lyrics question and confront values and traditions associated with the memorialisation of the dead such as reciting the Kaddish prayer, singing the songs about war and fallen soldiers that were very common at the time, and placing flowers on graves. The song was controversial from the very beginning. It rejects the mourning and glorification of those killed in battle and emphasises working for peace, and thus some people found it to be defeatist and demoralizing, while religious people objected to the suggestion that prayers serve no purpose. There were, however, many people who supported and appreciated the song’s desire for peace. At the end of a peace rally in 1995, Miri Aloni, along with Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, led the crowd in singing Shir LaShalom. Rabin was shot just moments later; the words to Shir LaShalom were found on a blood-stained piece of paper in his pocket after his death.
Shir LaShalom (Song of Peace) - https://web.nli.org.il/
Shir LaShalom (Song of Peace) - https://web.nli.org.il/
The Relationship of the Jewish community to the Civil Rights Movement
Abraham Joshua Heschel
According to Heschel’s daughter Dr. Susanna Heschel:
"When he came home from Selma in 1965, my father wrote, 'For many of us the march from Selma to Montgomery was about protest and prayer. Legs are not lips and walking is not kneeling. And yet our legs uttered songs. Even without words, our march was worship. I felt my legs were praying.'"
(http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Evox/0405/0404/heschel.html)
According to Heschel’s daughter Dr. Susanna Heschel:
"When he came home from Selma in 1965, my father wrote, 'For many of us the march from Selma to Montgomery was about protest and prayer. Legs are not lips and walking is not kneeling. And yet our legs uttered songs. Even without words, our march was worship. I felt my legs were praying.'"
(http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Evox/0405/0404/heschel.html)
Excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"
16 April 1963
16 April 1963
- "Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.”
- "We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country's antireligious laws."
- Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ." So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?
- "One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
Abraham, Martin & John
Dick Holler
1968
Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham,
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lotta people, but it seems the good die young
But I just looked around and he's gone.
Has anybody here seen my old friend John,
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lotta people, but it seems the good die young
But I just looked around and he's gone.
Has anybody here seen my old friend Martin,
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lotta people, but it seems the good die young
But I just looked around and he's gone.
Didn't you love the things they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free,
Someday soon it's gonna be one day.
Has anybody here seen my old friend Bobby,
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up over the hill
With Abraham, Martin and John.
Dick Holler
1968
Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham,
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lotta people, but it seems the good die young
But I just looked around and he's gone.
Has anybody here seen my old friend John,
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lotta people, but it seems the good die young
But I just looked around and he's gone.
Has anybody here seen my old friend Martin,
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lotta people, but it seems the good die young
But I just looked around and he's gone.
Didn't you love the things they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free,
Someday soon it's gonna be one day.
Has anybody here seen my old friend Bobby,
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up over the hill
With Abraham, Martin and John.
Letter to Jon from Heather Tobis Booth
Ruleville
To my brother,
...Last night I was a long time before sleeping, although I was extremely tired. Every shadow, every noise—the bark of a dog, the sound of a car—in my fear and exhaustion was turned into a terrorist’s approach...
“We are not afraid. Oh Lord, deep in my heart, I do believe, We Shall Overcome Someday” and then I think I began to truly understand what the words meant. Anyone who comes down here and is not afraid I think must be crazy as well as dangerous to this project where security is quite important. But the type of fear that they mean when they, when we, sing “we are not afraid” is the type that immobilizes...The songs help to dissipate the fear. Some of the words in the songs do not hold real meaning on their own, others become rather monotonous—but when they are sung in unison, or sung silently by oneself, they take on new meaning beyond words or rhythm...There is almost a religious quality about some of these songs, having little to do with the usual concept of a god. It has to do with the miracle that youth has organized to ght hatred and ignorance. It has to do with the holiness of the dignity of man. The god that makes such miracles is the god I do believe in when we sing “God is on our side.” I know I am on that god’s side. And I do hope he is on ours.
Jon, please be considerate to Mom and Dad. The fear I just expressed, I am sure they feel much more intensely without the relief of being here to know exactly how things are. Please don’t go defending me or attacking them if they are critical of the Project...
They said over the phone, “Did you know how much it takes to make a child?” and I thought of how much it took to make a Herbert Lee (or many others whose names I do not know)...I thought of how much it took to be a Negro in Mississippi twelve months a year for a lifetime. How can such a thing as a life be weighed?...
With constant love, Heather [Tobis Booth]
Elizabeth Martínez, ed. Letters from Mississippi. (Brookline, MA: Zephyr Press, 2002), 172-173.
Ruleville
To my brother,
...Last night I was a long time before sleeping, although I was extremely tired. Every shadow, every noise—the bark of a dog, the sound of a car—in my fear and exhaustion was turned into a terrorist’s approach...
“We are not afraid. Oh Lord, deep in my heart, I do believe, We Shall Overcome Someday” and then I think I began to truly understand what the words meant. Anyone who comes down here and is not afraid I think must be crazy as well as dangerous to this project where security is quite important. But the type of fear that they mean when they, when we, sing “we are not afraid” is the type that immobilizes...The songs help to dissipate the fear. Some of the words in the songs do not hold real meaning on their own, others become rather monotonous—but when they are sung in unison, or sung silently by oneself, they take on new meaning beyond words or rhythm...There is almost a religious quality about some of these songs, having little to do with the usual concept of a god. It has to do with the miracle that youth has organized to ght hatred and ignorance. It has to do with the holiness of the dignity of man. The god that makes such miracles is the god I do believe in when we sing “God is on our side.” I know I am on that god’s side. And I do hope he is on ours.
Jon, please be considerate to Mom and Dad. The fear I just expressed, I am sure they feel much more intensely without the relief of being here to know exactly how things are. Please don’t go defending me or attacking them if they are critical of the Project...
They said over the phone, “Did you know how much it takes to make a child?” and I thought of how much it took to make a Herbert Lee (or many others whose names I do not know)...I thought of how much it took to be a Negro in Mississippi twelve months a year for a lifetime. How can such a thing as a life be weighed?...
With constant love, Heather [Tobis Booth]
Elizabeth Martínez, ed. Letters from Mississippi. (Brookline, MA: Zephyr Press, 2002), 172-173.
We Shall Overcome
Spiritual
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.
We'll walk hand in hand,
We'll walk hand in hand,
We'll walk hand in hand, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
We shall all be free,
We shall all be free,
We shall all be free, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
We are not afraid,
We are not afraid,
We are not afraid, TODAY
Oh, deep in my heart,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.
Spiritual
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.
We'll walk hand in hand,
We'll walk hand in hand,
We'll walk hand in hand, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
We shall all be free,
We shall all be free,
We shall all be free, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
We are not afraid,
We are not afraid,
We are not afraid, TODAY
Oh, deep in my heart,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome, some day.
Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.
(טז) לֹא־תֵלֵ֤ךְ רָכִיל֙ בְּעַמֶּ֔יךָ לֹ֥א תַעֲמֹ֖ד עַל־דַּ֣ם רֵעֶ֑ךָ אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃
(16) Do not deal basely with your countrymen. Do not profit by the blood of your fellow: I am the LORD.
"Religion and Race"
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Jan. 14 1963
There is an evil which most of us condone and are even guilty of: indifference to evil. We remain neutral, impartial, and not easily moved by the wrongs done unto other people. Indifference to evil is more insidious than evil itself; it is more universal, more contagious, more dangerous. A silent justification, it makes possible an evil erupting as an exception becoming the rule and being in turn accepted. The prophets’ great contribution to humanity was the discovery of the evil of indifference. One may be decent and sinister, pious and sinful...However, an honest estimation of the moral state of our society will disclose: Some are guilty, but all are responsible.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Jan. 14 1963
There is an evil which most of us condone and are even guilty of: indifference to evil. We remain neutral, impartial, and not easily moved by the wrongs done unto other people. Indifference to evil is more insidious than evil itself; it is more universal, more contagious, more dangerous. A silent justification, it makes possible an evil erupting as an exception becoming the rule and being in turn accepted. The prophets’ great contribution to humanity was the discovery of the evil of indifference. One may be decent and sinister, pious and sinful...However, an honest estimation of the moral state of our society will disclose: Some are guilty, but all are responsible.
On September 15, 1963, a member of the KKK set off dynamite in a Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama during a Bible class for black children. Four of those children, all 14 years old, were killed. The next month, civil rights activist Medgar Evers was murdered in Mississippi. These events prompted Nina Simone to write aht she called her first civil rights song - Mississippi Goddamn - which would become an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.
Mississippi Goddamn
Nina Simone
1963
The name of this tune is Mississippi goddam
And I mean every word of it
Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam
Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam
Can't you see it
Can't you feel it
It's all in the air
I can't stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer
Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam
This is a show tune
But the show hasn't been written for it, yet
Hound dogs on my trail
School children sitting in jail
Black cat cross my path
I think every day's gonna be my last
Lord have mercy on this land of mine
We all gonna get it in due time
I don't belong here
I don't belong there
I've even stopped believing in prayer
Don't tell me
I tell you
Me and my people just about due
I've been there so I know
They keep on saying 'Go slow!'
But that's just the trouble
'Do it slow'
Washing the windows
'Do it slow'
Picking the cotton
'Do it slow'
You're just plain rotten
'Do it slow'
You're too damn lazy
'Do it slow'
The thinking's crazy
'Do it slow'
Where am I going
What am I doing
I don't know
I don't know
Just try to do your very best
Stand up be counted with all the rest
For everybody knows about Mississippi goddam
I made you thought I was kiddin'
Picket lines
School boy cots
They try to say it's a communist plot
All I want is equality
For my sister my brother my people and me
Yes you lied to me all these years
You told me to wash and clean my ears
And talk real fine just like a lady
And you'd stop calling me Sister Sadie
Oh but this whole country is full of lies
You're all gonna die and die like flies
I don't trust you any more
You keep on saying 'Go slow!'
'Go slow!'
But that's just the trouble
'Do it slow'
Desegregation
'Do it slow'
Mass participation
'Do it slow'
Reunification
'Do it slow'
Do things gradually
'Do it slow'
But bring more tragedy
'Do it slow'
Why don't you see it
Why don't you feel it
I don't know
I don't know
You don't have to live next to me
Just give me my equality
Everybody knows about Mississippi
Everybody knows about Alabama
Everybody knows about Mississippi goddam, that's it
Nina Simone
1963
The name of this tune is Mississippi goddam
And I mean every word of it
Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam
Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam
Can't you see it
Can't you feel it
It's all in the air
I can't stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer
Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam
This is a show tune
But the show hasn't been written for it, yet
Hound dogs on my trail
School children sitting in jail
Black cat cross my path
I think every day's gonna be my last
Lord have mercy on this land of mine
We all gonna get it in due time
I don't belong here
I don't belong there
I've even stopped believing in prayer
Don't tell me
I tell you
Me and my people just about due
I've been there so I know
They keep on saying 'Go slow!'
But that's just the trouble
'Do it slow'
Washing the windows
'Do it slow'
Picking the cotton
'Do it slow'
You're just plain rotten
'Do it slow'
You're too damn lazy
'Do it slow'
The thinking's crazy
'Do it slow'
Where am I going
What am I doing
I don't know
I don't know
Just try to do your very best
Stand up be counted with all the rest
For everybody knows about Mississippi goddam
I made you thought I was kiddin'
Picket lines
School boy cots
They try to say it's a communist plot
All I want is equality
For my sister my brother my people and me
Yes you lied to me all these years
You told me to wash and clean my ears
And talk real fine just like a lady
And you'd stop calling me Sister Sadie
Oh but this whole country is full of lies
You're all gonna die and die like flies
I don't trust you any more
You keep on saying 'Go slow!'
'Go slow!'
But that's just the trouble
'Do it slow'
Desegregation
'Do it slow'
Mass participation
'Do it slow'
Reunification
'Do it slow'
Do things gradually
'Do it slow'
But bring more tragedy
'Do it slow'
Why don't you see it
Why don't you feel it
I don't know
I don't know
You don't have to live next to me
Just give me my equality
Everybody knows about Mississippi
Everybody knows about Alabama
Everybody knows about Mississippi goddam, that's it
Social Activism Today
Our passion for social justice is reflected in the ancient words of our prophets and sages and in the declarations of our Reform Jewish leaders throughout our history. The ancient command “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof!” or “Justice, justice shall you pursue!” (Deuteronomy 16:20) has led the charge in a long and proud tradition of political activism by Reform Jewish.
Rabbi Marla Feldman
Rabbi Marla Feldman
(טז) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר,
(16) He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say: It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it;
On January 17, 2018 85 rabbis and other Jewish leaders and activists were arrested while singing 'Olam Chesed Yibaneh' at the Russell Senate Office Building, demanding a clean Dream Act.
Olam Chesed Yibaneh
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
2015
Olam chesed yibaneh... yai dai dai x4
I will build this world from love... yai dai dai
And you must build this world from love... yai dai dai
And if we build this world from love... yai dai dai
Then G-d will build this world from love... yai dai dai
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
2015
Olam chesed yibaneh... yai dai dai x4
I will build this world from love... yai dai dai
And you must build this world from love... yai dai dai
And if we build this world from love... yai dai dai
Then G-d will build this world from love... yai dai dai