Kehilat Kesher: The Community Synagogue of Tenafly & Englewood, Orthodox

Long before the plight of the Jews in the former Soviet Union was a major issue, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "I cannot stand idly by, even though I happen to live in the United States and even though I happen to be an American Negro and not be concerned about what happens to the Jews in Soviet Russia. For what happens to them happens to me and you, and we must be concerned."

This coming week we will celebrate the legacy of Dr. King in America. The Jewish community owes a tremendous debt of gratitude for his commitment to speak truth to power on our behalf, even if it may have limited his own ability to fight for black civil rights.

The coming week we also begin reading the Book of Exodus. The main theme of sefer Shmot is exile and redemption. The metaphor of redemption has been drawn upon by oppressed groups for centuries. Let us take a deeper look at the book as a whole and see how it can apply to us today.

We can divide the book into three different sections: The Exodus (chapters 1–17), The Theophany (chapters 18-24), and The Tabernacle (chapters 25-40). When is the journey of the Exodus considered complete? When are we considered to be redeemed?

Some might say that the moment we left Egypt and sang the song at the sea, we were redeemed. Others claim that we were not fully redeemed until we received the Torah and a divine revelation on Mount Sinai. Perhaps the process was not truly completed until we were able to build a place to worship our God.

I believe that the Exodus was not concluded until we entered into the Land of Israel under the leadership of Joshua.

After the Jewish people split into two kingdoms, we were once again in "exile." This time, we happened to be living in our own Promised Land. After the destruction of the second Temple, the Rabbis had to find a way to carry the Jewish people forward in a constant state of exile.

Only in 1948 did we return to that home, and then only in 1967 was our home made complete. The process of exile and redemption that began some 3,000 years ago still carries on to this very day.

Dr. King taught us to call out not only on behalf of the suffering in our own community, but also others. We must tell the world that the Israelis living in the north are still struggling to overcome the post-traumatic psychological damage that was caused by the war in Lebanon. We must tell the Israeli government that the Jews who left their homes in Gush Katif need support and cannot be made to pay the mortgages on homes that are no longer. We must speak up on behalf of the genocide in Darfur and move the international community to action. Iran cannot be allowed to complete its quest for nuclear capabilities and the situation in Iraq must change.

Dr. King was preceded by about 2,000 years by none other than the great sage Hillel, who asked, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And when I am for myself [only], what am I?"

Let us learn from these two great leaders the importance of understanding the story of exile and redemption, and living it in our lives.