‘Let my people go’: Principles of justice as valuable now as in the days of Moses

(I was asked to speak on the Jewish view of justice at the Hilton Head Island rally for justice and change Sunday evening. I could not participate, but following is the text of my speech, which was read at the event.)

Three thousand years of tradition and law inform this subject. So it comes down to this.:

Moses said to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let my people go so that they may celebrate a feast to Me.’ “

Pharaoh replies, “Who is this Lord that I should heed his voice and let Israel go? ... I will not let Israel go.”

What has really changed? One person has power and the other demands freedom from being enslaved.

The Jewish view of justice is about making a choice. We are all either Pharaohs or slaves of Pharaoh. It is tragic to be a slave of Pharaoh. It is horrible to be Pharaoh. Which side do we choose?

The late Ellie Wiesel, a concentration camp survivor and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, addressed it long ago to President Ronald Reagan as he was planning to visit the German SS military cemetery in Bitburg, Germany. As he received a Medal of Honor from President Reagan, Wiesel, in front of the nation, appealed to Reagan to not visit there. He said: “That place, mister president, is not your place. Your place is with the victims of the SS.’‘

Judaism’s view of justice has always sided with the victims of hate.

I do not liken the police today as equal to the SS. That is not the point.

The point is that racism is the problem and America is saying that we must be on the side of the victims, meaning those who suffer from illegal and unlawful police actions. People from Emmet Till to Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd are part of a historic continuum of that violation of civil and human rights. This is about how they were treated because of their race. That is the problem America has yet to solve.

Protesters are right when they chant there is no peace if there is no justice.

Abraham Joshua Heschel said, “Some are guilty of racism but all are responsible.”

We all play a role in every interaction with our fellow Americans — including the police who are charged to serve and protect us — to do our part to change hearts and minds with respect and love.

Black lives must matter, and that expression does not mean that all lives don’t matter. It means that this country and its citizens must face the truth that racism is our moral pandemic that will never leave us until we stand up against the Pharaohs of our day and say, “No more!”

Racism is a form of idolatry.

Heschel asked, “What is an idol? Any god who is mine and not yours, any god concerned with me but not with you, is an idol.”

He continued, “To think of man in terms of white, black and yellow is more than an error. It is an eye disease, a cancer of the soul.”

Justice is a cancer of the soul and it is up to us to stop it from metastasizing inside the culture and society of America.

The Torah says in Deuteronomy, “Justice, justice shall you pursue.”

Two times it says “justice” because we are commanded to go the extra yard, that is, to rise above and beyond the calling of our ancient Scriptures and the call, ”I can’t breathe,” which applies for every American.

When that principle is selectively applied to only one group of Americans, or not applied to another, then I fear America cannot and will not survive.

So today I urge you to protest peacefully and speak your peace and let it be heard in the streets of Hilton Head Island to the corridors of our legislature to the courts and the police stations and to every neighbor who calls themselves a citizen of America.

Only then will we see the beginning of the vision of the prophets come true.

Amos said, “But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

That is our clarion call today and forever to make this land truly safe for our children and their progeny.

The words of the Jewish prayer book say, “Pray as if everything depended on God. Act as if everything depended on us.”

That is why we are here today. Go forth and make a difference. God bless you all.

Rabbi Brad Bloom of Hilton Head Island writes on matters of faith.