From a Yom Kippur sermon by Rabbi Brant Rosen in Chicago...Read the sermon in its entirety here.
I
believe the answer, as ever, is very basic. We begin by joining
together, by building coalitions, by creating movements. We know that
this kind of organizing has the power to effect very real
socio-political change in our world. We have seen it happen in countries
such as South Africa and Ireland and we’ve seen it here at home – where
Chicago became the first city in the country to offer monetary reparations
to citizens who were tortured by the police. In this, as in the
aforementioned examples, the only way reparations and restorative
justice was achieved was by creating grassroots coalitions that
leveraged people power to shift political power.
And that is why we’ve prominently identified “solidarity” as one of our congregation’s six core values:
Through our activism and organizing efforts, we pursue
partnerships with local and national organizations and coalitions that
combat institutional racism and pursue justice and equity for all. We
promote a Judaism rooted in anti-racist values and understand that
anti-Semitism is not separate from the systems that perpetuate prejudice
and discrimination. As members of a Jewish community, we stand together
with all peoples throughout the world who are targeted as “other.”
How do we effect collective atonement? By realizing that we are not
in this alone. By finding common cause with others and marching forward.
It is not simple or easy work. It can be discouraging and depleting. It
does not always bear fruit right away and it often feels as if we
experience more defeats than successes along the way. But like so many, I
believe we have now choice but to continue the struggle. And I am eager
and excited to begin to create new relationships, to participate as a
Jewish voice in growing coalitions, with the myriad of those who share
our values. I can’t help but believe these connections will ultimately
reveal our true strength.
I’d like to end now with a prayer – I offer it on behalf of refugees
and migrants, on behalf of who have been forced to wander in search of a
home:
Ruach Kol Chai – Spirit of All that Lives:
Help us. Help us to uphold the
values that are so central to who we are: human beings created in the
image of God. Help us to find compassion in our hearts and justice in
our deeds for all who seek freedom and a better life. May we find the
strength to protect and plead the cause of the dislocated and uprooted,
the migrant and the refugee.
Guide us. Guide us toward one
law. One justice. One human standard of behavior toward all. Move us
away from the equivocation that honors the divine image in some but not
in others. Let us forever affirm that the justice we purport to hold
dear is nothing but a sham if it does not uphold basic human dignity for
all who dwell in our midst.
Forgive us. Forgive us for the
inhumane manner that in which we too often treat the other. We know, or
should, that when it comes to crimes against humanity, some of us may be
guilty, but all of us are responsible. Grant us atonement for the
misdeeds of exclusion we invariably commit against the most vulnerable
members of society: the uprooted and unwanted, the unhoused, the
uninsured, the undocumented.
Strengthen us. Strengthen us to
find the wherewithal to shine your light into the dark places of our
world. Give us ability to uncover those who are hidden from view, locked
away, forgotten. Let us never forget that nothing is hidden and no one
lost from before you. Embolden us in the knowledge that no one human
soul is disposable or replaceable; that we can never, try as we might,
uproot another from before your sight.
Remind us. Remind us of our duty
to create a just society right here, right now, in our day. Give us the
vision of purpose to guard against the complacency of the comfortable –
and the resolve in knowing that we cannot put off the cause of justice
and freedom for another day. Remind us that the time is now. Now is the
moment to create your kingdom here on earth.
Ken Yehi Ratzon. May it be your will. And may it be ours.
And let us say,
Amen.
