Rabbi Wilfond’s Weekly Message January 19, 2023

Dear Friends,
This past week our congregation was blessed to host Reverend Merle
McJunkin of the Antioch Baptist Church. He spoke about the dream of Dr.
King. On Sunday I was honored to be the guest preacher at the Antioch
Baptist Church. I spoke about the friendship of Dr. King and Rabbi
Abraham Heschel. While the Holocaust was raging in Europe, the Reform Movement’s
Rabbinical Seminary, Hebrew Union College, rescued Rabbi Heschel by
offering a visa and faculty position. In the 1940’s, Rabbi Heschel was
plucked from the claws of the Nazis in an unbelievable story of rescue by
the leaders of Reform Judaism in America.
(continues here)
Dr. King and Heschel became spiritual brothers during the civil rights movement in the 1950’s and 60’s.
Dr. King was Heschel’s “Reverend.” And Heschel was Dr. King’s “Rabbi.” Together they shared scripture,
dreams and strategy on how to bring heaven down to earth, here and now.
In March of 1965, Dr. King and Heschel began the march in Selma with reading Psalm 146, a description
of the dream for a healthier society. “We must secure justice for the those who are wronged, give food
to the hungry, set prisoners free, open the eyes of the blind, raise up those who are broken, watch over
the stranger, give courage to the orphan and the widow.” If we do this, then we might feel at home in
our homes.
The March in Selma changed the course of history in this country. We are still on that march. Sadly,
there is poison in the world. It goes by many names. Racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia,
islamophobia and anti-Semitism. The antidote to this poison is to be in genuine relationships of respect,
like Dr King and Heschel, and like the Antioch Baptist Church and Temple Shaaray Tefila as exemplified
by the sincere relationship Reverend McJunkin and I have endeavored to strengthen.
Alone we are divided and vulnerable. Only together is redemption possible. Interfaith partnership is
critical for the health of our community. I urge you to reach out to others beyond our bubble, to spread
the message there is only one race, the human race. The Torah teaches “All humans are created in the
divine image.”
There is still work to do to realize the dream of Dr. King and Rabbi Heschel to bring heaven down to
earth in our day. Let’s set our hearts and hands to the task.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi David Wilfond