OK, I will admit to you that whenever one of you comments, “Gee, rabbi, you have such a hard job!” it makes me feel a little better. Being a congregational rabbi is a challenging job, but maybe not for the reasons you think. Many assume that the funerals, hospital visits and public speaking must be the hard parts when, in fact, it is a tremendous honor to lend assistance in a time of mourning or illness and a privilege to share Torah in a public setting. For me, the hardest part is the uncertainty as to whether all the things we do here to try and make Judaism matter in your life really make a difference in the long run. Brandeis President Judah Reinharz recently wrote: “Like the Talmudic sages, today’s Jewish educators have made it their life’s work to ensure safe passage of our age-old tradition from one generation to the next.” I will not know in my lifetime if work I did to advance the practice of Judaism will have an impact on generations to come. But that is my greatest hope.

I find my inspiration to carry on in spite of the unknowns in the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. whose birthday and age-old message of justice for all we celebrate this month. I hope that you will participate in Freedom Shabbat on Friday, January 8 at 8 PM for our service to remember and honor Dr. King’s legacy. I also hope that as many adults and students as possible from the Beth Am community will be in attendance at the MLK City-Wide Rally and March on Monday, January 18. There will be workshops at 9:30 AM (including some to be led by our own Beth Am members regarding housing solutions); a rally in the Garfield High School gym at 11 AM and a march at noon.

When I look at the progress for racial equality that Dr. King did not live to see, I am filled with hope. When I think of the work still to be done, the common vision of our Jewish community and the African-American community toward a society that treats all of its citizens well, I move past feeling sorry for the fact that I may not live to know how it all turns out. I believe it is time to unite together toward our shared goals of a more just and peaceful society. Please come together as a community to fulfill these dreams.

Rabbi Beth Singer