What’s Jewish about MLK Day?
by Priscilla Restagno, Judaics & Curriculum Coordinator
Here at TCEE we often say that Jewish values are human values. We aim to see the divine image (b’tzelem elohim) in each other, and we encourage the children to find moments to practice tikkun olam, or the repair of the world. We tell the children when they do something kind that they are performing a mitzvah. Interestingly, mitzvah quite literally means “commandment,” not just a good deed.
Looking towards MLK Day, the federal holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday on Monday, it’s not hard to see these Jewish values that embodied his work. In one of MLK’s most famous speeches, “I Have a Dream,” he says, “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
These unalienable rights align so closely with the Jewish values we hold dear. In fact, Deuteronomy 10:19 says, “You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Love and care for our neighbors, extending to racial justice, is indeed a commandment, one of the 613 mitzvot in the Tanakh. In one of the most famous photos of MLK, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel walks alongside him, arms linked in a row with other protesters. Jewish history, whether it was Esther in our Purim story, Moses confronting Pharoah, or Judah Macabee taking back the temple, has followed the commandment of caring for others and doing what is hard but right, even when it is scary.
Lynn Shusterman wrote for the Huffpost, “As Jews, we are commanded to give tzedakah — an act of justice, not charity—because it is the righteous thing to do. We are told it is our duty to treat everyone with derekh eretz (civility and humanity) and chesed (mercy and kindness)…As we honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who transformed our country with his vision and leadership, I am reminded of the deep connections between these values and what Dr. King stood for: Justice and liberty for all. Diversity and equality as fundamental tenets of our communities and our country.”
These Jewish values of chesed, or loving kindness, and tikkun olam ask of us, Jewish or not, to care for those around us. And for children, this desire to connect with and care for others, to care for the earth and the animals upon it, bring these values to life. What makes Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Jewish is not whether or not MLK was Jewish himself. Rather, it is an opportunity to see these Jewish values come to life in someone who was unafraid to live with chesed, to treat others with derekh eretz, and to intentionally and powerfully perform the act of tikkun olam. And what a blessing it is every day to see our TCEE children perform these mitzvot and embody these Jewish values, too.