Black Lives Matter: My Talk at First Baptist Church of Glenarden

I still recall the time many years ago when I told my children, now grown and with children of their own, about the story of one of the Jewish holidays. It might have been Passover, or it could have been Chanukah or Purim, or some other holiday. I explained to them that there were bad people who tried to kill the Jewish people, but that fortunately they did not succeed. One of them asked me a simple question. My child, sitting in my lap, looked up at me and asked with those big innocent eyes all children seem to have, and said just one word, “why?” meaning, “Why did they want to kill us?” I was at a loss for words. I didn’t know what to say. My voice choked and I had tears in my eyes, because I did not have an answer to her question. I thought about the history of the Jewish people, about what we had done to make the world a better place, of all the Jews who had made so many important contributions in so many fields and helped improve society in whatever country they lived – and of how the world had treated us in return. We never asked for anything other than to be able to live in peace, to be able to practice our religion and preserve and pass on our traditions. I thought about what it was that I was passing on to my children, what they were inheriting, about the glory of our accomplishments, but also about how the history of those who had tried to hurt and destroy our people, how much cruelty we had endured, how much suffering we have known, and how senseless this hatred is. Just as there is no justification for racism, bigotry or prejudice, there is no way to explain why anti-Semitism exists. While I was not able to explain why this was our fate and destiny, I want you to know – It is precisely because of that experience, an experience that has followed us and persisted throughout history that I stand here today. It is because of that experience, of knowing what it is like to be an outsider that I am here today. It is because of that experience, of persecution that I identify with the persecuted, with those who are singled out and discriminated against. It is why Jews have always been in the vanguard of the effort to ensure that all people deserve to be treated equally and why we have historically been allies marching together for civil rights. Our Bible and our sages teach us that every single person is created “B’tzelem Elohim: in the image of God.” The rabbis of the Talmud tell us that whoever saves a single life saves an entire world – or to put it in terms we can understand today – It teaches us that lives matter, that all lives matter, and yes, that black lives, especially black lives matter. About Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt is the founding rabbi of Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Potomac, Maryland, a vibrant Conservative synagogue of approximately 650 families which he founded in 1988 with just a handful of families. Rabbi Weinblatt is President of the Rabbinic Cabinet of the Jewish Federations of North America and has served as Director of Israel Policy and Advocacy for the Rabbinical Assembly and is the head of the Jewish National Fund’s “Rabbis for Israel.” He has served as President of the Washington Board of Rabbis, chaired the National Convention of the Rabbinical Assembly in Jerusalem and in Washington D.C. and the prestigious Annual Israel Bonds’ Ambassador’s Ball as well as a number of other positions in local and national Jewish organizations. Rabbi Weinblatt has been an adjunct professor at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. where he has taught Jewish History, Bible and Theology. In 2016 the Forward newspaper recognized Rabbi Weinblatt as “One of the Most Inspiring Rabbis in America.” Other accolades recognizing his leadership he has received are the “Pillar of the Community” award from the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, and ”Man of the Year” award from the Greater Washington Chapter of ORT. Readers of the Washington Jewish Week have consistently voted him the “Best Rabbi in Washington” multiple years. Prior to his ordination at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, he graduated from the University of Maryland with high honors in history where he helped to establish the Jewish Studies Program and represented the student body to the Maryland State government. A gifted teacher and speaker, who is known for integrating humor in his presentations, he is the author of, “God, Prayer and Spirituality,” a compilation of his sermons, writings and articles, “Living in the Shadow of Death: A Rabbi Copes with Cancer,” as well as numerous articles and columns. Rabbi Weinblatt and his wife, Symcha, have four adult children and four grandchildren. Contact Information: Stuart Weinblatt, Senior Rabbi Congregation B'nai Tzedek 10621 South Glen Road Potomac, Maryland 20854 (301) 299-0225 Website: https://www.bnaitzedek.org/about/lead...