Cantor's Corner by Eric Schulmiller

Describing Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel as “one of the great men of our age, a truly great prophet”, Martin Luther King declared: “He has been with us in many struggles. I remember marching from Selma to Montgomery, how he stood at my side...I remember very well when we were in Chicago for the Conference on Religion and Race...to a great extent his speech inspired clergymen of all faiths to do something they had not done before.”

In the wonderful book, Shared Dreams: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Jewish Community, myriad examples are given of the impact of Jewish texts, especially from the prophetic tradition, on Dr. King’s thought and writings. His relationship with Rabbi Heschel also played a role in the development of his philosophy. In fact, Dr. King was planning to attend a Passover Seder at Heschel’s home, but was tragically shot only weeks before this groundbreaking event could take place.

This January, I hope we can all rededicate ourselves to the principals and actions that these two great men stood for. Then, maybe we can all feel like our “legs are praying,” as Heschel described his experience of marching hand in hand with Martin Luther King on that day in Alabama years ago.