Their Feet Were Praying (The Jewish Week)

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Writing in The Jewish Week, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies Susannah Heschel honors the friendship between her father Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In March of 1968, she writes, her father introduced Dr. King at a Rabbinical Assembly with the words, “Where in America today do we hear a voice like the voice of the prophets of Israel? Martin Luther King is a sign that God has not forsaken the United States of America.”

She continues: “A few weeks later, Dr. King was hoping to join my family for the Passover Seder; instead, that terrible spring, my father read a psalm at Dr. King’s funeral.

“As another Martin Luther King Day approaches, I think it’s necessary to pause and imagine what that Seder discussion might have been like. What would each have contributed from his religious tradition? Could you imagine their amazement and their tears of joy had they lived to see Americans transcend the racism of our country and elect an African-American president?”

Read the full story, published 1/10/12 by The Jewish Week.

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