Photo Courtesy of Mirah Curzer Photography
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel was a bookworm. He both wrote and read voraciously. But he also was also a practical man who lived by his principles. A refugee from Nazi Germany, he knew injustice quite personally. So when he came to the United States, the racial segregation prevalent at the time made him cringe. He became active in the civil rights movement, marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama. As he noted to a fellow marcher, “When I march in Selma, my feet are praying.”
Today, the movement for religious freedom and pluralism may well define our era, much as the movement for racial equality defined Heschel’s. Mosques and community centers around the country have been singled out in a deluge of Islamophobic rhetoric and even acts of intimidation, such as the Quran burning set to take place on the anniversary of September 11 in Florida. Our constitutional rights, as well as the tolerant vision of our founding fathers, are at risk.
In response, we must pray with our feet. READ MORE — including mention of the Liberty Walk.
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