I once had the opportunity, the privilege, the honor, to Rep. Lewis, face to face, exactly why he was my hero. Now, in honor of one of the most remarkable, most American, lives ever lived, I want to suggest four key lessons (among hundreds) that we can all learn from John Lewis’ life and work.

The urgency of this moment is clear. Launching the We Are Done Dying Campaign in early May, the NAACP declared, “The health and safety of our people are at an unparalleled risk.”

Every voice matters, and every vote should, too – but in many places across the U.S., restrictive laws and practices disproportionately keep People of Color from voting. As someone who is too young to vote, I am motivated to ensure that everyone who is eligible to exercise this right does so. 

This week, I tell a friend I’d love to chat but actually I have to run Yom Kippur services are starting soon and I’ve got to repent for my sins before the gates are closed. She laughs. “Well, you’re gay, so you’ve definitely got a lot of repenting to do.”

Racism is a form of idolatry, of self-worship that is immoral and is fundamentally against humanity and democracy. What we do in the Poor People's Campaign is to help people make the connection between interlocking injustices that threaten everybody’s security.

And at this moment, in the midst of the pandemic, we are witnessing a time of reckoning for the racial divide that has torn our society apart for so long. What does it mean to bring a baby into a world in desperate need of r’fuah sh’leimah, the full healing of body, heart, and soul?

My boys are making forts using all the pillows in the house. They strong-armed my husband into setting up our camping tent outside, and they sit there as the day grows hot.

Scores of organizations mobilized in 2018 to enact a new iteration of Dr. King’s 1968 campaign for the poor. It is called The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, and I am proud that our Reform Jewish community is a partner in this important campaign.

For many white observers, the protests calling for an end to police violence and Black liberation that erupted over the weekend may have appeared sudden. Yes, they came directly after the killing of George Floyd, but they were anything but sudden.