This
month we have had some opportunities to daven/pray in different ways. Drum roll please.....
Vera
Broekhuysen, TI’s former Cantorial
Intern, led a mincha service with a drum and invited the kids to drum with
her. Later some of the students spoke
with her about their experience with the drums. My favorite comment with that
the drumming helped me focus!
Vera leads a group of kids in drumming Ashrei. |
This
past week during tefila on Wednesday afternoon we talked about what it means to pray with your feet. Here’s how we got there.
Martin
Luther King Jr.’s Birthday is observed on Monday and during our tefila time the
student learned about Abraham Joshua Heshel and his friendship with Martin
Luther King. Heschel marched with King in Selma in
1965. Our jumping off point was one of
my favorite books, As Good As Anybody by Richard Michaelson.
This is the cover of the book that we read last Wednesday. |
Michaelson’s
book, “explores the friendship between,
MLK, the African American Baptist minister and a Polish-born rabbi. Both MLK
and Heschel were raised by wise, loving parents and followed in their fathers'
footsteps. Both of them also experienced hatred and prejudice close to home.
Whether the signs said "Whites Only" or "No Jews Allowed,"
they were equally hurtful and inspired them to strive for peace and equal
rights for all. The first half of the book offers a simple, concise, and
beautifully written early biography of King; the latter describes Heschel's
youth. His father instructed him to "Walk like a prince, not a
peasant….You are as good as anybody," echoing the words of King's mother.
He answered Dr. King's call and joined the 1965 March to Montgomery with 25,000
others.
A photo of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marching with MLK in Selma in 1965. |
The book ends with Heschel saying
about the march for Civil Rights in Selma.
The kids had some awesome insights about what
it means to pray with your feet. Ask
your kids what it means to pray with your feet?
What do you think it means to pray with your feet?
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