This past Friday night was our Legislative & MLK Shabbat dinner & service. We had more than 300 people seated for dinner, including 50 elected officials. Each elected official had a TE “buddy” who was tasked to make them feel welcome, introduce them around, convey what it is like to be a Jew in America right now and to advocate for HB30 “the antisemitism bill” in the GA State legislature. It was important to us for our guests to take part in a positive, Jewish ritual experience. We started the evening with our traditional blessings, heard from a few legislative leaders, and then had Shabbat dinner together.
The vast majority of the elected officials stayed with us for Shabbat services, which were overflowing with both joy and the seriousness of the world we live in. The sermonettes relayed the biblical connections to Civil rights, the courage of Rabbi AJ Heschel and Reverend ML King, the situation in Israel, and keeping our captives in Gaza at the forefront of our prayers. At the end of the service, we had our guests come up to the bima for a special blessing. It was lost on no one that they stood between the American and Israeli flags, many with heads bowed in prayer, as we blessed them.
This evening was important. Not only for Temple Emanu-El (diyanu), but for the strategic partnerships that are important to the Jews of Georgia, and perhaps even for Jews across the United States of America.
We all have a role to play. I firmly believe this. And, by the number of congregants who were with us on Friday night, so do many of you. Even if you were not physically at Shabbat dinner or services, I want you to know that being part of the Temple Emanu-El community is very much tied to our ability to even attempt what we were able to achieve on Friday night. There is so much more to do. But for the moment, let’s appreciate our small victories where we can find them.
Read about our event in the Atlanta Jewish Times.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Spike
