One Person Makes a Huge Difference on the Path (Ki Tavo 5778)

Mahalia Jackson at March on Washington August 28, 1963
Photo by Bob Parent, Getty Images

This week marks the 55th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington -- with 250,000 participants it was the largest political rally for human rights in American history. One of the most memorable and moving moments from that day was Martin Luther King Jr’s I have a dream speech.

But today it is not King's words themselves that move me. Rather it is how one person by encouraging King to speak those words links up with an evocative passage in this week's Torah portion and to how one person's caring regard for an orphaned family made it possible to sustain Jewish life in a small community for generations. 

The evocative Torah passage is part of Moses' wrap-up message to the ancient Israelites in the wilderness toward the end of their journey when Moses reminds them to observe divine commandments. Then he adds "walk in God's path" or "follow God's footsteps." (Deut. 26:17.) 

But more on that later; let's turn to our attention to King's famous 1963 speech. According to Clarence Jones, King sharing so vividly his dream of racism vanquished was not in the prepared text for that day. Jones was an advisor, attorney, and speechwriter for King. As Jones describes it, it was the encouraging voice of just one person that prompted King to go off script. 

That one person was Mahalia Jackson, the gospel singer who performed two spots ahead of King. She was still on the stage and shouted out to King, “Tell ‘em about the dream, Martin. Tell them about the dream.” Hearing that prompted King to put his prepared text aside, pause, then extemporize the most famous passages from that speech. 

It is nearly impossible to imagine giving a speech like King's. But any one of us can offer words of encouragement to a friend or classmate or colleague. And the impact could be huge. 

Another story from that era about one person making a difference. It took place in Hamilton, Ontario. It is the story about Rabbi Mordechai Green rebuilt the Jewish community there. (Rabbi Green, of blessed memory, died just this summer, was the beloved grandfather of my stepson-in-law.) Green came to Hamilton in the late 1950's finding a dwindling Jewish community. Over time he successfully launched a youth movement that spread throughout Canada and rebuilt the synagogue, established a day school and yeshivah. 

All of which are thriving today thanks to him. And thanks to one person who made a huge difference decades before him.

Green knew that in order for his community to thrive he needed to move and rebuild the synagogue. But the community lacked money to do that. Green went to meet with Mr. Amy, the officer at a local branch of Royal Bank seeking a big loan (about $4M in today's dollars!). Mr. Amy asked if Rabbi Green had any backing or any co-signers. Rabbi Green said no and Mr. Amy replied, “I’m sorry, but how can I give you a loan with no backing? Have a good day.” Rabbi Green got up and turned to leave. 

Then Mr. Amy asked why he needed so much money. Rabbi Green told him the money was for building an Orthodox synagogue. Hearing that Mr. Amy, a Christian, asked Green to sit back down. "An Orthodox synagogue; okay I will help you." Then Mr. Amy told his family story. “When I was a boy, I was orphaned at a young age. My mother had 5 children and no source of income. My mother walked into the local general store looking at the price tags on the food and clothing. The owner of the general store came over and said to my mother, 'I heard what happened to your husband. Don’t worry about the cost. Take the clothing you need for your children, take the food you need for your children. As long as I own this store your family will be taken care of.'"

Mr. Amy continued, “that man was an Orthodox Jew and this is the first opportunity I have to repay his kindness." It is that store owner's caring regard to clothe and feed five orphaned children that decades inspired one of those children to help transform a Jewish community and the lives of thousands of children.

It is nearly impossible to imagine raising the money to build a synagogue and school. But any one of us can help feed and clothe a child or family in desperate need. And the impact could be huge.

That evocative Torah passage about "walk[ing] in God's path" or "follow[ing] God's footsteps" is a bit mysterious. It likely does not mean to follow divine commandments or exhortations because those were separately mentioned in the same Torah verse. In the rabbinic imagination, it comes to mean behaviors like clothing, feeding, and encouraging. Walking in God's footsteps, taught Rabbi Hama ben Hanina (3rd century), does not mean literally following divine footsteps because that is impossible. Rather, the phrase refers to following the divine example of acting with compassion or lovingkindness. (See Sotah 14a.) And, I believe, following the divine example of encouraging others. (See, e.g., Genesis 15:1; 28:15.)

Encouraging, clothing, feeding: Each one of us like Mahalia Jackson or the Canadian store owner or Mr. Amy can make a huge difference. As we reflect on the year about to close, may each of us have the strength to give more encouragement and the wisdom to demonstrate more compassion and lovingkindness in the year about to begin.