Have you ever seen or heard the advice, “be the person you needed as a child”? That’s kind of what the Ko’ach Fellowship is for me. When I was a Vice President at the URJ, I deeply needed a mentor who was Jewish leader of color who had walked that “senior executive at a large establishment institution” path before. That person just didn’t exist.
Read MoreJust like Twitty, I’ve had my own recent epiphany about Pesach. While the narratives between Jews and Black folks enslaved in American chattel slavery have often been , there is a crucial difference. For Black folks in America, the sea never parted. They were never able to escape their enslavers and oppressors nor the systems of enslavement and oppression that have held them hostage. So this year, as we move out of the Pesach season, I think that it is important to acknowledge this reality in our work and in future Seders until freedom is actually achieved for all people, and especially for Black, Indigenous, and other folks of the Global Majority. Until slavery and it’s offspring have been uprooted in America, none of us are free.
Read MoreSo, here’s to another Jewish trip around the sun, the changing of seasons, and Southern sweetness. May we always cherish the love, intention, and courage our living relatives and deceased ancestors gave us. They contributed to the abundant spiritual inheritance we carry forward today, with sugar on our tongues.
L’shana tova umetukah - May you have a good and sweet new year!