We began this week remembering the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, who asserted that “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” It echoes the familiar call of Isaiah that appears in our Yom Kippur service: “…this is the fast that I desire: To unlock the fetters of wickedness, And untie the cords of the yoke, To let the oppressed go free…to share your bread with the hungry, And to take the wretched poor into your home.” (Isaiah 58)
Both the modern and ancient prophet remind us that our response to the challenges of our lives and of our times is never to turn inward and minister merely to our personal needs. Our world needs us. It needs our compassion and our action; our commitment and our caring; our resources and our resilience.
It was John F. Kennedy who famously said in his inaugural speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Could those words be any more true today than they were then? Our country needs us to heal broken lives, restore hope and tolerance, and extend our hands to those in need of strength and love.
What will you do in the year ahead to give of your spirit for the good of all?
— Rabbi Ron Stern