Rabbi's Week in Review Blog

We know all too well that our story — the story of our exodus and being freed from bondage — is only the beginning of our story. We have been fighting ever since for our freedom — the freedom to be who we are as Jews, without fear or threat of harm or persecution. Yet, being redeemed from slavery serves as a foundation of hope. For whatever dire straits we are in, we always hold out hope.

We are not alone in the importance we place on being able to tell our stories and to lean on our history. Many other marginalized communities need their stories told as well, to give themselves a hopeful future amid present challenges, and to make their communities stronger and more cohesive through their shared narratives.

We see political leaders who are doing their utmost to muzzle those stories, and to deny communities their history and their stories. In Florida, Ron DeSantis is censoring teachers and banning books.  

The lie that critical race theory is being taught (with the rare exception of some law schools and graduate-school programs) threatens teachers for teaching an accurate history of Black enslavement in our country. Likewise, books that give voice to LGBTQ+ kids are being banned. Also, drag shows are being demonized as somehow being harmful to our kids. We at Kol Ami — where we have twice held fundraisers on Drag Queen Bingo Night at Hamburger Mary’s — know better. Those nights were nights of joy and mutual respect between our Kol Ami family and the queer staff and patrons at Hamburger Mary’s.

As Jews, we know that when the voices of hate come after other marginalized communities, we are targets as well. The silence of DeSantis amid Nazi demonstrations and anti-Semitic signs outside a Florida-Georgia football game speaks volumes. Book-banning authoritarians have always been an ominous sign for us.

Let us resolve to make sure our stories are heard, and let us resolve to lift up the stories of others. Without a full hearing of an accurate accounting of our respective histories, we cannot do the needed work of creating a better world.