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Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Ten Commandments (Parshat Yitro)

January 15, 2014 by Patrick Beaulier

220px-Martin_Luther_King_Jr_NYWTS

Editors note: with MLK day coming soon and the recent “freedom to twerk” controversy, we’re reposting this MLK-inspired dvar on Parshah Yitro from 2011.

OK we’ve been there…Moses carried Joseph’s bones… while the rest of the folks in Israel were collecting weapons, gold and silver. Moses didn’t care. He carried the bones in his arms. Then, God goes and sends them the long route.

Fast forward to Martin Luther King. He carried the bones of his ancestry, while others carried cars and homes, jewelry and focused on oppression of others. MLK could have ignored it all and done his thing in his hometown.

He could have not had as much stress in his life, but he chose a different route.  A much harder road to travel. He put himself at risk and was armed more with his beliefs rather than weapons or grandiose items.

Now, fast forward to you right now. What do you carry with you in your heart and spirit? What helps you understand what to keep with you and what to throw out? The Ten Commandments.

Sometimes we are forced to take the long route, and it doesn’t mean it is wrong or bad for us, sometimes we need to circle the goal to see what the purpose really is. We are a lot like Moses and Martin Luther King; both men didn’t want to carry the “baggage” per se, but did so because it was a part of them, and a part of something they valued.

If you look at the ten commandments, where Moses is trying to get people to listen, he is setting up ethical laws… and so was Martin Luther King. If you really look at the bigger picture, the commandments, when followed by differing groups of people, serve as an alliance of sort. They are laws but laws that bring people together rather than tear them apart. In what ways do the ethics of the Ten Commandments bring you together with others or, tear you from others? Have you had peers or friendships that have been weighted by the knowledge that something in a commandment was being attacked, even if at the time you didn’t think of the commandments but instead, the behaviors? Being stolen from, lied to or someone being disrespectful to your parents or to you as a parent could be just some of the reasons you felt a friendship was being tested.

In whole, the ten commandments are often intertwined with our spirits even when we don’t see them; bringing back last week with the bones carried, and MLK with his ancestry and desires; we see that there are things we carry with us that are a part of us. The Ten Commandments are most certainly with us; just recognizing them instead of being oblivious to them, is the key.

This week’s d’var is written by Michele Paiva, wellness expert, publisher and syndicated radio host.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, freedom to twerk, Judaism, martin luther king, michele paiva, MLK, online conversion, parshat yitro, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, ten commandments, this week's torah portion

Freedom and Relationships (Parshat Bo)

January 5, 2011 by Patrick Beaulier

A time that signifies slavery to freedom and nation, this year it also falls into a secular New Year, which can be freeing or, slave encased also.

For all of us, this is a time where we can also think about freeing ourselves; from old and toxic habits, relationships that are negative, and self-destruction. We often as a society, focus so much on what others do to us or how we react to others, we fail to see how we treat ourselves and our responses to self-inflicted wounds.

How can Parashat Bo teach us to free ourselves?

Do we need to be as Moses and point our fingers at the moon and declare a new start, regardless of where the moon sits within the sky? Probably. Even the most free-spirited of us, is an animal of structure; we are creatures of habit. We tend to only embrace change when it is forced or, when it seems easily attainable. However, the goals can be to free ourselves: to understand that though structure guides us, be it tradition or the moon in the sky, we are in fact, free.

We need to understand that sometimes things can be painful.

It wasn’t easy for Jews to go from slaves to a nation; so we shouldn’t assume that change of any kind is going to be easy for us either – though, it will be well worth the dedication to the cause.

We had a new relationship with G_d, and now, when we make changes to our spirit, body and mind; we are essentially giving thanks and honoring that very relationship that others strived for and gained, not only for themselves but for us. When you make positive changes for yourself, you are also helping others- be it heirs, peers or society.

Freedom and relationships… that’s how I see Parashat Bo…

This week’s d’var was written by Michele Paiva, PunkTorah community member and author.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, exodus, Freedom and Relationships (Parshat Bo), michele paiva, online conversion, parashat bo, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, pharaoh, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, this week's torah portion

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