Sing

As I reflect on this weeks's news, I cannot move far beyond the immortal words of Maya Angelou in "Caged Bird". She writes: "The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still/And his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom." Each of us has a melody coursing through our bodies. It seeks a voice and a purpose. These past few weeks of struggle in the world have taught us the power of releasing the voice. It is the voice of social change. I truly believe that we are at the beginning of a powerful movement where those whose voices have been marginalized or silenced will find full volume in the world.

For the past few weeks, we have been reading about emerging voices in Torah. Many of them women who had be relegated to the tent or the kitchen and found no audience in the world. And yet, even in their perceived silence, they changed the world. From Shifra and Puah to Miriam and Devorah to the emerging female voices in the books of the prophets, the world of scripture is ever unfolding. I believe that we are the inheritors of their collective voices. Our tradition calls us to speak truth to power when we have the chance, to stand toe to toe with oppression and oppressors, to never choose silence over protest.

We are on the move friends. There is much work to do to insure a sacred future for our children and grandchildren. And if we teach them anything ... it is when we heard the call to speak, we said Hineini ... Here I am!