Dr. King’s Message From God
The importance of freedom from mental slavery
Each week, Jews worldwide read a scheduled section of the Hebrew Bible.
It just so happens, the stories in this MLK weekend’s portion is about the Jews preparing to be free from slavery in Egypt. It’s a well known story that nearly every freedom movement connects with.
There are no coincidences about the timing of this reading.
God in this last weekend’s Torah reading gives his first directive in Exodus, Chapter 6, Verse 13.
It’s literally God’s first commandment to the Hebrews. To the enslaved Jewish nation.
“So God spoke to Moses and Aaron, and He commanded them to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh the Ruler of Egypt, to let the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.”
Of all the 613 commandments in the Hebrew Bible, this is a strange first one.
God first commands the children of Israel about freeing slaves, and only after commands Pharaoh to end slavery and let the Jews go.
World renowned Rabbi Yosef Jacobson teaches an invaluable lesson that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself made a cornerstone of his theology 60 years ago.
