Social Justice: Leadership and Philosophy

Created in collaboration with The Nexus Project. Learn what Project Esther is, why it’s dangerous, how it’s showing up in policy right now, and what Jewish leaders can do about it. Plus: Texts related to the biblical Esther to explore with your communities and inspire your resistance. The perfect tool for pre-Purim text study or learning throughout the month of Adar.

From Rabbi Seth Goldstein: We know that this is a nation founded by massacre, built by slavery, maintained by exclusion, defined by inequality. And we also know that this nation promises equality, exercises resilience, evolves continuously, practices teshuvah.

Adar is a month that invites us into an ancient, collective experience. It calls us to cultivate joy, even when we do not feel it naturally. Our ancestors knew there would be Adars when joy was hard to find, yet they committed themselves to honor the spirit of the month, to dare to seek joy even in the hardest times.

By performing this mitzvah [of helping your enemy], we create an experience of cognitive dissonance, causing our enemy to question the assumptions of conflict between us.

There are plenty of authentic versions of “God’s voice” out there if we would only pay attention to them. It is the voice that has been speaking from inside ourselves since time and space began. Now, more than ever, we need to hearken to it.

With the sea in front of them and the enemy army behind them, [our ancestors] must have been terrified. Nachshon ben Aminadav began walking into the water and only when he could no longer breathe did the sea part. He took a step, not knowing how the story would proceed. Like our ancestors, we stand at the precipice of the unknown, but they model for us what it can look like to step into the breach and tell the next chapter with hope.

There are moments when we know that we can make a difference. Do we let those moments pass? [Or do we listen to] that "still, small voice" [that] calls us to respond, to take a stand, or to lend a hand?

The Torah deems Shifra, Puah, and Moses worthy of being named on the basis of their efforts to subvert the injustice that surrounds them. These leaders should push us to ask ourselves if we are fully inhabiting our named identities as we face today’s moral challenges.

For those who are experiencing darkness today, light will come — we just need to commit to the belief that darkness is unacceptable.

Ethical perfection is not possible in an imperfect world, and running away from reality to seek private peace is not an option. Instead, we must act with love within our spheres of influence. There are opportunities for coalition-building across disagreements.