(c) Rabbi Menachem Creditor
Friends, I don't claim to speak with authority on legal cases. But i do know this: I am a proud American who acknowledges that white Americans do not have the same daily experiences as black and brown Americans. Tonight's verdict is a symbolic reinforcement of the feelings of so many black and brown young men (and their families) in our communities. And so, though I don't know if my readers are feeling personally assaulted by tonight's news, I offer the following thought as an American rabbi:
God, always in our world, is writhing in agony at the commonplace disenfranchisement of our children, particularly our young men. Each of us is a precious image of God, worthy of human respect, worthy of dignity. Each of us is called to champion the call of justice, so that no human soul is forgotten.