https://opensiddur.org/?p=41865💬 Four excerpts from a "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1963), cantillated by Rabbi David Evan Markus2022-01-16 23:25:04This is a haftarah comprised of excerpts from a "<a href="https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html">letter from a Birmingham jail</a>" by Martin Luther King Jr. (16 April 1963). The haftarah was cantillated by Rabbi David Evan Markus for a public reading on MLK Shabbat (the sabbath preceding MLK Day).
Textthe Open Siddur ProjectDavid Evan MarkusDavid Evan MarkusMartin Luther King, Jr.https://opensiddur.org/copyright-policy/David Evan Markushttps://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107Martin Luther King Jr. Day ReadingsModern MiscellanyUnited Statessocial justicecivil rights21st century C.E.58th century A.M.HafatarotCantillated readings in Englishצדק צדק תרדוף tsedeq tsedeq tirdof
This is a haftarah comprised of excerpts from a “letter from a Birmingham jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. (16 April 1963). The haftarah was cantillated by Rabbi David Evan Markus for a public reading on MLK Shabbat (the sabbath preceding MLK Day). In 2022 (5782), MLK Day coincided with Tu biShvat and this selection of excerpts references a popular association made during many seders for Tu biShvat between the four glasses of wine and the four seasons.[1] That association dates to an insight offfered by Rabbi Arthur Waskow in his chapter on Tu biShvat in Seasons of our Joy (1981), p. 108: “These four [glasses of wine] may have represented the shift in the yearly seasons from the paleness of the winter through the awakening of the spring into the blooming summer and the riotous color of the fall.” Via their Facebook page, Bayit: Building Jewish writes:
This year #tubishvat coincides with #MLKDay weekend. From that spiritual confluence comes this setting of excerpts from Letter from a Birmingham Jail, set to haftarah trope by Bayit board chair R. David Evan Markus. Following the four-part structure of the traditional seder in which we journey through the four seasons and the four worlds, these four excerpts are keyed to each of those four worlds. Here is a slide show of the four excerpts, a link to the four slides on google drive, and a downloadable PDF of the text marked-up for your own chanting: https://yourbayit.org/mlktub/ #whatrabbisdo #buildingJewish
This resource was first announced via the Facebook pages of Bayit: Building Jewish with the intention that they be shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license (“Please share with that license. Not intended to reserve rights.”).
That association dates to an insight offfered by Rabbi Arthur Waskow in his chapter on Tu biShvat in Seasons of our Joy (1981), p. 108: “These four [glasses of wine] may have represented the shift in the yearly seasons from the paleness of the winter through the awakening of the spring into the blooming summer and the riotous color of the fall.”
“💬 Four excerpts from a “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1963), cantillated by Rabbi David Evan Markus” is shared through the Open Siddur Project under their Fair Use Right (17 U.S. Code §107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use), in respect to the copyrighted material included. Any additional work that is not already in the Public Domain is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
David Evan Markus
David Evan Markus (born 1973) is an American attorney, public officer, rabbi and spiritual director. He currently serves as Deputy Chief Counsel in the New York State Judiciary, Judicial Referee in New York Supreme Court, senior builder with Bayit: Your Jewish Home, and co-rabbi of Temple Beth-El of City Island (New York City, New York). Markus formerly served as Special Counsel to the New York State Senate Majority and co-chair of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. A leader of Jewish Renewal, Markus resides in Westchester County, New York.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr., January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using the tactics of nonviolence and civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs and inspired by the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi.
Comments, Corrections, and Queries