💬 Excerpts from speeches by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1956-1968) selected by Rabbi Marcia Prager, cantillated by Ḥazzan Jack Kessler

Name: 💬 Excerpts from speeches by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1956-1968) selected by Rabbi Marcia P ...
Uploaded: 2018-01-15T09:27:30-09:00
Channel: Jack Kessler (trōpification)
Description: These quotations from Dr. King’s speeches were edited by Rabbi Marcia Prager and set to Haftarah Trop by Hazzan Jack Kessler. This adaptation was first published in Kerem (Fall 2014), in Jack Kessler's article, "English Leyning: Bringing New Meaning to the Torah Service."

Contributor(s):

Jack Kessler (trōpification), Marcia Prager and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Shared on:

15 January 2018 under the Fair Use Right (17 U.S. Code §107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use)

Categories:

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Readings, Modern Miscellany

Tags:

58th century A.M., Hafatarot, Cantillated readings in English, צדק צדק תרדוף tsedeq tsedeq tirdof, United States, social justice, civil rights, 21st century C.E.

TOGGLE COLUMNS (on/off):

ADJUST COLUMN POSITIONS: select the column header cell and drag it where you want. show me!

COPY INDIVIDUAL COLUMN(S): use CopyTables, a browser extension.

TABLE HELP

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	We are on the move now The burning of our churches will not deter us We are on the move now The bombing of our homes will not dissuade us We are on the move now The beating and killing of our clergymen and young people will not divert us׃ We are on the move now. Like an idea whose time has come, not even the marching of mighty armies can halt us. We are moving to the land of freedom׃^[1] Speech before the Alabama State Capitol building in Montgomery, at the conclusion of the march from Selma to Montgomery,March 25, 1965; in James M. Washington, ed., A Testament of Hope: The EssentialWritings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. (New York: HarperCollins, 1986), 229.
	Now the fact that this new age is emerging reveals something basic about the universe. It tells us something about the core and heartbeat of the cosmos. It reminds us that the universe is on the side of justice׃ It says to those who struggle for justice: “You do not struggle alone, but God struggles with you.” This belief that God is on the side of truth and justice comes down to us from the long tradition of our faith׃^[2] Address to the First Annual Institute on Non-Violence and Social Change, Montgomery, Alabama, December 1956; in A Testament of Hope, 141.
	I am convinced that the universe is under the control of a loving purpose, and that in the struggle for righteousness man has cosmic companionship. Behind the harsh appearances of the world there is a benign power׃^[3] “Pilgrimage to Nonviolence,” in Strength to Love (collection of sermons by Dr. King) (Philadelphia: Augsburg Fortress, 1963), 153.
	I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality׃ I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction׃ I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality׃ This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant׃ I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits׃ I still believe that one day mankind Will bow down before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land׃ I still believe that we shall overcome׃^[4] Address upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Oslo, Norway, December 10, 1964; in A Testament of Hope, 225-226.
	We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to have a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now׃ I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord׃^[5] Address at the Bishop Charles Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, April 3, 1968 (Dr. King’s last sermon); in A Testament of Hope, 226.

These quotations from Dr. King’s speeches were edited by Rabbi Marcia Prager and set to Haftarah Trop by Hazzan Jack Kessler. This adaptation was first published in Kerem (Fall 2014), in Jack Kessler’s article, “English Leyning: Bringing New Meaning to the Torah Service.”

Recording

Source

Notes[+]

Notes
1	Speech before the Alabama State Capitol building in Montgomery, at the conclusion of the march from Selma to Montgomery,March 25, 1965; in James M. Washington, ed., A Testament of Hope: The EssentialWritings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. (New York: HarperCollins, 1986), 229.
2	Address to the First Annual Institute on Non-Violence and Social Change, Montgomery, Alabama, December 1956; in A Testament of Hope, 141.
3	“Pilgrimage to Nonviolence,” in Strength to Love (collection of sermons by Dr. King) (Philadelphia: Augsburg Fortress, 1963), 153.
4	Address upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Oslo, Norway, December 10, 1964; in A Testament of Hope, 225-226.
5	Address at the Bishop Charles Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, April 3, 1968 (Dr. King’s last sermon); in A Testament of Hope, 226.

17 U.S. Code 107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use

“💬 Excerpts from speeches by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1956-1968) selected by Rabbi Marcia Prager, cantillated by Ḥazzan Jack Kessler” 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.

Jack Kessler (trōpification)

Ḥazzan Jack Kessler is the dean of the Cantorial department of the professional training program of Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, and teaches a number of cantorial students. His current performance projects are directing, composing for, and being the vocal lead of the two touring ensembles Atzilut, a duet format of Arab and Jewish musicians performing together, and Klingon Klezmer, which does ‘Jewish music from other planets.Ḥazzan Kessler was ordained as a Cantor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and went on to have a twenty-year career serving Conservative congregations. During that time he received a Master’s degree in voice from Boston Conservatory and pursued studies in composition in the graduate department of Brandeis University, where he worked with Arthur Berger and Harold Shapero, and Bethany Beardslee at Harvard. A lyric baritone, he has performed opera, oratorio, and premiered new works, in addition to his ongoing career as a singer of Ḥazzanut, the sacred cantorial art. Originally trained as an Ashkenazi Ḥazzan, his performance style and original compositions also embrace Sephardi and Mizrachi styles. Ḥazzan Kessler has lectured and taught master classes in Jewish music at New England Conservatory in Boston, the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York, and presented many concerts in an educational format.

Marcia Prager

Marcia Prager is a rabbi, artist, liturgist and therapist, living and working in the West Mt. Airy community of Philadelphia. She is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia where she received Rabbinic ordination and a Master of Hebrew Letters degree in 1989, and a D.Min honoris causa in 2014. In 1990, she also received the personal smicha (rabbinic ordination) of her mentor and teacher, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l, with whom she continued to work closely for over twenty years. In 2010, Rabbi Marcia was selected by the Jewish Daily Forward as one of the Top Fifty Female Rabbis.

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.

Pocket Pinterest Reddit 𝕏 Facebook Telegram WhatsApp SMS Email

Works of related interest:

Rabbi A.J. Heschel, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath (holding Torah). March for Peace at Arlington National Cemetery on February 6, 1968

💬 Excerpts from the Speeches and Letters of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1958-1968) from an ecumenical MLK Day service by Temple Emanu-El & Abyssinian Baptist Church

💬 Four excerpts from a “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1963), cantillated by Rabbi David Evan Markus

💬 “I have a Dream” by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1963), cantillated by Rabbi David Evan Markus

💬 An Adaptation of the Megillah of Esther, an English Rendition with Trōp, by Ḥazzan Jack Kessler (1990)

📖 המדריך | Ha-Madrikh: The Rabbi’s Guide by R’ Hyman E. Goldin (1939, rev. 1956)

💬 Nevertheless She Persisted: A Modern Esther Tribute for Purim and Women’s History Month, by Rabbi David Evan Markus (Bayit, 2018)

📖 סֵדֶר ט״וּ בִּשְׁבָט | The Trees are Davvening, a Tu Bishvat Seder Haggadah by Barak Gale and Ami Goodman with excerpts from the P’ri Ets Hadar (1991 abridged)

prev next

1 comment to 💬 Excerpts from speeches by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1956-1968) selected by Rabbi Marcia Prager, cantillated by Ḥazzan Jack Kessler

MLK Jr. in Haftarah Trope | Midlife Bat Mitzvah
2022-01-18 at 10:45 am · Reply.
[…] to see more? Here’s a link to the words of this chant, and an audio recording by Cantor Jack Kessler, who set the phrases to […]

Comments, Corrections, and QueriesCancel reply

Stable Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=18621

Associated Image:

Martin Luther King Jr. Montgomery arrest 1958

(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in shared links on social media.)

Source Data: XML | JSON

Re-formatted: HTML | ODT

Terms of Use: Be a mentsch (a conscientious, considerate person) and adhere to the following guidelines:

Properly attribute the work to Jack Kessler (trōpification), Marcia Prager and Martin Luther King, Jr..
Clearly indicate the date you accessed the work and in what ways, if any, you modified it. (If you have adapted the work, let us know so that the contributor might consider endorsing your revision.)
Provide the stable link to this resource: <https://opensiddur.org/?p=18621>.
Indicate that the original work was shared under the Fair Use Right (17 U.S. Code §107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use). (To redistribute or remix this work in any format, modified or unmodified, you must refer to the terms of the license under which the work is shared.)

Additional Notes:

The views expressed in this work represent the views of their creator(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Open Siddur Project's developers, its diverse community of contributors, patrons, or institutional partners.
We strongly advise against printing sacred texts and art containing divine names as these copies must be regarded with reverence, complicating their casual treatment and disposal.
If you must dispose of a printed sacred text (one containing Divine Names), please locate the closest genizah (often established by a synagogue) and contact its custodians for further instructions. We also recommend using Morah Yehudis Fishman's Prayer for Adding a Work to the Genizah.

Support this work: The Open Siddur Project is a volunteer-driven, non-profit, non-denominational, non-prescriptive, gratis & libre Open Access archive of contemplative praxes, liturgical readings, and Jewish prayer literature (historic and contemporary, familiar and obscure) composed in every era, region, and language Jews have ever prayed. Our goal is to provide a platform for sharing open-source resources, tools, and content for individuals and communities crafting their own prayerbook (siddur). Through this we hope to empower personal autonomy, preserve customs, and foster creativity in religious culture. If you like what you've found here, please help keep our project alive and online with your financial contribution.

ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17