Atoning for Our Broken Covenants: Righting America's Racial Wrongs

Sources from essay by Rabbi Judith Schindler in The Social Justice Torah Commentary

The word eikev (עֵקֶב), for which this parashah is named, has many meanings. Literally, it can mean "heel" or "footprint"; figuratively, it can mean "trace" or "mark."
As Americans, our footprints speak for themselves. Dr. Gail Christopher, a national expert in racial healing, defines racism as the "false belief in a human hierarchy" based on the color of one's skin.' America was built on such a fabricated taxonomy, leading to stolen land, stolen lives, and stolen labor. America's failure to fulfill the pledge of liberty and justice for all that was articulated in its foundational documents requires atone-ment. It necessitates facing our past, facing our siblings whose skin color is different from our own, and facing ourselves. Repentance, reparations, restorative justice, and reformed systems are needed.

-Rabbi Judith Schindler

One can hear the word eikev in the name of our patriarch Ya'akov, Jacob, who held onto his twin brother's heel as they were born. As young adults, after Jacob stole Esau's birthright and blessing, the latter cries, Vayak'veini (וַֽיַּעְקְבֵ֙נִי֙), "Twice now he [Jacob] has cheated me" (Genesis 27:36). Jacob would spend twenty years wrestling his past. He returns home following his struggle with an angel ready to reconcile and receives the new name "Israel," meaning "one who struggles with God" (Genesis 32:29).

As a country, we have denigrated and supplanted our siblings of color and are thus called to the task of racial reckoning for 246 years of slavery, Jim Crow segregation, redlining that prohibited lending to homeowners in Black neighborhoods, urban renewal that demolished Black communities, and mass incarceration. These systems of racism have resulted in radically negative impacts on Black people in virtually every realm. Over 20 percent of Black Americans face soul-killing poverty. Any journey to reconciliation is made by reflecting on our footprints, acknowledging the harm we have caused, making restitution, and committing to change.

-Rabbi Judith Schindler

Our tranquility and blessings are dependent upon following the mishpatim (הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים֙), the laws that govern relationships. If we safeguard Torah's laws that guide and ground human relations, then God will safeguard us.

Like Moses's first descent from Mt. Sinai with an original set of tablets, America's Declaration of Independence and Constitution amounted to an unfulfilled and incomplete covenant. The July 4, 1776, declaration proclaimed, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

The promise of affirming the equality of "all" Americans did not, however, include "all, and the vision for "We the people" who would have protections was exclusive. Black Americans were denied promises and protections. For far too much of US history, they were viewed as chattel, bodies to be exploited to increase white wealth by any means possible.

-Rabbi Judith Schindler

It warns us to beware lest our success lead to arrogance and we forget our past. Victims within our own lifetime, too, must remember that pseudoscientific claims regarding race paved the road to the Holocaust. Even in America, white Jews were not seen as white until after World War II, when they received GI Bill and other federal benefits surrounding employment, busi-ness, home ownership, and higher education that were largely inaccessible to Blacks.

We cannot forget our past nor fail our siblings of color, both Jewish and otherwise. We need to own the oppressive American soil on which we now stand, which has enabled whites to acquire wealth, privilege, and protections while Americans of color are left economically and physically vulnerable.

-Rabbi Judith Schindler

Renewing the covenant requires cutting away the callousness-softening our hearts to feel the pain of our neighbors.

As Jacob held onto the heel of his brother Esau, white Americans have held onto the heels of their Black siblings. Commentators teach that the letter yod, representing God in Jacob's name, preceded the word eikev (heel). The heel, the lowest part of the body, was connected to the yod, which kabbalists associate with the brain and wisdom. Rising above our base instincts to see divine unity and the equality of all was within Jacob's grasp at birth, was within reach of the Jewish people at Sinai, and is attainable for America today.

-Rabbi Judith Schindler

Discussion Questions by Ariel Tovlev

1. What is the difference between lo tirtzach (do not murder) and lo taharog (do not kill)? What are some examples Rabbi London gives? Can you think of other examples?

2. Rabbi London addresses lo tirtzach as it applies to those most vulnerable to violence and death. She notes that the Torah instructs us to care for the widow and the orphan because they are the most disadvantaged by society, and therefore the most vulnerable. Who would be the metaphorical widows and the orphans in our world today?

3. Rabbi London suggests two approaches to fighting the issue of gun violence in America: regulating guns and addressing the underlying issues of poverty, addiction, and racism. What do you think of these approaches? Are there other approaches to add? What actions can we take to fight against gun violence?