By Rabbi Greg Litcofsky of temple Emanu-El in Livingston

We can pray together. We can hope together. But what matters is that we act together.

A rabbi friend of mine from St. Louis shared a heart-breaking story with me. Just after the racially charged shooting of Michael Brown in August of 2014 in nearby Ferguson, this rabbi contacted a colleague of his, an African-American minister, and asked what he could do to help. After a pause, the minister responded, “Nothing now. Where have you been for the past five years?”

Where have we all been?

Last week we read about the 8^th plague of darkness. There is a darkness in our society today. It is a darkness of economic inequality and racial tension. A darkness that tells us that one life is worth more than another.

Determined to not let what happened to the rabbi in St. Louis happen to me, I called a colleague of mine, Reverend Dana Owens of the Messiah Baptist Church in East Orange, to ask him to meet me for coffee. He agreed, and we’ve been meeting regularly ever since, working on programs to bring our congregations together.

There is a darkness, but there is also a great light. That light was evident when, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Reverend Owens and I brought our congregations together last weekend. He delivered the sermon at Temple Emanu-El’s Friday Shabbat service, with many of his parishioners in attendance, and I reciprocated at his church on Sunday morning, along with many of our congregants. We both spoke of Moses, and of how, in times of darkness and injustice, there will always be those who will rise up and lead.

In his sermon, Reverend Owens encouraged us all to be a part of making a difference. He pointed out that “the human race is interconnected regardless of to whom or how we worship.” He concluded that “for us to separate ourselves and not work together, and not learn together, I believe can be a detriment for humankind.” Here is a video of Reverend Owens’ sermon.

While history repeats itself, the joining of our congregations will be a part of making a difference in the story that is told. In Reverend Owens’ words, we are “two congregations who came together, looked different, lived in different area codes, worshipped differently… but served the same God... and sought to make a difference in the world.”

Rabbi Joachim Prinz, speaking prior to Dr. King at the march on Washington, said, “The time, I believe, has come to work together — for it is not enough to hope together, and it is not enough to pray together — to work together [so that liberty and justice for all] may become a glorious, unshakeable reality in a morally renewed and united America.”

The time has indeed come for us to work together to break out of the darkness and hand-in-hand bring more light, more justice, and more love into our world – together!

Our congregations are picking up the torch lit by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and we will march on together and I am blessed to have a partner like Rev Owens to engage in this sacred and holy work together.