Being Pursued: Martin Luther King and Maimonides

By RABBI PHIL MILLER

Parashat Vayehi (Genesis 47:28-50:26)

In the winter of 1967, Martin Luther King began speaking dramatically against the Vietnam War. He cried out against the injustices it had visited on the poor of the United States who were disproportionately fighting on the front lines. He also bemoaned the disastrous effects of the war on the Vietnamese people on both sides.

Not only did his opponents lash out against him for taking this stand, but many of his supporters attacked him also. They feared that he would take attention away from his civil rights campaign. He would also alienate President Lyndon Johnson when they needed him most on these crucial civil rights issues. In the wake of these speeches, King became hounded and beleaguered more than ever before. Yet, until his death a year later, he never ceased his call for an end to the war.

Later that year, he crafted his plans for a massive "poor peoples' campaign", a march on Washington DC to protest the United States' economic injustices. Again, many of his usual supporters turned against him. They feared lack of financial resources would undermine the campaign's effectiveness and that it could easily deteriorate into violence. Again, King persisted. The poor, he demanded, must be allowed to bring their plight to the steps of Capitol Hill and the White House. His dreams of this campaign were never realized.

Monday, January 15th is Martin Luther King Day. At its best, this day should give us occasion to reflect on his legacy, his great triumphs and contributions, but also those efforts in which he did not succeed. I have often wondered why he chose to devote so much time, emotion and political capital on behalf of the anti-war effort and the poor peoples' campaign. Scholars have and will continue to debate how strategically sound these decisions were. It seems, though, these decisions had deeper roots than political or strategic concern.

This year, January 15th is not only Martin Luther King Day—it is the 20th day of the month of Tevet in the Hebrew calendar: yahrzeit (or anniversary of the death) of "the Rambam"—Maimonides, the great 12th century Jewish philosopher, physician and community leader. Though vastly different men, living in vastly different times, the concurrence of their memorial date this year, should compel us to consider their magnificent legacies and possible common lessons between them.

In his great work, the Mishneh Torah, Rambam includes a section entitled, Hilkhot De'ot—Laws of Human Qualities. At the end of the fifth chapter, he describes how righteous scholars must comport themselves.

A righteous scholar dealing with others should do so with truth and with faithfulness....He must be scrupulous with himself in all his accountings, but forgiving of others and not hold their actions under close scrutiny....He should never cause another person pain in his entire life. The guiding principle in his life should be that he is one of the "nerdafim", one who is pursued and not one who is a pursuer....A person who behaves in such a way, it is written about him that "this person is my servant, Israel, and in you I will be glorified".

There is much to analyze in the Rambam's words. However, his statement about nerdafim, people who are pursued, being praiseworthy and giving glory to God is mysterious. How does the vulnerability of being pursued give glory to God?

The Rambam is basing himself on an earlier biblical and rabbinic tradition. The biblical book of Kohelet/Eccliastes states clearly (3:15) "and God looks after the pursued/nerdafim."

Ancient rabbinic midrash expands this theme. It points to many biblical heroes as being nerdafim. Abraham fled from Nimrod, an idolatrous, king of his day. Moses fled from Pharoah and David from Saul. The midrash goes even further to argue that even when a righteous person is in pursuit of a morally repugnant person, God is with the nerdaf, the evil person being pursued.

The Torah portion for this week, Vayehi, takes this concept to a deeper spiritual level. As Jacob is lying on his deathbed, he pulls himself up and bows his head down. To whom is he bowing? Possibly to his son, Joseph, say some commentators. The Talmud argues, however, that he is bowing to the shekhinah, God's presence above his head. Indeed, says the Talmud, the shekhinah rests above the head of all who are gravely ill. (Tractate Shabbat 12A).

I believe the ill person is not unlike the nerdaf being pursued. They are fragile and vulnerable, and their life is in danger. As a person weakens and begins to sense their mortality and vulnerability, God's presence with them grows stronger and stronger. Their death may be inevitable, but God's shekhinah calls all of us to action. As you would show honor for the shekhinah, so you must show the same concern and honor for this person whose life is at stake.

Rambam is teaching that a righteous scholar's decisions in life cannot be based on political consideration, but must be driven by giving glory to God's shekhinah. Seeking out the nerdaf and allowing one's self to risk becoming a nerdaf, as Martin Luther King did, even at the expense of one's long term strategic goals, is fundamental to the life of the righteous scholar.

King's biographer, Stephen Oates, points out that more than any political considerations, King opposed the war because he was a religious man and saw no other choice but to do so. As Rambam teaches us, King had to side with those pursued everywhere; on both sides of the war in Vietnam and in the impoverished inner cities of the United States. He even risked becoming himself a nerdaf. He knew his stands on Vietnam and the poor peoples' campaign would infuriate his opponents and cause them to pursue with him an even greater intensity. On some level, he seemed to believe that God's shekhinah would increase its presence with him also. That made his actions not only possible, but essential.

January 15th, the 20th of Tevet, can be a very special day for all of us this year. We are obligated to remember Martin Luther King and Rambam, tell their stories, study their teachings and seek out the pursued of our world. With them, and maybe even with ourselves, we will find God's shekhinah.

In this age when focus groups, marketing consultants and strategic plans at times help set our social justice agenda, King and Rambam challenge us to, at least every now and then, rely on a simpler set of criteria.

 

This article was originally written in 2001, Martin Luther King Day (the third Monday in January) and 20 Tevet are often nearby dates—the next time they will be the same date is January 20, 2025, or 5785.