Last fall I taught an OLLI class on Old Testament villains. The Bible is full of scoundrels, such as Haman (Esther’s enemy) and Pharaoh (Moses’ enemy). In solidarity with the afflicted, Jews will observe the Fast of Esther on March 2 (Esther 4:16) and the Fast of the Firstborn on April 1 (Exodus 12:12-13). We fast and pray to remember our own vulnerability, and to share the lot of the poor and the sick, the wanderer and the wayfarer.

Fasting should teach us courage. We are putting our lives on the line, for a few hours at least. Our values are more important than our comfort, our principles are more essential than our safety. Who are we, what are we, if we crave breakfast more than benevolence, lunch more than legality, dinner more than decency? We have the opportunity to say no, to our appetites and to the despots of our place and time.

This week Jews are reading the footnotes to the Ten Commandments. The text says, You shall not subvert the rights of the needy; do not take bribes; you shall not oppress a stranger (Exodus 23:6, 8, 9). What can we make of leaders who slash health benefits and food stamps? What should we think of politicians and judges who accept rich presents from tyrants and tycoons? How can we respect authorities who hunt immigrants like prey on the streets of our cities? There is a time to be silent and a time to speak (Ecclesiastes 3:7). Surely this is the time to speak.

The prophets speak truth to power: and it’s dangerous. Nathan confronts King David with his sin (II Samuel 12:1-12); Elijah chastises King Ahab and Queen Jezebel for their corruption (I Kings 21:17-24). In the same way, you and I can attend our own No Kings rallies. We can’t all be prophets, but we can all bear witness to what is happening around us. In a season of outrage, it is shameful to hold one’s tongue.

I’ve had an easy life: a suburban upbringing, a fancy education, connections in job seeking, family support in the rough spots. I benefit from white privilege, male privilege, anglophone privilege, able-bodied privilege. I tend to imagine that I deserve these entitlements, but there isn’t much substance to the theory. Even if my parents or grandparents climbed the ladder, I did not. I was lucky.

The only way to earn my advantages, after the fact, is to use them on behalf of those less fortunate. To raise my voice when I see injustice. To feed the hungry, clothe the naked. I ought to deliver meals on wheels, donate apparel to thrift shops. It’s a little late for new year’s resolutions: Rosh ha-Shanah, the Jewish New Year, was in September; but that’s my honorable path forward.

Please join me, join us, clergy and children of God who repent of our complicity in an ever-more-callous social order. Access the WV Faith Leaders Network Facebook page for a Call to Moral Courage and Boldness. Subscribe to the WV Faith Collective newsletter for ways to help (linked). The ancient rabbis say, It is not for you to finish the task, but neither are you free to refrain from starting (Pirkei Avot 2:16). Start now.