Daf Yomi and Dr. King

I am not doing Daf Yomi (because the space-time continuum) but I occasionally glance at it just the same. Today’s had some resonance for me on this Martin Luther King holiday, particularly about the side of Dr. King that faced up to racism and non-violence in such profound ways.

 

“Abbaye often said: One should always be straightforward and respectful. ‘Answer softly to wrath.’ (Proverbs 15:1) Increase peacefulness with family, with those around you, and with those you encounter, even the stranger in the marketplace, in order to be beloved above, kind below, and worthy of acceptance by all creatures.”

 

At the workshop I attended this morning alongside Child the Elder, a young Black woman talked with us in our small group about how hard non-violence is, about how tempting it is to want revenge, the more she learns about her history. Her courage and vulnerability are in strong contrast to the demonstrators — some of them explicitly associated with white supremacy organization — who turned up in Richmond, Virginia today to proclaim their attachment to weapons of violence. I wonder if those demonstrators think of themselves as increasing peacefulness.

 

We live in serious times. Increasing peacefulness seems like a good start.