Last Friday was a long day. It was also a long 12-mile walk — a walk of faith and prayer. Dozens of clergy joined together, “praying with our feet,” in the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, all the way from Lexington to Boston.

We began at 7:30 a.m. with over 150 people gathered on Lexington Battle Green. Together, we launched #PrayersForLiberty, an interfaith march for the most basic rights in our country — due process, the rule of law, and equal justice — the bedrock of American democracy.

We prayed. We sang. And we walked.

We paused in Arlington Center, then again at Cambridge Common, each time joined by more clergy and supporters — some in colonial garb, some dressed as Lady Liberty.

I was deeply moved to walk beside Christian clergy in stoles and collars, an Armenian priest in flowing black robes, and rabbis in kippot and tallitot — all striding together to sound the alarm for our country.

It was a reverse Paul Revere — not a midnight ride, but a morning march. People of every background — races, faiths, gender identities, and orientations — moved arm in arm through the streets, sounding the trumpet of justice, singing and dancing to “Siyahamba” — “We are marching in the light of God.”

After crossing the Longfellow Bridge, we reached Boston Common. A third of a mile from the MLK Embrace statue, the skies opened. 

Thunder, lightning, a sudden downpour — our hopeful march was interrupted by a storm.

It felt symbolic.

Because this is a stormy moment. 

Dark clouds swirl around us — in America, in Israel, and in the Jewish world.

In our own country, foundational norms are under attack. This march was about protecting people — even those we may disagree with — from unjust detention and deportation, from the lack of due process. We see escalating assaults on immigrants and asylum seekers. Our community is hosting a Haitian family. 

What will happen to them?

And, in Israel, the war rages on. The........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)