Rabbi Justin Kerber,
Saint Louis, MO.
I may be “white.” But my grandparents and great-grandparents weren’t “white,” they were Jews! The distinction had implications and consequences — lethal for some of them. In my work as a rabbi and hospital chaplain I must see all people as created in G1d’s image and likeness, yet must constantly check my assumptions and be aware of my white, male, middle-class privileges. One of the best conversations I’ve ever had was with a black female colleague. It was about how we might deploy the phrase “Nigga, please!”in a department meeting.
