Gang War Intercepted – With A Dash of Courage and A Generous Helping of Torah

The Rebbe of Kotsk said we need to study the stories and details of the Exodus as if they would be the most intricate Talmudic text. I love encountering them twice a year; once before Passover, and again in the middle of winter, when the balmy winds of freedom blow through, even though the temperature outside may be below zero. I remember once asking a group of Hebrew school children- who freed the slaves in Egypt. One child popped up as certain as possible: ‘Abraham Lincoln, of course.’ I didn’t know if he was serious or joking. I think I would have preferred that, had I asked, ‘Who freed the slaves in the South,’ he would have said, ‘Moses, of course.’

Be that as it may, the histories of Jews and African Americans have been intertwined and as I was to realize way back in my adolescence, were intertwined in my life also. Many years later, as I began to be drawn to Chabad teaching and to the Rebbe specifically, I would be uplifted by the words the Rebbe spoke to Mayor Dinkins. When at the time of the Crown Heights riots, and the Rebbe prayed for peace, the African American Mayor said, ‘For both communities,’ and the Rebbe amended, ‘For both communities; they are both one community!’  But that was long after my personal foray into my own attempt at conflict resolution.

The year was 1960 and at 17 I had my first after school job (besides occasional babysitting) working on the outskirts of Boston in a coat factory among a varied crew of mainly African Americans. In the upper middle class Jewish day school I attended since the first grade, I was a bit of an anomaly- a well-behaved, studious girl from the projects in Roxbury, living in an often overwhelming world where I never quite felt like I fitted in, and often wondered about my personal role in life. Suffice it to say, in this, my first ‘out there’ job, I felt quite intimidated being the only quiet-white-Jewish girl in a strange environment. Still, I met enough interesting though volatile characters to make the time go by in what was otherwise very boring work. One day however would be etched in my adolescent memory forever.

I went to work straight from school on the long trolley ride. I arrived few minutes late, having duly stopped in a bus station a few minutes before early winter sunset, to unobtrusively take a few minutes for the afternoon prayer in a then still existing phone booth. When I entered the factory, even before I reached the coat sorting room, I picked up sounds of more than ‘angry birds’. I heard fuming shouts and banging, desperate cries, and counter yells. I snuck in between the waving fists and went to my designated pile of coats. From the corner of my eye, I caught the gist of the argument.  Two burly and muscular men were fighting over the affections of a beautiful, slender young woman. One of the men, whose explosive character, I had noticed on earlier days, went into a huddle with a few of his friends. I heard him murmur something like, ‘Okay guys this is gonna be the end for him and all his pals. No one messes with my girl and gets away with it. Bring your weapons in tomorrow.’ 

I took a deep breath and almost swooned from the drama. To my sheltered existence, it was like being on a live movie set- only it was real life! I went home and imagined myself in some heroic role. Why did I have to hear about it! Why couldn’t it have taken place on their home or school turf? I had always had sensitivity to ideas and stories of confrontations and injustice, both in my religious and secular subjects. I was deeply moved by plays like Antigone and a Man for All Seasons, where people stood up for what they believed in. My Torah heroes were Moses who defended Jews and non-Jews alike, and David who battled with wild beasts to save his flock and with a giant to save his people. But I didn’t remember actually doing something on my own- or even contemplating any action, until that moment.  The following year, before my graduation, I would take a stand on a religious issue in my modern Orthodox day school, but not before that. Perhaps the event at the coat factory fueled my self-confidence.

Meanwhile, I was up half the night wrestling with myself. Could I, orphan daughter of David, welfare daughter of Chaya Feige, do anything at all to stave off the potential gang war that could erupt tomorrow?  Till that point, I had basically kept to myself and didn’t really know much about any of my fellow employees- their lives, their culture, their way of resolving issues…but it could not have been an accident that I was there and overheard. One thing I believed more and more from my recent exposure at that age to Hassidic teachings, and the constant message of the Baal Shem Tov, that we can see the hand of Divine Providence everywhere, if we take the time to look.

When Moses was at the burning bush, the Torah says, ‘He turned to see,’ and Rashi comments that he said, ‘I will turn from here to get close to there.’ Imagine what would have happened if he just went on his way and ignored the whole scene- maybe we Jews would not be here to talk about it! We all need at times to turn from our comfort zone toward something new and unexpected. As G-d introduced himself to Moses- ‘I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE.’  The future is what we make it, with G-d’s help.’

This was the kind of self-talk I gave myself most of the night. When I awoke and went to school, on one hand I kept dozing off, but at the same time my whole body felt wired and I could barely wait for school to be over. With a pounding heart, I skulked into the coat factory. Sure enough, as if the night had not intervened, the yelling and the brandishing were escalating. I think I said the 23^rd psalm to myself before I got up the nerve to walk over to the gang leader who had planned the battle. I knew he was powerful and hot tempered, but what did I have to lose? Yehudis, daughter of David, strained my neck and looked straight into his eyes. I had a plan; I had to act.  And if he resisted like Pharaoh, so be it.

 I began, ‘Is this the only way you can think of to handle this?’

He looked down at me as if I were one of the grasshoppers in Canaan: ‘And how would you ‘handle’ this?’ he said sarcastically.

 ‘Well’- here I paused, more from fear than dramatic effect, ‘I would write a letter.’

‘A letter? What the xxxx would that do? What would I say and who should it go to?’

‘I think it you should write it to your girlfriend and maybe even one to the other guy.’

‘What the xxxx would I say?’

‘Just tell her how you feel about her hanging out with the other guy, and how much you care about her! And you can tell the other guy that you don’t appreciate him taking your girl away from you!’

I could see he was actually thinking about it, but he was shaking his head at the same time. ‘Oh, oh, what’s wrong now?’ I thought to myself. He bent his head ominously toward mine, getting ready for a whisper. I cringed. He looked here and there to make sure no one else could hear him. ‘I…I..can’t write…I never learned…’

Oy, this was not part of my plan..then I recalled Rashi quoting Moshe. I believed that Moshe was also murmuring to me, ‘You must turn from here to go there.’ And it was as if Moshe’s siblings were encouraging me too: Aaron who was the great peacemaker between couples and friends who had become estranged, and above all little five year old Miriam who defied not only Pharaoh, but even her own parents when they separated. Miriam had walked right up to the most prominent couple in the Israelite camp and told them straight to their faces: ‘Your decree of not wanting children is worse than Pharaoh’s. He wants to eliminate the boys, but you’re preventing both boys and girls from being born!’ ‘Ok, Miriam,’ I mumbled back, ‘I can do it.’

‘Fine, no problem,’ I finally responded out loud to the young man. ‘I’ll help you write it.’ I motioned to him to follow me to a hidden corner of the factory where there was a stool big enough to lean on. I pulled out a notebook from my school bag, took out a few pens and pencils, and began…’ok, shoot, I mean, speak your mind…’

The rest is history. I don’t know any more details, but everything calmed down in the factory after that- at least as I could see.  I recalled one of my favorite song lines from Pocahontas: ‘When you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you learn things you never knew, you never knew.’ It was hard not to walk away from that de-escalated scene feeling taller than anyone there. Then I remembered, ‘I was a daughter of David, and a disciple of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam…’ My job was to stay ready for the next situation, and feel that with G-d’s help, I could handle whatever was coming.’  I also had to be like Yocheved, who according to the Maharal of Prague, was born on the border between Israel and Egypt, because, as the mother of Moshe, she had to know and transmit to her son, how to live in two worlds, and therefore be able to find a path to freedom, even when feeling the pains of slavery, on all levels.

And from that time on, I knew with more resolve than ever before- MY LIFE MATTERED- BLACK LIVES MATTER-ALL LIFE MATTERS.  And conflicts, like the ultimate conflicts of exile, can and must have a final resolution, with the coming of Mashiach, speedily in our days.