Rabbi Knopf's Blog

The Talmud teaches that 30 days before Passover, we should start learning about the festival and its meaning. In that spirit, over the past several years, I have offered "30 Days of Liberation," a brief message on each of the 30 days leading up to Passover, drawn from the wisdom of the holiday and the Exodus story. I am thrilled to announce that I am in the process of completing my first book, which will be a compilation of those messages from years past. This year, for “30 Days of Liberation,” I will be sending out brief selections from the book. I look forward to sharing the book with you all in its entirety when it is completed. Meanwhile, I hope you find these messages meaningful and inspiring. Please feel free to share/forward.

Day 9: To Disrespect and Disobey
The first heroes of Exodus are Shifrah and Pu’ah, two lowly, God-fearing midwives who refuse Pharaoh’s order to kill all Hebrew baby boys. The midwives model being unafraid to stand up for what is right, even to someone profoundly more powerful. Obeying the law and respecting authority can be a virtue, but not when those laws and authorities enshrine oppression, injustice, and degradation. As Dr. King taught, “There are two types of laws: just and unjust…One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”