Resisting Tyrants Since Pharaoh

This Shabbat, after our services, youth programs, and Simchat Torah celebration, I’ll be heading to Seattle to join the No Kings rally. Protesting the reality of our national march towards authoritarianism. All the signs are there.

I’ll be dressed as Moses (I love a costume) staff in hand, sign raised high - carrying a protest poster created by T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Justice. It reads:

“Resisting tyrants since Pharaoh.”

That line says it all. I feel like as Jews we have seen these moments in history again and again. And we bare witness. And we survive it. But we are positioned as American Jews to also resist and really push back and fight for our democracy.

Resisting tyrants. We know how to do it.

Who was Pharaoh if not the authoritarian, the fascist of his time? He was the ruler who worshiped his own power, who enslaved others, who believed himself divine and above the law. And what did we, the people of Israel, do? We resisted. We left. We walked toward freedom, not knowing exactly where we were going — only that we refused to live in a world built on cruelty and fear.

In the wilderness, we began to shape a different kind of society - one rooted in rules, laws, and norms, in justice and accountability, in the radical idea that no one - not even a king - stands above the law.

Today, we are watching in real time as those same foundational norms are being tested here in the United States. The attacks on truth, the vilification of the press, the corruption of courts, the scapegoating of minorities - this is not new. It’s a well-worn playbook. The Pharaohs of history always believe they can twist fear into power.

Our tradition tells us otherwise.

To be Jewish is to remember that freedom is fragile, that justice requires constant vigilance, and that faith must be lived out in action.

So this Shabbat (come at 10:30am for our Simchat Torah celebration of Torah, Peace and Freedom of the Hostages), after we dance with the Torah and celebrate joy, I’ll carry my Moses staff and my sign into the streets - because the Torah’s message doesn’t end at the sanctuary door.

“Tzedek, tzedek tirdof” - Justice, justice shall you pursue.

And if you feel moved. Fight for our democracy in the afternoon this Saturday with your voice and your presence. Make the most of your freedom. As an American and as a Jew.

Because we’ve been defeating tyrants since Pharaoh.