We Just Keep Moving in the Land of the Frozen Chosen

The Baal Shem Tov taught in a parable that in nature, moving water doesn't freeze. The key to keeping ice from forming is to keep it active. Torah is like water, flowing and life-giving, he continues. His lesson is that our Torah must not stand still, and so we must not stand still. In the face of injustice, we must stay in motion, engaged, and active.

As you might imagine, in the Land of the Frozen Chosen, everyone is drawing metaphors between ice and ICE. Last Friday, on the day of ICE Out of Minnesota: Day of Truth & Freedom, the temperature reached a brisk -20 degrees. That did not stop over 50,000 people from packing the streets in downtown Minneapolis to rally against ICE. We were bringing our living Torah to the streets.

Among the tens of thousands there were also people who came in from across the country, including 650 clergy of different faiths. They came ready to march, despite the bitter cold. I met up with several Jewish colleagues in a Minneapolis hotel lobby to suit up and head out to the streets. Everyone had long underwear under their pants, thick mittens, and hoods pulled up over warm hats. Many put "hotties" into their gloves and boots. Some even donned goggles to protect their eyes. This was all particularly amusing to the out-of-towners, including Rabbi Jonah Pesner, who made sure we snapped a picture of his frozen eyelashes.

We marched and sang and carried signs. We marveled at the throngs as we all walked through the streets together. We were part of a movement. And you know what? Somehow, it didn't feel cold. Maybe it was the adrenaline; perhaps it was the sense of purpose; it was most certainly because we kept moving. We still cannot stop. We will not stop until the water is warm and moving once again, and all of the ice is gone.