January 2025: Ordinary Acts of Care
Hello Friend,
On Monday I attended the Martin Luther King Jr. Interfaith Prayer Vigil and Inauguration Prayer at the Christian Church of Wilkinsburg. I carried with me anxiety for all immigrants and refugees living in Pittsburgh and beyond. Support for our refugee and immigrant neighbors has always held a special place for many in our local Jewish Pittsburgh community, from the Irene Kaufmann Settlement in the late 19th century to current-day Jewish Community and Family Services, which continues to uphold this mission and work. This care has only been strengthened since the 2018 antisemitic synagogue shooting, which was motivated in part by a hatred for HIAS, a Jewish organization that aids immigrants and refugees worldwide.
The Wilkinsburg MLK vigil was a space of hope and peace. Afterwards, another attendee noted that during Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and the civil rights movement of the 1960s, there were probably many who felt like their own actions were too small to be meaningful.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a great leader, but the civil rights movement was also pushed forward by hundreds of thousands of people who stood up for the rights and equality of Black Americans. As Rabbi Hindy Finman noted at the vigil, there were over 250,000 people who marched on Washington in 1963. At the time each individual may not have felt the gravity of their own bravery and action, but today the civil rights movement is foundational to our conception of equality and human rights in this country. The movement could not be accomplished by a single individual; it could only be moved forward by everyday acts of bravery and love by many people who led normal lives. On MLK Day I reflected on the things we can do now that may matter to us in the future, while easing the expectations that those things will feel groundbreaking in the process of doing them.
The eleven people who were killed on Oct. 27th were generally not flashy people; they were not always the center of attention or taking up the most space. What they were constantly doing was making the days of those around them better in humble and beautiful ways and giving back to their communities. When Irv Younger coached little league baseball he saw each kid’s accomplishments as amazing and unique, and he believed in each of them even when they didn’t see it in themselves. Cecil Rosenthal had smiles for everyone—he walked into every business in Squirrel Hill with total openness, trusting that others would love him back. Jerry Rabinowitz would do phone calls and house visits at times of day wholly inconvenient to him, but with a patience and healing presence that made a difference in every life he touched. Rose Mallinger’s neighbors remembered how if they felt lonely or isolated, there was always a welcoming seat on her porch. Joyce Fienberg took it as her responsibility and an honor to show up and drive other people, often older women who couldn’t drive anymore, back and forth to shul in the morning. Dan Stein volunteered with JFCS for years to provide rides for seniors, immigrants and refugees.
Every one of the eleven people who were taken from us has so many stories, far beyond those any one person could tell, of their everyday acts of kindness. It reminds me of this quote from Mr. Rogers:
“A high school student wrote to ask, ‘What was the greatest event in American history?’ I can’t say. However, I suspect that like so many ‘great’ events, it was something very simple and very quiet with little or no fanfare (such as someone forgiving someone else for a deep hurt that eventually changed the course of history). The really important ‘great’ things are never center stage of life’s dramas; they’re always ‘in the wings.’ That’s why it’s so essential for us to be mindful of the humble and the deep rather than the flashy and the superficial.”
At that vigil, when I was full of dread for our refugee and immigrant neighbors, I was reminded of how I will never know in the moment how meaningful my own actions may be. But however small they are, I will be inspired by those who lived their lives with consistency, who made kindness a habit, and showed their love to their families, friends and communities each day.
In Solidarity,
Maggie Feinstein
Executive Director
10.27 Healing Partnership