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My Pastor,
My Friend,
My Hope

Mitch Albom, Rabbi Moskowitz and church/shelter leader Jimmy Hoffner

Rabbi Michael Moskowitz
Special to the Jewish News

E

very once in a while, individuals
come into our lives that teach us
with their very presence, who truly
enlighten us. For me, it began with a phone
call last year. Temple Shir Shalom needed
some more social action projects for our
Tikkun Olam (Repair of the World)-A-
Thon, our yearly way to commemorate
Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I had left
many messages at various shelters to no
avail. But when one call was returned, I
immediately knew this
was different. Pastor
Henry Covington's voice
bellowed through my
phone — and he told
me that if we had people
that wanted to help, then
-.-
he had work for us to do.
Pastor
And so our relationship
Covington
began.
He invited me down
to Pilgrim Church and I Am My Brother's
Keeper Ministries in Detroit to see what
they do. That cold afternoon last winter, as
we sat for 21/2 hours and warmed ourselves

with coffee, I realized this man was some-
one very special. I knew a little bit about
him from Mitch Albom's recent book, Have
A Little Faith. The pastor was humbled
and overwhelmed by his sudden popular-
ity. He told me, "Who am I that I should
be so blessed? Who am I, a former drug
addict and dealer, a man who served time
in prison, to be so fortunate that I now can
help others?" And all I could think was,
"who am I to be so blessed to learn from
this man?" We come from different worlds,
different traditions. So often in life, that is
all we see. However, the pastor's openness
and our relationship reminded me that we
have so much to share and to teach other.
Fast-forward a year and much has
changed. We spent countless hours
together — throwing questions back and
forth, teaching each other about life, about
respect and about faith. We represented
our communities on panels side by side
sharing ways to build hope in Detroit, ways
not to give up.
His story lived what Rabbi Tarfon taught
2000 years ago lo alecha hamlacha ligmor
— that it is not our duty to finish the task,
but neither are we allowed to stop from
trying.

he arc of the universe is long,
but it bends toward justice," Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr. said. But
it's up to people to grab the arc and
make it bend the right way, CEO Scott
Kaufman of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit told the 60 Jews
and non-Jews at the annual Martin
Luther King Jr. Commemoration
held in the Max. M. Fisher Federation
Building in Bloomfield Township.
Kaufman cited the quote at the
Jan.13 commemoration because
the Jewish people are so motivated
toward social justice. The slain civil
rights leader would have turned 82 on
Jan.15. He was murdered in 1968.
The program was co-hosted by the
Jewish Community Relations Council
of Metropolitan Detroit (JCRC), the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit, Federation's Alliance for
Jewish Education, American Jewish
Committee, ORT America, Tamarack
Camps, Hebrew
Free Loan, B'nai
B'rith Great Lakes
Region and Jewish
Theological Seminary.
Sarah Crane of the
JCRC served as mas-
ter of ceremonies.1 I

T

Sarah Crane

Scott Kaufman

Toni Hayes, administrative assistant

in the Women's Department of the

Jewish Federation, gives a MLK

reading at the Federation.

My Pastor on page 20

January 20 2011

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