In Parashat Ki Teitzei, Moses begins to establish policies that will deliver the Torah’s core moral message–to care for the stranger, orphan, and widow in society, and to remember that we, too, were strangers in the land of Egypt–from rhetoric to reality. This moral message, at its core, is an appeal for radical inclusion; society’s marginalized must not be abandoned or driven further to the fringes. “On the Pulse of the Morning,” the poem Maya Angelou wrote and delivered on the occasion of President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration, delivers a similar moral and rhetorical message for contemporary America.
As always please use the comments section below to add feedback and ideas about how you used this study sheet in your community. American Scripture Project is a collaborative platform.