This weekend, we will celebrate the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He stood for an America of fairness and justice, an America of opportunity regardless of one’s race or faith or ethnicity. Dr. King positioned himself repeatedly on the front lines in cities across the south, where segregation burned in people’s veins and ravaged communities. From Selma to Montgomery, Atlanta to Memphis, he was unapologetic in his relentless quest for equality.

What would he say of today’s America? What would he think about the events of Minneapolis? How would he respond to the burning of a synagogue in Jackson? What would he say of our ongoing obsession with guns? Our treatment of would-be immigrants? Our constant casting out of those seemingly unlike ourselves? Would he cry as he learned how little progress we’ve made?

At the end of last week’s Torah portion, Shemot, we meet a young and unsure Moses. In one of the earlier stories about him, we read of him encountering ‘a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not consumed.’ The commentators will note that what made Moses unique was the fact that he noticed the burning bush. Others had seemingly walked by half-asleep or simply not paying attention. Moses was paying attention. His eyes were open wide to the world around him. Such was the case for Dr. King, who would not look away, staring injustice and bigotry in the eyes.

We inherit Moses’ commitment to living with open eyes. We cannot explain away or apologize for the acts of brutality that appear on the nightly news. These cannot be justified. When human lives are endangered, when people are put in danger because of their religion or their race, we do not have the luxury of looking away. We know what becomes of a world that grows numb to hate. What we do right now matters and, with that, what we read, where we donate, what we protest, who we align ourselves with, the ways in which we go about our very days. Together we must continue to strive to live up to Dr. King’s esteemed legacy.