Mr. Howard, I read Mr. Spivey's work regularly and the article you mentioned was the first time I finished one and felt conflicted (even upset). For that reason, I am grateful that you took the time to write and publish this piece. I hope you don't mind my expanding just a bit.

Spivey conflated the color of Goodman's and Schwerner's skin with white people and I think that was a mistake. In my experience, here in America, white people are Christians (not Jews). White Americans take credit for the good works of Jews, but only if those Jews have white skin.

A fundamental difference between white Christians and Jews is found in the quote you cited from Rosenwald "What I want to do is try and cure things that seem wrong".

Rosenwald was referring to tikkun olam. In a rough translation, Tikkun Olam means “repair the world”. That idea emerged out the messianic age and holds that repairing the world will bring about the Kingdom of Heaven. That the world is still in dis-repair is the reason that Jews do not believe Jesus Christ was the Messiah (a prophet yes, but not the Messiah). However, once we humans do repair the world, G-d will replace our once broken world with a more just and g-dly world.

Of course, everyone has a different idea of what the world was like before we broke it. But for a lot of people, myself included, what springs to mind is Genesis and the Garden of Eden – you know that peaceful kingdom, where lion cubs and little lambs played together, and no one had to wear fig leaves, or fight over food, and churches, prisons, money, armies, police and war did not even exist.

In keeping with the pace of history, Tikkun Olam evolved across the ages. Like Julius P. Rosenwald, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Beda Ginsberg’s’ work was also informed by her desire to do G-d’s will and help repair our broken world.

Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were influenced by Tikkun Olam emerging out of the havurah movement of young Jews who were politically active in the 1960s and 1970s. Because these young Jews were especially active in the Civil Rights Movement, the Environmental Movement, and the Anti-War (in Vietnam) Movement, they were considered radicals.

I went on too long, but Jews are divided enough right now, and I think that keeping history clear, is important.

Thank you again.