Just Mercy – Parashah Va’era 5785

Last Tuesday, I was flying home from officiating at a wedding on the beach of Longboat Key, a small island across from Sarasota.

Photo credit: Rabbi David Lerner

It was sunset. It was beautiful, and somehow, Hurricane Milton mostly skipped over this little spot of paradise.

On the plane home, I thought I would get some work done—there was free Wi-Fi, which entices you to keep on working and texting. 

But I decided to check out the JetBlue Entertainment options and put my phone away. I usually waste time watching movies that are not worth it, like Dumb and Dumber. Sometimes, I pick a movie, and then, halfway through, I realize there is not enough time to finish it before we land. 

That’s really annoying.

Photo credit: FMT

I scrolled through the options and saw the 2019 film Just Mercy. Luckily, I remembered seeing the book in a pile on my dresser that I had wanted to read for a while. 

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So I put it on, and for much of the ensuing 2 hours and 17 minutes, I basically cried— tears of sadness, tears of pain, tears of redemption, and tears of hope.

For those of you who have not seen it, you should.

The movie is a legal drama based on Bryan Stevenson’s memoir, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. It tells the story of Stevenson’s fight to exonerate American citizens, most of them black men, wrongfully sent to death row. Most did not have fair legal representation as the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution demands. The movie highlights how blacks are treated in this country, especially in the 80s in the South, particularly in Alabama. 

I saw and learned about it in March on the rabbinic civil rights tour, which I was privileged to participate in. 

There is such deep racism. 

Blacks are guilty pretty much before they say anything. Driving while black is a real danger that remains with us decades later.

Racial injustice is still found throughout the American criminal justice system. Prosecutors would tell juries lines like, “I could tell he was guilty just by looking at him.”

Photo credit: Equal Justice Initiative

Set in 1987, the movie follows Bryan Stevenson, masterfully played by Michael B. Jordan, a recent Harvard Law School graduate who dedicates his career to defending those wrongfully accused and facing the death penalty, especially poor Black individuals unable to afford proper legal representation. Stevenson moved to Alabama to open the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) and began taking on cases of individuals who had been unjustly convicted.

Stevenson’s first major case involves Walter McMillian, played excellently by Jamie Foxx. In 1986, McMillian was sentenced to death for the murder of Ronda Morrison, a white woman. Despite having an airtight alibi and no physical evidence linking him to the crime, McMillian was convicted based on false testimony from a criminal with a history of lying. His case was marred by racial prejudice and corruption in the justice system. 

Photo credit: Rabbi David Lerner

Watching the racism unfold, I sat there stunned and saddened. The film shows the emotional toll the case takes on Stevenson and McMillian, who suffered decades of wrongful imprisonment.

Of course, I knew, we all know, it’s there, and then you feel it. It left me in tears, especially knowing the following four decades have simply continued in this vein, with moments like the unbelievable murder of George Floyd by police officers in 2020.

As Stevenson takes on McMillian’s case, he faces significant opposition from local authorities determined to uphold the conviction. Stevenson uncovers the many flaws in McMillian’s trial and the systemic racism embedded in the legal process. Stevenson works tirelessly to gather new evidence, all the while facing threats and hostility from those in power. 

After years of legal battles, new evidence comes to light, eventually leading to McMillian’s exoneration in 1993. The film ends by highlighting the broader issues of racial injustice in the U.S. criminal justice system and the ongoing work of the Equal Justice Initiative. 

Tears of redemption and hope.

Stevenson is not afraid to stand up to the authorities, even at considerable risk to himself. He is not afraid to speak out for justice. He does not hesitate to point out the racism that is a sick vine that chokes and strangles the humanity of our country.

The film concludes with the unbelievable fact that “for every nine people who have been executed in the U.S., one person on death row has been proven innocent and released, a shocking rate of error.”

* * *

Stevenson is channeling the first person in the world who is not afraid to speak truth to power: our earliest spiritual ancestor, Abraham. In this morning’s Torah portion, Parashat Va’yera, God decides to tell Abraham that the Almighty has decided to punish the cities of S’dom and Amorah. As opposed to the binding of Isaac, where the text states that it is an explicit test, it is implicit here. But God says that Abraham is supposed to keep –  “דֶּ֣רֶךְ יְהֹוָ֔ה לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת צְדָקָ֖ה וּמִשְׁפָּ֑ט – keep the way of GOD by doing what is just and right.” (Gen. 18:19)

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

God says that if Abraham will be a great leader by whom others will be blessed, then let’s see how he handles a morally complicated situation. Unlike some in the film, the people are guilty—they are immoral, and in the world of that time, they deserve punishment.

The Torah states: וַיִּגַּ֥שׁ אַבְרָהָ֖ם” – Abraham came near.” (Gen 18:23) Rashi says that this word – nun-gimmel-shin – nigash – can mean coming close to wage a battle, to speak sternly and to pray. 

Abraham has the hutzpah, the audacity, to bargain with God. He comes with moral righteousness and indignation, he comes to the Judge of the world to argue his case and to plead.

“Will You sweep away the innocent along with the guilty? הַאַ֣ף תִּסְפֶּ֔ה צַדִּ֖יק עִם־רָשָֽׁע׃” (Gen. 18:23) That’s not right.

‘’What if there are 50 righteous people?’ OK, I won’t. 45? Fine. He pushes 40? 30? 20? 10? “I will not destroy, for the sake of the ten.” (Gen 18:32)

Abraham appeals to God: “הֲשֹׁפֵט֙ כׇּל־הָאָ֔רֶץ לֹ֥א יַעֲשֶׂ֖ה מִשְׁפָּֽט – Will the Judge of all not judge justly??” (Gen.18:25)

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Photo credit: Rabbi Matt Berkowitz

The rabbis teach that the world cannot be filled only with strict justice. (Gen. Rabbah 39:6). My classmate and colleague, Rabbi Matt Berkowitz, summarized this Midrash: “Abraham calmly explains the desire and need to find balance between the qualities of justice and mercy. […] Excessive justice has the potential to lead to destruction. Abraham’s prayer then combines the argument of the intellect and the soul.”

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Over the political campaigns, we saw deep racism utilized to foment hate. Comments that describe Puerto Rico as an island of garbage and legal Haitian immigrants eating other people’s pets are not merely false and hateful, they strengthen a racist culture that already exists.

Just Mercy reminds us that the legal system has internalized that racism. 

In the coming time, we will be called to stand up for justice for marginalized groups like immigrants, Black people, LGBTQ+ people, and women, among others – potentially, in a manner not known before.

I hope I and all of us will have the courage to stand up like Avraham.

As Bryan Stevenson says in the film: “We need conviction in our hearts. [McMillian] taught me how to stay hopeful because I now know that hopelessness is the enemy of justice. 

“Hope allows us to push for word, even when the truth is distorted by the people in power. It allows us to stand when they tell us to sit down, and to speak when they say be quiet.”

Let us know when we are called upon to stand up for justice.