Bruce Solomon's Reflection

I’m Bruce Solomon, partner of Sue Swartz —Sue was Brit Tzedek national vice president for a year or two. We got to spend quality time with Marcia Freedman when she came to our town, Bloomington Indiana, and spoke at our shul.

But my most vivid memory of Marcia took place on Capitol Hill in DC, where the national Brit Tzedek convention included an advocacy day. Attendees split up into small groups that fanned out to lobby Senators and representatives all day. Sue and I had the good fortune to be grouped with Marcia and maybe one or two others. We visited Sheldon Whitehouse, in his first term as Senator, and he seemed very sympathetic. We visited the far more senior Senator Richard Lugar’s office, but only got to speak with staffers. Then we headed for the office of Representative John Lewis. I hesitate to admit that his name meant nothing to me as we walked into his reception room. That was about to change. We took seats and after a few minutes, Congressman Lewis emerged from his private office. We rose, walked over, and shook hands with him. Then he said “Please, sit down.” But my impulse to accept that invitation was immediately arrested when Marcia, without skipping a beat, declared, “For you, we stand.” I didn’t know why at the time, but I certainly got the message, and knew I had some homework to do.

Bruce Solomon

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