Rabbi Scott Sperling is the Director of the Mid-Atlantic Council of the Union for Reform Judaism. Before joining the Mid-Atlantic Council, Rabbi Sperling was the Associate Rabbi for Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle, Washington.

I feel incredibly lucky and genuinely honored to have represented the Union for Reform Judaism at a historic moment when thousands (crowd estimates ranged from 100,000-500,000) of people gathered yesterday on the Capitol Mall to rally on behalf of comprehensive immigration reform legislation that would be both generous and fair. (view Rabbi Sperling's speech)

Over the past six weeks, I have represented the Union and the RAC at several events, including press conferences and interfaith prayer gatherings where leaders spoke out against pending legislation that focused exclusively on punitive measures against undocumented immigrants. This, however, was a very, very different experience.

As I sat on the stage, waiting my turn to speak and listening to Senator Kennedy, other politicians and clergy, I thought about my grandparents coming to Ellis Island as they started their new lives in America. I thought about some of my neighbors who came to Washington, DC from El Salvador to escape the violence and poverty of their homeland and another family on our block who came from the African country of Burkina Faso with dreams of an education and a safe haven. I thought of Cesar Chavez, whom I met in 1969 after he spoke to a group of students and farm workers. I thought of the many haggadot I’ve seen that used illustrations and commentary to constantly update and expand our understanding of the Jewish master story of oppression and liberation. It was from all these thoughts that I set aside most of my prepared text and spoke from my heart. I was grateful for our tradition that informed my words and grateful for the crowd’s amazing response.