On Friday night, Martin Luther King's voice filled Temple Israel in Hollywood. The synagogue recently found long lost tapes of a sermon King gave there in 1965 and played them in an interfaith service in honor of the slain civil rights leader's birthday. It was an occasion to remember the force of King's oratory and the power of his ideas and also to recall how revolutionary they sounded in 1965.

Listen to the full speech

Notes from Producer Millie Jefferson:

After reporting this story, I realized that even though we have read tons of Martin Luther King Jr.'s memoirs and papers, and heard dozens of his speeches, there is still more of Dr. King yet to be discovered. What really amazed me was not the message in this particular speech, but how much and in how many places he spoke. He spoke so much in fact that some of the people that followed him and saw him speak, after 30 or 40 years simply don't remember. I spoke to Angelinos, reporters and city officials who are pretty sure they were at Temple Israel that day but can't quite remember.

It's an indication of how turbulent those times really were. Shouldn't those of us who are of this generation be so lucky as to have seen someone like Dr. King speak so many times that the occasions run together? Reading all the news reports from the time, especially the Los Angeles Times article that reveals one man's plot to blow up the theatre where Dr. King was scheduled to be makes you realize how great the work Dr. King and other activists did and how many risks they took.

Fast forward to last night. People were chatting and laughing and kids were skipping and jumping as they filed into the Temple's sanctuary before the performance. It truly felt like a ticketed event: people saving seats for friends and loved ones, everyone trying to get just the right seat. Michael Skloff, the musical director of the event, worked with Cantor Rosenbloom and Contrella Patrick Henry from Word Center to blend the sounds of the two choirs into an explosive musical display. It was electric. In addition to the sopranos, altos, tenors and basses of both choirs, there were drums, bongos, guitars, a saxophone and a piano.

At one point the two choirs sang Rom'mu. It was so charged that people throughout the sanctuary stood, they were clapping and swaying back and forth. At the end of the arrangement people were hooting, they were so filled with joy. Then the lights dimmed and the combined choirs began a melodious hum underneath the powerful voice of Dr. King. As I looked around I saw people young and old were paralyzed. Some people bowed their head and others were brought to tears. It was amazing to see how more than 40 years later people were still moved, much as I'm sure they were then. It was also amazing to see people nodding in agreement as if Martin Luther King, Jr. was right in front of them giving them inspiration for current times.

Somehow, I don't think Dr. King's message will ever get old. It's weird to think that more than 40 years later Dr. King's messages about economic inequalities, racial inequalities and involvement in war still ring true. Maybe it can give people hope and inspiration now like it did then. And maybe hearing Dr. King's words this weekend will make you think about the world we live in and what you can do to make it a better place.