Temple Beth Torah - Rabbi's Sermon - Nine Meditations on the 2008 Election

Nine Meditations on the 2008 Elections

1. YOM KIPPUR & ELECTION DAY

Yom Kippur and Election Day seem to have nothing in common: Twenty- Five Hours of intense prayer and fasting in the Synagogue… A few minutes pulling levers in a school followed by a few hours of watching the returns on TV. And yet, the two days are linked in several key ways:

We began last night in Kol Nidre reminding ourselves of promises made that we haven’t kept; we wonder if we can believe the promises that each of the candidates have made…

Our most important moment comes when we pull open the curtain and come face to face with the columns of words in the Torah; the most sacred of American obligations comes when we pull another curtain closed and are confronted by columns of names on the ballot…

On Yom Kippur we speak of a book in which our name is written; Before we enter the voting booth, we are given a real book in which we must sign those names.

Today’s Torah reading is about two goats – choosing one which we escort to the altar and one which we reject and send away. A similar lottery is held not with goats, but an elephant and a donkey.

We end Yom Kippur by waiting anxiously for the moment when we believe the final decision has been made about who will live and who will die; Election Day comes to a close as we look to the climactic moment when we are told who has won and who has lost.

But most significantly, both days are about change. Yom Kippur – changing God’s mind by changing our lives. Election Day – changing our nation by changing our leaders.

Both days are ultimately about determining the course of our future.

2. WHY WE DON’T ENDORSE CANDIDIATES HERE

First, it’s against the law. As a tax–exempt religious institution, we are prohibited by the IRS from making partisan appeals. (Although a large number of Christian churches – both liberal and conservative – seem to break that rule and get away with it.)

Second, even if we wanted to, you can’t tell Jews what to do. If I can’t get you to come to Shul on Shabbes, there’s little chance I’m going to get you to vote for one candidate over another.

Third, my specialty is the Torah and the Jewish religion, not Political Science. If you want to know what Thomas Friedman or William Kristol has to say, you can go out and buy the New York Times.

Fourth, we believe very strongly in the separation of Church and State. The government shouldn’t tell us how to observe our religion, and the Temple shouldn’t tell citizens who they have to vote for.

Finally, we would do well to remember, the infamous words of James Baker in 1992 then White House Chief of Staff to President Bush, senior: “(Blank) the Jews, they don’t vote for us anyway.” When politics works in such a way, it isn’t prudent for Jews to go on record officially being for one candidate over another.

I’ll never forget the great lesson in democracy I learned from my Bubby Katz. She got a phone call once before an election from a pollster asking her who she was going to vote for. In her Yiddish accent she replied “It’s a secret!” – and hung up the phone.

3. WHY WE SHOULD DISCUSS THE ELECTIONS, HERE

If religion is to be meaningful, it has to address the events of the day. In a word, it has to be relevant. Some people think that religion is just about matters of ritual. But religion is about ritual and ethics. If it doesn’t offer us wisdom and guidance about every aspect of our lives – then who needs it?

A popular view of Christianity that many of us have is that it only concerns one hour of one’s life, on Sunday morning. The rest of the week is about real life. Judaism has a very different model, summarized in the Shema: “And these words shall be in your heart, when you are at home, or when you are on the road; from the time you rise up in the morning until you lie down at night.” Jews are to study Torah every day, to learn what God expects of us; and we are supposed to dovvin morning, noon and night to find out if we are on the right path.

If religion plays no part in your decision who to vote for, I would suggest that your religion has become completely irrelevant. It shouldn’t be our only consideration; it might not be our most important consideration, but I believe it must figure in some way in your calculation of which candidate to vote for.

At an earlier time in our nation’s history, citizens regularly gathered to debate and discuss, face to face, the critical issues of the day. Other than a school board meeting, there isn’t even a forum today for people to get together. Instead, TV has taken the place of Town Hall – and we are merely spectators to the work of democracy.

A sermon is, by definition, a monologue. But Houses of worship can also sponsor ‘Meet the Candidates’ Programs, and it would be a good thing for the community to gather here, to share concerns and to raise and debate the issues of the day.

4. WHAT DOES JUDAISM SAY ABOUT THE ISSUES?

The truth of the matter is that Jews could, in good conscience, be for either candidate, while claiming they are following their religion’s teaching and values.

The Torah commands us to be sensitive to the stranger and the immigrant in our midst, but it isn’t specific about whether we should seal the borders or grant illegals full amnesty.

We are admonished to care for the poor, but it’s not clear whether that is to be done by government programs or faith-based initiatives.

We are told that the Earth is the Lord’s and must be cared for, but also that humans were given dominion over the land and its resources; we’re never told whether we can drill for oil in Alaska, or should build wind turbines instead.

An Orthodox Jew in Crown Heights with seven children is likely to be for school vouchers (so he can afford to send them to Yeshiva) while a Conservative Jew on the Upper West Side will probably oppose them (believing they will undermine the public schools).

That same Orthodox Jew believes that most abortions are wrong – except to save the life of the mother, while the liberal Jew is for a woman’s right to choose what happens to her body.

It was heavy taxes that enabled Solomon to build the Temple, and make Israel into a world power, and it was heavy taxes that led to a rebellion against Solomon’s son that split the nation in two.

The Torah commands us to remember what the Amalekites did, and destroy them, but it’s not clear if that means we should support the Surge or withdraw our troops from Iraq.

Did Jews tend to identify with the Democratic Party because they believed its social policies represented the teachings of ISAIAH, AMOS, and JEREMIAH, or because – as new immigrants and the children of immigrants – they stood to benefit from those policies?

Do Jews who are at home in the Republican Party feel that way because it is strongly Pro-Israel, or because now that they have made it financially, they want to protect what they worked so hard to achieve?

It wouldn’t be out of place to see one Jew in Temple wearing an OBAMA YAMA-KA, and another Jew with a McCAIN KIPPA.

5. AND WHAT ABOUT ISRAEL?

While some Jews may not even be aware that their tradition has something to say about economic or domestic issues, many believe that they can and should use their vote to insure the security and prosperity of the State of Israel. Is it possible to say that Obama and the Democrats, or McCain and the Republicans would be better for Israel?

Given the political realities of the moment, it is in the interest of both parties to say all the right things about Israel. Though we Jews are less than 3% of the American population, we vote in significant numbers, we live in key electoral states, and we contribute financially and politically in critical ways. That means both parties must do what they can to keep us happy. And both parties are aware that there are tens of millions of Evangelical Protestants who care deeply – for their own reasons – for the welfare of the State of Israel. So Democrats and Republicans will say all the right things about Israel.

After the election, whoever is President of the United States will do whatever he believes is in the best interests of America. And if they had to, I believe they would turn their backs on Israel in a minute if it was politically expedient.

If Al-Qaeda overthrew the Saudi Royal Family, and if Iran shut the flow of oil out of the Persian Gulf, and if Venezuela and Russia decided to squeeze the U.S., and as a result gas sold for $10 a gallon – and the American economy was collapsing – and the blackmail demanded was that America abandon the Jewish State – all of the platitudes that “we stand by Israel” would fall away in a minute. Americans may admire Israel, but they won’t put up with waiting in long lines at the gas station.

We also need to realize that the Middle East is so much more complex than we can begin to understand.

Israelis will tell you that no American President has been as pro-Israel as George W. Bush. And yet have things gotten better or worse for Israel in the last eight years?

Bush saw Yasir Arafat as a terrorist and a thug, refused to meet with him or continue President Clinton’s attempt to negotiate a settlement. But you can make the case that humiliating and weakening Arafat led to the rise of Hamas, a much more implacable enemy then the PLO.

At a time when we feared Sadaam Hussein might indeed have Weapons of Mass Destruction, and when the Iraqi dictator was paying the families of Palestinian suicide bombers $25,000, many said that going into Baghdad and toppling Sadaam would be good for America and good for Israel. What was forgotten was that Iraq served as an effective counter balance to Iran. With Iraq in shambles, Ahmadinejab and the Ayatolahs led Iran to become an unchallenged power. Iran with nuclear weapons is a much greater threat to Israel than Iraq under Sadaam ever was.

It’s impossible for us to know whether a tough-talking, decisive McCain or a calm, diplomacy-seeking Obama would be better able to prevent Iran from going nuclear, or what either man would say if he got a phone call at three in the morning from the Israeli Prime Minister saying: “Mr. President, our fighter planes are taking off for Teheran…”

The bottom line: America’s got it’s own problems to solve.

Vote for who you think is best for America.

If you want to help Israel: Buy an Israeli Bond, or take that trip you’ve been putting off for so long.

6. HEROES AND VILLIANS

We have a tendency in America to make our favorites into heroic figures, (ignoring their flaws,) while demonizing our opponents, (forgetting not only their positive qualities but even their humanity). Yom Kippur serves as an important reminder that as we stand before God, each of us has ZEKHUYOT – merits, and HESRONOT – serious defects. While we may ask God to focus on the former and overlook the latter, honesty demands that we see ourselves as complex individuals, not as one dimensional figures. We need to know our strengths, and go with them but we also need to admit our faults, and work on them. We need to think the same way about our Presidential candidates.

There is much to be admired about both men.

You have to be impressed with John McCain’s service to this country. He served as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, and was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Navy Commendation Medal. He was held prisoner, and tortured by the enemy for five and a half years. McCain’s heroism during this period is truly an inspiring story.

In his years in the House, and Senate, he established a reputation for following his conscience – breaking with his party on campaign finance reform, a practical approach to immigration, and in voting for President Clinton’s nominees to the Supreme Court. That he adopted an orphan girl from Bangladesh in addition to his natural children also says something about the man.

Barack Obama’s story is as different as possible from McCain’s, but just as fascinating.

His white mother from Kansas, married a black man from Kenya. Obama was born and grew up in Hawaii. After a divorce, his mother remarried a man from Indonesia, where the family relocated. Obama in his formative years came to see the world from many different places, and perspectives. He graduated from Columbia University, and Harvard Law School, where he served as President of the Law Review. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago, served in the Illinois State Senate, and taught at the University of Chicago Law School. He was elected to the Senate in 2004, and electrified the Democratic Convention with his keynote speech. Early on, he opposed the War in Iraq as a terrible mistake. Whether you support Obama or not, you have to like what the candidacy of a black man says about how far America has come. And many will say that not since John F. Kennedy has a candidate excited and moved a generation of young people with his rhetoric and style.

But there are serious questions to be raised about each man. John McCain, while cleared of violating any laws in the “Keating Five” Scandal, was rebuked by the Senate Ethics committee for financial and political impropriety. While having established a stellar reputation as an independent thinker and straight shooter, there are some who think McCain has compromised his integrity in order to curry the favor of the Republican right-wing to achieve his party’s nomination. Some criticize him as unorganized, and worry about his quick temper and his “From-the-Gut” decision making tendencies. And of course there are those who are concerned about his age – 72 – and his health – having had several bouts with Cancer.

One can be very impressed with Barack Obama and still wonder: How is this man experienced enough to be President of the United States? He was a senator for just a year and a half when he announced his candidacy for the President and most of that first term he’s been out on the campaign trail. He hasn’t served long enough to have the experience most people think is necessary for the Oval office. It’s true that our greatest President only served one term in the House of Representatives before his election – but it’s way too early to say that Obama will become another Lincoln. What’s Obama’s hurry? Why does he need to do this now? Is this immature arrogance and egoism, or the self-confidence of a man with a vision?

7. ASKING: WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE PRESIDENT?

Watching what happens to candidates as they run for the Presidency leads me to conclude: “Anyone who wants to be President should be disqualified.”

I know there are two kinds of ball players – those who, with bases loaded, two outs in the bottom of the ninth, with your team down by three in the seventh game of the World Series, say “Put me in coach, I can do it!” And those who quietly pray “Please please please – don’t let it come down to me!”

But why would anyone in his right mind want this job?

Think what happened to our last nine Presidents: Kennedy assassinated; Johnson destroyed by Vietnam; Nixon resigned; Ford never elected; Carter a one-term failure; Reagan derided in his second term as out-of-touch; Bush Senior rejected after four years; Clinton impeached; George W. Bush presiding over a war we haven’t won and maybe never should have fought and a collapsing economy.

Crushing Al Qaeda and Islamic Fundamentalism, solving the morass of Iraq, preventing Iran and North Korea from developing nuclear weapons, checking the ascendency of Russia, and China, stopping AIDS from ravaging the Third World, protecting our borders from another 9/11, providing for the health and education of our citizens, rebuilding our infrastructure, reversing Global Warming, creating an energy program – and that’s just the morning agenda. And no matter what you do, half the people will vilify, condemn and ridicule you.

Thank God there are people willing to devote themselves to public service. Obama could be a wealthy lawyer in private practice; McCain already is a wealthy man. It’s not about the money. Is it about love of country? Or is it something else?

Here’s what scares me. This summer, I read Obama’s book, “Dreams From My Father” and McCain’s book “Faith of My Fathers.” I was struck by the key word in each title.

Obama’s book is about his search to understand the father he barely knew, who abandoned the family. McCain’s book is a story of a man who, by his own account, was a rebellious jerk when young who tried to live up to the legend and legacy of his father.

I understand that every boy grows up needing to prove himself worthy of or, better than, his own dad. There are serious people who believe that our current President can only be understood in this light. When you take a nation to war, we need to know that it’s not to show up your father.

When we choose a President, it can’t just be about whether they’re going to raise or lower our taxes. We’ve got to make a judgment about the essence of the man. Does he seek all the Tzuris that goes with the office because he loves our country, and is willing to sacrifice his life to achieve a vision of what we might become? Or does he mainly love himself, and is willing to sacrifice all of us to achieve his quest to be at the center of the universe?

8. MOSHE AND NATHAN

In reading the story of Moses, I come to understand what we need to look for in a candidate. And more importantly, in reading the story of Nathan, I learn what is required of us.

Though he was our greatest leader – our liberator and lawmaker – Moses was a flawed human being. He had a bad temper that got him into trouble. He suffered from a speech defect. He neglected his family. He wasn’t very good at delegating responsibility or organizational skills.

But what made Moses so outstanding were two qualities.

The first was that he truly led. Today, so many of our so-called leaders take a poll, find out what the people want, and that’s the direction they go. Not Moses. He had a strong vision of where we were headed, and he knew how to get us there. Often, that put him in conflict with the Israelites. On several occasions, they clashed, and there were near-rebellions more than once. But Moses didn’t give in. He was not interested in being popular or being loved. He was focused on one thing - and one thing alone – doing what was best for the people. And a great leader knows better than his followers what, in the long run, is in their best interest.

The second quality was his love for the people in his care. Several times, God had it with the Jews, and was ready to let them rot in the desert. God even offered Moses the role of founder of a new nation. Moses wouldn’t agree. Instead, he fought God, he yelled, he begged, he coaxed – he did anything he could to save the people and to change God’s mind. And he succeeded.

At times he played the role of Community Organizer – going into the neighborhood, rallying the people, giving them hope, empowering them to take action.

At other times, he was a fighter – heroically battling the enemy, risking life and limb to stand up for the course and values he believed in.

Both Obama and McCain have it within themselves to achieve greatness. But both of them also have the potential of being just another “politician” – in the worst sense of the word.

And that’s where Nathan comes in. In my opinion, the single greatest story in the Bible is found in the Book of Samuel. It tells us how King David had an affair with Bat-Sheva, wife of Uriyah. When Bat-Sheva learns she is pregnant, David tries to cover his sin by arranging for her husband to be killed in battle. Uriyah dies, and David gets away with murder.

And then one day, Nathan walks into David’s court. He asks the King to hear a case of injustice, and render a verdict.

There were two men, Nathan says, one rich – with many flocks, and one poor – who only had a single lamb, which he treated as a pet. The rich man had a guest, and instead of preparing a meal from one of his many sheep, he stole the poor man’s lamb and slaughtered it. What should be done to such a man, Nathan asked.

David was outraged at the cruelty and the injustice. “That man shall die, and he shall pay for his crime!” the king ordered. And then, in the most courageous and dramatic moment in the Bible, Nathan points at the King and says “You are that man!”

Can you imagine? Right there, in front of everyone, challenging, rebuking, condemning the most powerful man in the nation.

The Bible is teaching us a critical lesson. When we see our leaders doing wrong, we don’t just sit there, quietly. We rise up. We raise our voices. We tell them: “this will not do. We expect more; we demand better”. We must not be afraid to challenge authority. We cannot hesitate to speak truth to Power.

Our country is in great crisis – at home and abroad.

Our citizens are deeply divided, and there is a lack of civil discourse.

We don’t trust our leaders, and we’ve lost faith in our political system.

People with special interests seduce our officials with the money that is so necessary to run for office.

Our brilliant system of checks and balances – be it Congress on the Executive Branch, or the Media on all of Washington – no longer seems to work.

And we’re not even sure anymore that the very foundation of our democracy – the right to vote – is fairly administered.

We all hope and pray that the person we elect will follow in the tradition of Moses, and despite his flaws and shortcomings will be a true leader, loving our country and moving us – even against our will – to where we need to go.

9. A DREAM

I turned on the TV and saw this commercial:

A Old Testament prophet walked in, and faced the screen.

He has a long white beard and piercing black eyes.

He pointed a finger at the viewer and said:

Yom Kippur doesn’t end with Neelah and Break-the-Fast. The New Year and your responsibilities only begin when the final shofar is blown.

And then he added:

Election Day doesn’t end when CNN predicts who will be the next President of the United States. More important than who you vote for on November fourth is what we do on January 21st. That’s when your job truly begins.

We must keep an eye on our leaders. We watch everything they do. And when we believe they have gone astray, we must rise up, point our fingers and tell them: Enough! This is not right! We cannot allow this to stand!

He turned and walked away. The screen showed a picture of a blue sky and white clouds. And a deep. Deep voice said:

I’m God, and I approve this message.

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