Advice for the New President

Last weekend, at one of the many soccer games that fill up my family's schedule, the talk on the sidelines was of a sermon delivered that Saturday morning by Rabbi Daniel Zemel of Temple Micah, on Wisconsin Ave. in Washington. Correction: Since this was Washington, some of the parents on the sidelines were on Obama campaign conference calls, and others were actually watching the game. But Zemel's sermon was still a topic of discussion.

Temple Micah is a liberal synagogue (How liberal? Put it this way -- Sy Hersh left my synagogue to join Micah), but Zemel gave a non-partisan sermon, in the form of an answer to a question posed by a Bat Mitzvah, Lila Klaus, who asked if politics and religion should mix. I asked Rabbi Zemel for a copy, and here's part of what he said. It's definitely worth reading (and it's worth hearing him live, as well):

How can our Judaism not inform the way we feel about the questions we face each day, questions large and small? 

The challenge for religion is to keep politics focused on issues and not let it degenerate into campaigning for particular candidates, thus making synagogues and churches into hotbeds of political activity.  Advocating for candidates in the context of prayer would run the risk of pitting worshiper against worshiper.   

      I have thought about your question for a long time, Lila, and I did so against the backdrop of this historic election.  As I thought about this, a kind of fantasy question popped into my mind: it is the Shabbat after the election and the newly-elected president is in Washington to begin the work of transition. He decides to go with a Jewish advisor to Shabbat services. In my fantasy, in walks the President-elect to our Shabbat services at Micah. What would I tell them -- what would my Jewish voice have to say to a newly elected president? 

      1. Honesty. Please, Mr. President-elect -- simply tell us what you think, what you want to do and why. Try and shed yourself of the handlers and spinmeisters and doublespeak.  There is nothing that so destroys the morale of our nation as this.  The Talmud explicitly legislates against a kind of speech where the speaker is counting on being misunderstood. On the contrary, we are commanded to speak so that we can be clearly understood, ant not to use the power of words to mislead the listener away from our real intentions. Doublespeak is the equivalent of putting a stumbling block before the blind.  Cynicism corrodes the heart and the American heart has become depressingly cynical.  Ultimately in life, all we have is who we are. Please, I would say--- be yourself with us. That is, model yourself on Buber -- I-Thou.  Speak to our dignity as full human beings. 

      2. Then I would perhaps reflect on Jewish models of leadership and simply remind the new President that Moses was always under attack and always lonely. His greatest moments came when he was alone -- the burning bush, Mt. Sinai, in the meeting tent where only he could enter, Mt. Nebo at the end of his life.  The nature of the leader is to be lonely -- don't try and be popular, because seeking popularity is what gets us golden calves. Serious leadership results in the Ten Commandments. Do what you think is right.

      3. Finally, I would say that there is nothing more important than hope. You can go without food for several days, but without hope, our lives are lost. Hope in Hebrew "tikva." I learned from a colleague, Rabbi Michael Marmur, about the different opinions about the origin of the word. Some say it comes from "mikva," a ritual bath. Hope then is a resource, a pool, a solace, and a support. Pools of hope are what we all need.

      There is a second view on the derivation of the word, that it is connected to a cord or thread. The famous red thread which makes an appearance in the Book of Joshua is called a Tikva. If the first meaning of the word looks to sources of support, the second kind of hope is symbolized by a thin thread leading from a complicated present to a possible future. This is also a great need in our time for a thread of hope that can lead us to a strong bridge.  Nachman of Bratzlav taught that the entire world is a narrow bridge and the important thing is to not be afraid.