Vote. Vote. Vote.

November 4-5, 2016 / 4 Cheshvan 5777

Shabbat Noach

Torah – Genesis 6:9-11:32 / Haftarah – Isaiah 54:1-55:5

“Vote, Vote, Vote”

Dear Friends,

Here is a piece I shared two years ago on the Shabbat before the last Federal election. I still applies to us today…

In last week’s Torah portion, Adam ate the apple, God found out, and Adam hid saying, “It wasn’t my fault.”  In this week’s portion, Noah was told about the upcoming flood that would destroy the world and he quietly built an ark to save his family, some animals, and himself.  In next week’s portion, Abraham will learn of the impending annihilation of Sodom and Gemorah, and he will voice his opinion and push back.  Abraham will argue with God to save the cities if there should be 50 or 45 or 30 or 20 or even 10 righteous individuals present.

Adam concealed himself.  Noah went along with the program.  Abraham spoke up.  Thus, our tradition honors Abraham, the founder of our Jewish tradition, because he argued and was willing to confront even God in his pursuit of justice.  Abraham voted! Democracy is not a value found in the Bible, Talmud, or traditional Judaism.  Moses, Joshua, King David, King Solomon and the great rabbinic sages never called for a referendum.  They never consulted with the people on issues of governance.  Only recently have democratic principles entered into Jewish life and practice. Citizenship first came to the Jewish world when Napoleon’s armies defeated monarchies across Europe in the early 1800’s, effectively ending the Middle Ages.  Voting came to Jews here in America after the great Jewish immigrations in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  It is a sacred right to be exercised with honor and great respect.

Adam hid and Noah went along.  Yet our tradition teaches that each of us has the responsibility to be like Abraham and express our opinion on matters of principle and justice.  Vote.

Shabbat shalom.

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow