Two Thoughts on the Election

I have, consciously and intentionally (and to the dismay of some of my friends and congregants), kept my Facebook page, and certainly my position as congregational rabbi, as non-partisan as possible. I stubbornly but proudly hold on to the notion that we can and must navigate this moment without sloughing off friends and acquaintances and citizens with whom we disagree, vehemently, about the state of all things American. I said in my Yom Kippur sermon that we should dare not descend to the place that assumes that those who support things and people we consider to be unsupportable are either morons or monsters. Our considering them that way has contributed to some of the morass in which we find ourselves.

I am committed to the notion that the synagogue in which I serve will never have a blue/red litmus test for who is counted in a minyan (literally or figuratively), who is treated with respect, and who gets care and attention from the clergy. I keep my thoughts and comments about this slice of American politics within mostly private exchanges with small groups of friends, colleagues, congregants, as I rue the ugly explosions when this material is dealt with on Facebook. I cringe when the phenomenon evokes from so many people (yes, on all sides) some of the very traits, stances, inflexibilities, judgments, and crass disrespect for which they (rather defensibly) critique their opponents.

Having said that, here are two thoughts on our current reality:

1) Fraudulent Votes: I am perplexed at best, outraged at worst, that we are living through a moment in which a sitting U.S. President boldly says that the notion of continuing to count all votes for the first time is, itself, a fraud and an embarrassment. It is possible to posit that recounts and ballot-dumps are real and thus represent a fraud. But if that were happening (it is rather patently not), then it would be fraudulent and an embarrassment. But that is not what the president said or insinuated.

The president said that the counting of the votes itself is fraudulent! He stated, “We were about to win this election…” but then the vote-counters had the audacity to continue to count votes. Yes — and the Yankees were about to win game 5 of the ALDS, and then baseball had the audacity to play the bottom of the 8th inning and Aroldis Chapman had the audacity to throw a clunker to Brosseau. (Too soon?) Yogi Berra was correct, in a totally non-schtick way. It really “ain’t over until it’s over,” and certainly not until all the ballots are counted for the first time. If that said count goes against the candidate I supported and voted for, I will be disappointed and demoralized, but I will accept the will of the people. The very statement that counting votes is fraudulent and an embarrassment to America is, itself, reeking of fraud and irredeemably embarrassing to America.

How did it come to be that saying that every vote should count is an intensely partisan notion? And how do we support a candidate who doubles down on questioning not just the far-fetched notion of true voter fraud, but even the notion that the votes, themselves, should all be counted?

2) Spiritual Resistance: On an entirely different note, praying, today, felt like an act of spiritual resistance. Davening the liturgy felt like traveling an uplifting and prescient archipelago of wisdom from our sages, as if their ability to speak to their moment was also an ability to speak to every moment. Here are a few short examples from my personal davening this morning.

On an entirely different note, praying, today, felt like an act of spiritual resistance.

From the pre-P’sukei D’Zimra rabbinic texts (Peah 1:1): one thing that has no measurement is גמילות חסדים, acts of loving-kindness. To quote my friend and teacher, Rabbi Shai Held, whom I believe was quoting/paraphrasing the Rambam: to act with חסד/hesed, loving-kindness, is to be more gracious and loving to someone than she or he deserves. And there is no limit to the amount of חסד we should put out in the world. Amen.

From just after Birkot HaShahar (morning blessings): we ask that God save/spare us from arrogance and also from evil men. Amen.

From just after that section. ומותר מן הבהמה אין/umotar min ha’adam ayin. Compared to You, God, we have no advantage over the beasts. So much of humanity is folly and nothingness. We are worthless (insert joke here). And, in the next paragraph, אבל אנחנו עמך בני בריתך/aval anahnu amkha b’nei britekha.  We are the people of Your covenant. And so we aspire to rise above our humble nothingness to do something of merit, because we are connected to You. Amen.

From the last of the 13 hermeneutic principles of biblical interpretation of Rabbi Yishmael: imagine two verses (or any entities) that contradict one another. An immovable object against an unstoppable force. Deadlock. Unbreakable tie. A system paralyzingly split. Until, until… another verse comes along and is מכריע / makhria, determinative. For at some point, you must move forward. Even if it is just by one vote. The see-saw always tilts. Amen.

From Psalm 30: בערב ילין בכי, ולבקר רינה/ba’erev yalin bekhi, v’laboker rinah. At night, weeping lingers. By morning, there is some joy. Amen.

The slight, subtle pause that many who lead davening do in the opening verses of Psukei D’Zimra. After the words כי כל אלהי העמים אלילים / ki kol elohei ha’amim elilim (for all the gods of the [other] peoples are [merely] god/idols.) PAUSE. וה׳ שמים עשה/vadonai shamayim asah.  But God created the heavens. Lest we confuse the One God from false divinities. Lest we be seduced into worshipping the wrong one. Amen.

Psalm 100. עבדו את ה׳ בשמחה באו לפניו ברננה/ivdu et hashem b’simha. Worship God with joy. Come before God with exultation. Today. Even today. Especially today. Amen.

From the end of the Ashrei, Psalm 145: קרוב ה׳ לכל קוראיו/karov Adonai l’khol kor’av.  God is close to all who call upon God. But then, a qualifier…לכל אשר יקראהו באמת/l’khol asher yikra’uhu ve’emet.  To all who call upon God with/in truth. Truth matters. Amen.

Maybe the most important one (for me at least), today, as we choose another flawed human to lead us. אל תבטחו בנדיבים בבן אדם שאין לו תשועה/al tivtehu vin’divim, b’ven adam sh’eyn lo teshuah.  Do not put your trust in nobleman, in people who cannot give true salvation. No person is a Messiah. No candidate can offer ultimate salvation. Only the Holy One can. Through us, yes. But through all of us, combined. No one’s candidate is the true savior. Amen.

From Psalm 149: לאסר מלכיהם בזקים ונכבדיהם בכבלי ברזל/lessor malkheihem b’zikim v’nikhb’deyhem v’khavlei barzel.  God binds some kings in shackles and some noble ones in chains of iron. Sometimes, those in authority who abuse it must pay the price. Amen.

From Psalm 150. כל הנשמה תהלל יה/kol haneshama t’hallel yah.  Every soul and breath has the potential to praise God. If we choose it, we can live every moment as a spiritual one, connected to the transcendent. Aiming for transcendent good. And the same potential exists in every person we meet. Amen.

From the Song by the Sea towards the end of Psukei: עזי וזמרת יה ויהי לי לישועה/ozi v’zimrat Yah, vay’hi li lishua.  God is/was my strength and my song, and will be my salvation. Amen.

And the last one, from the first extended blessing before the Barekhu: וכולם מקבלים עליהם על מלכות שמים זה מזה/v’khulam m’kablim aleyhem ol malkhut shamayim ze mizeh. And all of them (the angels, celestial servants) take upon themselves the yoke of the heavens, zeh mizeh, collaboratively, one from the other. ונותנים רשות זה לזה/v’notnim reshut zeh lazeh. And they give one another permission and blessing. They share the spiritual space. The angels modeling for us the hardest thing to do right now. To continue to share spiritual and communal and national space with those we cannot understand, with those who support people and ideas we loathe. To do so without sacrificing our own morals and principles, and also without sacrificing all in life who are activated differently. To do that, בנחת רוח/b’nahat ruah, with a pleasing spirit, is our most vaunted spiritual task. I invite you to attempt to do that with me. Amen.

I thank my spiritual ancestors for their trove, for speaking to me, pushing me, goading me, holding me, and nourishing me across space and time. And for reminding me why I pray.

Take another close look at our liturgy. There’s amazing stuff there.

Wishing love and peace to all. Yes, to all.