Eytan Kobre
Beyond the broader political implications of Al Gore's choice of Senator
Joseph Lieberman as his running mate, for Jews in particular the Lieberman
story holds some important lessons. Long before he stepped into the bright
national limelight, Joe Lieberman's distinguished career in public life had
already done its part to shatter some widely-held preconceptions about the
nature of halachic living.
First, he has successfully pursued his political ambitions while remaining
faithful to the tenets of Jewish tradition. This demonstrates more
powerfully than any rabbinical sermon could that the oft-repeated
characterizations of halacha as somehow at odds with contemporary life are
rooted in ignorance of both the halachic process and the reality of
observant Jewish life.
We are not privy to Senator Lieberman's sources of halachic counsel or to
the full extent to which his personal life measures up to the standards of
halacha, nor should we have the interest or right to be. Each of us, after
all, has more than enough to occupy us in seeing to his or her own spiritual
growth.
But one thing is certain----for decades, Joe Lieberman has earnestly striven
to incorporate halacha into the warp and woof of his fast-paced,
high-profile life, both privately and publicly.
By the same token, for all that Senator Lieberman has endeavored to live a
public life informed by halachic teachings, he has had many occasions---on a
weekly, even daily, basis, in fact---to draw a line at certain conduct that
says to others, and more importantly, to himself, "this far and no further."
From his high school days, when he was voted king of the senior prom but
chose to stay home and observe Shabbat, to his first run for the United
States Senate, when he passed up participating in his own nominating
convention because it was held on a Saturday, and continuing with his
steadfast commitment to halacha as he has ascended through the political
establishment, Lieberman has consistently exalted principle over so-called
pragmatism.
Lieberman's principled lifestyle evokes the example set not long ago by a
Shabbat observer who excels in a very different sort of arena. Tamir
Goodman, a Baltimore yeshiva high school student-cum-basketball "phenom",
made national headlines last year when he turned down a full athletic
scholarship to join the powerhouse basketball team at the University of
Maryland.
Commenting on the teenager's decision, his coach wrote: "So Tamir gave the
[university] its scholarship back. They told him that Shabbos was a problem.
He told them Shabbos was a blessing. They told him if he didn't play it
would affect his 'career'. He told them if he did play it would affect his
'life'. They drew a line in the sand. He planted his feet firmly and told
them who he was and what he believed in."
One further aspect of Senator Lieberman's fascinating life story merits the
attention of the Jewish community and of political strategists as well. By
his own account, the senator's religious commitment has not hurt, and has
possibly even aided, his career aspirations.
In a public address before a Jewish group some years ago, Lieberman recalled
his first senatorial campaign in 1988. After the media reported that he was
absent from his own Saturday-scheduled nominating convention, he kept
meeting non-Jews throughout Connecticut who would say to him "I respect you
for putting something above political success". Often, they would add:
"[T]he fact that you put something ahead of your political success, more
than any particular position that you took on an issue in the campaign, is
why I'm going to vote for you." Senator Lieberman concluded by noting that
"we only won by 10,000 votes that year, that was less than 1% . . . . [A]nd
who's to say whether it wasn't the fact that I didn't go to my convention on
Shabbos that gave me the margin of victory . . . ?"
This episode is representative of something which observant Jews in many
different walks of life have experienced first-hand. By adhering to
principle, rather than making accommodations born of discomfort with our
beliefs and visibility, Jews often engender a profound respect from non-Jews
who find such principled positions refreshing amidst the prevailing
"everyone has their price" mentality. And that Lieberman position, no less
than his positions on matters political, is one Jews would do well to
ponder.
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Eytan Kobre is a lawyer residing in Queens and part of Am Echad's
pool of writers.
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