Jewish Tradition Confronts Power with Truth
Jewish Tradition Confronts Power with Truth By Rabbi Ari Ballaban
In the wake of the national spectacle that was last month’s confirmation process of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, there have been many people around the country who have wondered if the #metoo movement should now be considered dead.
This emotionally charged question is liable to come from people on both ends of the American political spectrum. On the one hand, those who consider themselves conservative might ask whether the apparent use of an alleged sexual assault as a political weapon signals that #metoo’s demise is, if not already here, just around the corner.
On the other hand, those who consider themselves liberal may be inclined to ask, among other things, whether the Senate’s failure to rebuff a political appointee who was credibly accused of sexual violence means that any momentum #metoo once had either has fizzled out or has, at least, led to little real-world change.
If this is the conclusion of a movement that has so thoroughly impacted our nation’s discourse on gender, sex, violence, and women’s experiences, then it is rather anti-climactic. However, it isn’t so clear that we should see it as such. Even if we can’t divine whether or not #metoo remains relevant from the tea leaves of American current events, members of the Jewish community should still see themselves as ethically mandated standard-bearers of #metoo on the basis of our Jewish heritage.
Of course, there are aspects of our tradition which are admittedly less than admirable in how they approach women’s empowerment. For instance, the idea that women cannot initiate a divorce—an unfortunate consequence of certain interpretations of halakhah—leaves much to be desired from the standpoint of equality. Nevertheless, the broader view of Jewish history and heritage demonstrates and demands that every person should listen to (and take the concerns of) women seriously.
To that end, one major goal of the #metoo movement has been to work toward ensuring that even the most powerful men in our society face consequences if they engage in sexual violence. As Jews, we ought to take note of at least one clear precursor to this principle in the Tanakh’s strong critique of King David.
David, whom our tradition typically portrays as one of the Bible’s main heroes, is not immune from rebuke when he acts in a sexually abusive way with Bathsheba. When Nathan, the prophet, confronts him with the gravity of his sins, David poignantly acknowledges the destructive nature of what he has done and cries out: chatati l’adonai, “I have sinned against God!”
While 21st-century readers might wish that David had been punished with permanent loss of his lofty status, it’s hard to deny that the tale has some significant resonance in the era of #metoo. Certainly some would say David’s punishment was too mild since he remained on the throne.
Others, also, might point out that Bathsheba’s point of view is completely absent in the story (a result of the fact that much of the Bible is framed from a male-only perspective.) The greatest difference between David’s story and today, though, may actually be the fact that God is the stimulus that forces David to reckon with his misdeeds.
If we want truly to claim the mantle of #metoo by making claim to our Jewish tradition—and we should—then we need to remind ourselves that our path to sex- and gender-related justice will not come through divine decree. We do not live in ancient Jerusalem and we cannot expect those who harm women to be confronted with stark truth by some prophet who offers them a convenient, understandable allegory.
Instead, it is up to us to push for justice in our society, and it is our obligation to confront and grapple with the nuanced, complex circumstances necessary to fight for those in our society who have been victimized. As the biblical tradition makes clear, to be a Jewish proponent of #metoo means being ready to confront even the most powerful men in our society with the truth, in the words of the prophet Nathan, that atah ha-ish, that “[they] are the men” whose behavior makes the world less safe for women.
For women and men both, and our religion as well, it is imperative that we ensure that the essence of #metoo remain vital and potent as ever.
Jews Well Represented Among Candidates
November 1, 2018 by tbo5275 • Rabbi Chessin's Column • Tags: election, Politics, Rabbi Judy Chessin, social action, vote •
Jews Well Represented Among Candidates By Rabbi Judy Chessin
As we face national midterm elections, we should consider that, while Jews comprise less than 2% of the American population, we represent 6% of the candidates running for election in the 2018 elections. There are 56 candidates for congress who identify as Jewish, 41 Democrats, and 15 Republicans. And they are as diverse as are the Jewish people.
Some are well-known such as Dianne Feinstein, the incumbent
California Democrat who is the oldest sitting US senator and longest serving woman in the Senate. Feinstein had a Jewish father and Christian mother and was brought up in both faiths. At the age of 20, she chose Judaism as her faith of choice. Also familiar to us is Bernie Sanders an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats. Sanders ran a strong campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, becoming the first Jewish candidate to nearly reach a major party’s nomination. Though Sanders has spoken about losing family members to the Holocaust and about his time in Israel, he is also a leading critic of the Jewish State, strongly disagreeing with Israel’s handling of the Gaza crisis.
There are Jewish Republicans as well. Lee Zeldin is running for a second term to represent New York’s First Congressional District. A paratrooper in Operation Iraqi Freedom and a current reservist, Zeldin now serves as co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus. Lee Zeldin is a member of B’nai Israel, a Reform Temple in which he celebrated his Bar Mitzvah and where his twin daughters attend religious school. Zeldin has crossed the aisle to co-sponsor legislation to support Israel and fight terrorism.
Democratic software designer Jacky Rosen is running for the Nevada Senate seat against incumbent, Dean Heller. She is popular for her focus on the notoriously underfunded public school system in Nevada. Her only political experience prior to her last run for Congress in 2016 was as president of Ner Tamid, a Reform synagogue in Henderson Nevada. Rosen is a centrist pro-Israel candidate. The Nevada race is one of the closest in the country, considered a toss-up.
Then there is the Republican representative from Tennessee’s 8th Congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives: David Kustoff. He had the support of the Jewish Republicans in 2016, largely due to his opponent placing emphasis on his own “Christian conservatism” which was intended to cast Kustoff’s Jewish heritage in a negative light.
Also from Memphis is Kustoff’s Democratic colleague Steve Cohen. Cohen and Kustoff couldn’t be further apart politically. Cohen is a liberal democrat who favors impeachment proceedings against President Trump, while Kustoff enthusiastically supports the president. Steve Cohen’s 9th district of Tennessee is mainly African-American and liberal, while David Kustoff’s 8th district is rural, conservative and white. Both are running for re-election this month and probably are both praying for victory at their common synagogue, Memphis’ Reform Temple Israel!
Given that it wasn’t until 1828 that each of the United States allowed Jewish men to vote and 1920 until Jewish women received suffrage, it is amazing that we have such varied Jewish representation on both sides of the aisle. May we make good use of our democratic rights and make our choices and voices heard in this 2018 midterm election. For we the Jewish people are indeed blessed with the right and the privilege to do so!