Americans are coming together to save our Republic, right now. And it means something.

Donald Trump’s authoritarian presence behind the Resolute Desk is amongst the gravest threats America has ever faced from within. And Americans have risen to meet this threat.

What this moment has done for all of us—for all those who have sat on the sidelines of history or never were presented with something that held as much gravitas—is that it has given us, for one fleeting moment—the moment we’re living right now—a sense of common purpose. Common purpose of which we will be able to recall forever: that when our country and our Republic were on the brink of collapse, when our fellow Americans needed us, we took a blow torch to our past differences, our former conflicts and our old rivalries, and we fought together.

For Carville’s inspiring piece see https://thebulwark.com/a-crusade-for-something-noble/

Send this to everyone you know. Samuel Jackson has it exactly right!

[Note: My colleague, Rabbi Philip Bentley, has written a thoughtful blog in response to Justice Scalia’s judicial philosophy of “Originalism” as embraced by Judge Amy C. Barret. It is worth reading as Rabbi Bentley describes properly how Judge Barret’s radical judicial philosophy is contrary to the spirit of the development of Jewish law itself, as well as the development of American law. I highly recommend that you take the time to read what he has written – see link below. The following is the opening to his blog.]

“Recently there has been a lot of talk about Scalia’s judicial philosophy of Originalism, because it is also embraced by Amy C. Barrett who is currently engaged in Senate hearings on her SCOTUS nomination. Leaving aside the impropriety of rushing this nomination ahead of an election, I have a problem with Originalism – the philosophy that judicial decisions must be based on what the Framers intended to say. Aside from the difficulty of achieving that, I find it a questionable approach to interpretation of the law.

This comes from what I know of the Jewish legal tradition that is well over 3000 years old. If Jews tried to apply Torah law as if we were still a semi-nomadic agrarian society, I doubt there would be any Jews left in the world. Adaptation of those laws begins within the Torah itself. We do care about what Torah law means but we have been amending practices constantly over the millennia to adapt to changing times and circumstances.

What follows is a chapter from a not-yet-published book on the paradox of God-given laws and how their application has evolved. As I understand it, justices do take into account the social impact of their decisions, but setting legal precedent based on the late 18th century in a novel form of government in a society and economy very different from ours seems wrong to me.”

For Rabbi Bentley’s complete blog see https://pearleafblog.com/

Watching LeBron motivate his teammates beyond their limits makes him the best on the court, but it’s his commitment to the disillusioned and disenfranchised that truly sets him apart

By Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, The Guardian

Winning an NBA championship is nothing new for the Los Angeles Lakers. They have been in the finals a record 31 times since winning the title on their first trip in 1950, and they tied the Boston Celtics with 17 championships after seeing off the Miami Heat on Sunday night. But those are just statistics for superfans to rattle off over steaming pizza or a trivia question on a soggy napkin in a sports bar. Championship playoffs are much more than naked numbers – each has its own unique personality, its own significance to the players and fans, and its own impact on American culture. The game is never “just a game”. For those who think sports are merely mindless entertainment somehow separate from the Sturm und Drang of the world around, you haven’t been paying attention lately. Sports have always been a mirror of national values reflecting all the same struggles and turmoil. This year’s championship series is especially meaningful because, although it took place during one of the most politically and socially chaotic and world-bending times in recent history, in many ways, it was an expression of the finest qualities of America – both on and off the court.

On the court, the Lakers came out of the gate like a thundering juggernaut, relentlessly pummeling the Heat for two games into what many people thought was a defeated heap of expensive athletic shoes. But many people were wrong, and the series went to six games. The NBA finals were much more dramatic than we expected, which is due to the gutsy determination and professionalism of the dedicated players who gave it their all, despite playing under the most restrictive and challenging circumstances in the history of the sport.

That the finals took place at all is a complex blending of capitalism and ingenuity – two things America excels at. The NBA, like all professional sports leagues, needed to make money. But unlike the other leagues, they MacGyvered a safe and responsible way that protected their players, the staff and fans: they housed everyone involved with the teams and the games in a virtual bubble at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, for the several months it would take to complete the season, the playoffs and the finals. On 19 August, the NBA revealed that after testing all 341 basketball players, none were positive for the Covid-19 virus. Yet ,during the first week of the Major League Baseball season, a total of 29 players tested positive. By 21 August, one-third of the teams in baseball had postponed games, likely because of players who didn’t follow safety protocols. The NFL suffered setbacks as well when 23 players and personnel from the Titans and several players from other teams tested positive, causing games to be postponed.

What’s especially impressive about the NBA is that the bubble proved to be more socially responsible than the US president, who in his maskless wonderland facilitated the infections of many who attended a White House ceremony. They also proved to be more patriotic in that they followed government/CDC guidelines, unlike the president. Finally, they proved that residing in a bubble doesn’t mean you live in isolation from your duty to your country or community. They displayed ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the floor of the court and they postponed several games, not because of infections, but because the police shot Jacob Blake, an unarmed black man, in the back seven times.

Though many NBA players throughout the season were vocal about their support for equality, the finals brought the focus on one man as the symbol of the merging of athletics and ethics: LeBron James. To be a symbol, one must excel at their sport. Watching LeBron’s chiseled Mount Rushmore face of determination as he displayed a dazzling blend of agility, grace, power and surgical skill that clearly amped up his teammates to push themselves harder and higher showed he deserves every accolade he gets. But his unwavering willingness to continue to convince the disillusioned and disenfranchised why they need to vote, makes him the embodiment of this NBA championship triumph.

Naturally, the NBA’s expression of social responsibility made it a target for conservatives who wanted it to fail. On 1 September, Trump tweeted: “People are tired of watching the highly political @NBA. … Basketball ratings are WAY down, and they won’t be coming back. I hope football and baseball are watching and learning because the same thing will be happening to them. Stand tall for our Country and our Flag!!!”

Ted Cruz, the Republican senator from Texas, echoed the sentiment by tweeting that the NBA ratings are low because of the politicizing of the league and that he hadn’t watched a single game of the finals for the first time in years. He ended with the hashtag “GoWokeGoBroke”. That really says everything you need to know about the character – or lack thereof – of both men: Never speak out against injustice if it costs you money. These are the sentiments of people born to collaborate with the enemy. To his credit, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban called Cruz out in his own tweet: “A US Senator with 3 @NBA teams in his state, employing thousands of people and he is rooting for their businesses to do poorly.”

It’s bad enough that Trump and Cruz show such a lack of moral leadership that equates ethics with popularity (think which side they’d have been on when slavery, women not voting and killing witches were all popular), but they also are just wrong about weak ratings being a result of rejecting the message. Because of the pandemic, many sports are competing against each other on TV for the first time ever, and it’s affecting all their ratings. The Stanley Cup final, Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Indy 500 and golf’s US Open have all had ratings declines in the double digits. They also seem totally unaware that as many as 26 million Americans – about one in every 15 – protested against the police killing of George Floyd over the summer. How’s that for popularity, Mr President?

The NBA finals are always about the two best teams battling it out in astounding feats of athleticism and grit. But this year that has called on all of us to endure so much, the finals were also about two teams that want to stand for something more than being the best team, they want to be the best examples. This year LeBron James exemplified what a modern athlete should be, the Lakers exemplified what a team should be, and the NBA exemplified what a professional sports league should be: fiercely dedicated to their sport and passionately committed to their community.

The game is never “just a game”.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/oct/12/lebron-james-nba-finals-social-impact

I was raised in the belief that Christopher Columbus “discovered” America. Not so.

For 25,000 years, indigenous peoples lived in North, Central, and South America before 1492 when Columbus landed his ship in the West Indies seeking gold for the Spanish crown.

The real history of his sojourn in the New World is one of cruelty, enslavement, and genocide.

Here are a few passages from Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States (New York: Harper Collins, 2015) describing what began five centuries ago:

“Arawak men and women, naked, tawny, and full of wonder, emerged from their villages onto the island’s beaches and swam out to get a closer look at the strange big boat. When Columbus and his sailors came ashore, carrying swords, speaking oddly, the Arawaks ran to greet them, brought them food, water, gifts. He [Columbus] later wrote of this in his log:

‘They…brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks’ bells. They willingly traded everything they owned… They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features….They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane…They would make fine servants….With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want….As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts.’” See Arawak peoples – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arawak

On the second Columbus expedition to the New World, this time with seventeen ships and more than twelve hundred men, Columbus took “Indians” as captives, women and children as slaves for sex and labor.

That was just the beginning of the Spanish subjugation and murder of these and other indigenous peoples. It got so bad that the Arawaks, after many were hanged and burned to death, killed themselves and their children to spare themselves the suffering. In two years, Zinn writes, “through murder, mutilation, or suicide, half of the 250,000 Indians on Haiti were dead.”

In 1892 on the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ landing, President Benjamin Harrison established through proclamation the celebration of Columbus Day. Generation after generation of American children has been taught the myth of Europeans bringing civilization to America and subduing the “savages.”

Our continuing to commemorate Columbus Day without considering the immense harm that Columbus, the Spanish, British, and Portuguese did to the indigenous peoples in this land, and the damage done beginning in 1619 to African slaves forcefully brought to America as slaves is to justify the brutal history as necessary for European settlement in the New World.

Zinn rightly notes that in a “world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, as Albert Camus suggested, not to be on the side of the executioners.” It’s important to remember all of this so as “not to deplete our moral energy for the present.” (p. 10)

This year’s Columbus Day (October 12) coincides with Simchat Torah (the celebration of Torah) and is a bitter-sweet intersection of events.

“When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won. There have been murderers and tyrants, and for a time they can seem invincible. But in the end they always fall. Think of it, always.”

-Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Is menschlichkeit an important virtue for the President of the United States?

Of course it is, and the so-called first “debate” between Joe Biden and Donald Trump on September 29 demonstrates why as clearly as anything we’ve seen in the last four years! Hopefully, the other two debates will be changed in format by the Elections Commission to better spare Americans and the world the spectacle of an unhinged pathologically unfit and mean-spirited bully of a President who leads the United States of America and the free world.

Judaism teaches that striving to be a mensch is an essential and key attribute of good and decent people and moral leadership.

The Yiddish word mensch (lit. “man”) is multi-layered, rich, and inclusive of many virtues: wisdom, discernment, good judgment, and common sense; honesty, honor, and respect for the dignity of others; accountability, responsibility, dependability, and competence; compassion, empathy, and kindness; humility, gratitude, and generosity; and commitment to the common good.

A mensch as leader appeals to our better angels, elevates us beyond our narrow self-interest, and binds us to a higher cause.

Vice President Joe Biden exemplifies what it means to be a mensch as he strives to embody continually the above virtues and has sought to live them in his personal life and throughout his career as a public servant. 

Biden has been characterized as the “anti-Trump” because Donald Trump possesses NONE of the virtues embodied in menschlichkite.

Will Wilkinson of the New York Times put it exactly right the morning after the first so-called “debate” about the character and behavior of the current President of the United States: “Donald Trump delivered a most grotesque, mendacious, disrespectful and outright disgusting debate performance. Trump’s flagrant indecency, intended to project strength, projected only contempt for America’s voters and democratic traditions. Joe Biden’s forbearance, patience, seriousness and coherence (when he was allowed to speak) shone like a lighthouse showing the way to safe harbor through a raging, chaotic storm.”

The following are textual passages taken from Jewish tradition spanning 3000 years of Jewish history that address our people’s expectations of leadership and how they relate to the above description of a mensch. As you read them, compare and contrast them with both Joe Biden and Donald Trump in mind.

“It was told to you, o human, what is good and what God demands of you – only doing justice and loving kindness and walking humbly with your God.” –Micah 6:8 – Kingdom of Judah, 8^th century B.C.E.

“Go out and see the straight path to which a person should cling. Rabbi Eliezer says: ‘A good eye.’ Rabbi Yehoshua says: ‘A good friend.’ Rabbi Yosi says: ‘A good neighbor.’ Rabbi Shimon says: ‘Seeing the consequences of one’s actions.’ Rabbi Elazar says: ‘A good heart.’ He [Rabban Yohanan] said to them: ‘I prefer the words of Elazar ben Arach, for in his words your words are included.’” –Pirkei Avot 2:9 – Israel, 3^rd century C.E.

“In a place where there are no human beings, strive to be a mensch! (alternative translation: ‘In a place where there are no decent leaders, strive to be such a leader.’)” –Pirkei Avot 2:6 – Israel, 3^rd century C.E.

“Concerning the overbearing, haughty, proud, violent, insolent, and pugnacious, Scripture declares, ‘For the arms of the wicked shall be broken; but God upholds the righteous.’ (Psalm 37:17)” –Derekh Eretz Rabbah 2:2 – Late 1^st millennium C.E.

“Concerning flatterers, liars, and workers of iniquity, Scripture declares, ‘The wicked shall return to the nether-world.’ (Psalms 9:17) And it further states, ‘That which is crooked cannot be made straight.’ (Ecclesiastes 1:15)” –Derekh Eretz Rabbah 2:7 – Late 1^st millennium C.E.

“There is blunt talk like sword-thrusts, but the speech of the wise is healing. Truthful speech abides forever, a lying tongue for but a moment. … Lying speech is an abomination to God, but those who act faithfully please the Eternal. Clever people conceal what they know, but the mind of a dullard cries out folly.” –Proverbs 12:18-23

“The literal meaning of g’nei-vat da-at in Hebrew is ‘theft of one’s mind, thoughts, wisdom, or knowledge,’ (i.e., fooling someone and thereby causing him or her to have a mistaken assumption, belief, and/or impression). … the term is used in Jewish law to indicate deception, cheating, creating a false impression, and acquiring undeserved goodwill. G’nei-vat da-at goes beyond lying; any words or actions that cause others to form incorrect conclusions about one’s motives might be a violation of this prohibition. One does not have the right to diminish the ability of another person… to make a fair and honest evaluation, whether in business or interpersonal relations.” –G’nei-vat Da-at: The Prohibition against Deception in Today’s World by Hershey H. Friedman, Professor of Business and Marketing, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York – see http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/geneivatdaat.html

This 9^th Blog completes the series I’ve posted on “Jewish Values and the Biden-Harris Campaign.”

The most important action we now can take is to vote early and get everyone we know, (young to old) to vote early or to be willing to stand in line on election day – especially in the swing states identified by the Democratic presidential campaign where the closest results will likely occur: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. 

It’s important that we urge all young people to vote, 50% of whom only intend to cast a ballot. That’s just not nearly good enough. 

The Biden-Harris ticket needs to receive a landslide win to stop Trump’s pernicious efforts to undermine this election and steal the presidency from a clear majority vote of the American people and the Democrats need to take back the Senate, expand our majority in the House, and win in state and local elections. 

You can find all 9 Blogs at www.rabbijohnrosove.wordpress.com

JEWISH VALUES AND THE BIDEN-HARRIS TICKET – Blog #1

HEALTH CARE – Jewish Values and the Biden-Harris Ticket – Blog #2

ECONOMIC JUSTICE – Jewish Values and the Biden-Harris Ticket – Blog #3

THE ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE – Jewish Values and the Biden-Harris Ticket – Blog #4

SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH COMMUNITY – Jewish Values and the Biden-Harris Ticket – Blog#5

IMMIGRATION AND TREATMENT OF THE STRANGER – Jewish Values and the Biden-Harris Ticket – Blog #6

CRIMINAL JUSTICE, POLICE REFORM & RACIAL JUSTICE – Jewish Values & the Biden-Harris Ticket – Blog #7

EDUCATION – Jewish Values and the Biden-Harris Ticket – Blog #8

MENSCHLICHKEIT IS ON THE BALLOT – Jewish Values and the Biden-Harris Ticket – Blog #9

My friend, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch of the Stephen S. Wise Free Synagogue in Manhattan, gave what I believe is among the greatest sermons I have ever watched/heard in all my years on Kol Nidre, a sermon he calls “When God Weeps.” It is, without exaggeration, a sermon for this time – beautifully written, inspirational and powerful in message and delivery, important for individuals, for the Jewish people, and for the country in these treacherous times.

Do yourself the favor of watching and listening to what Ammi has to say.

Had I been in his Sanctuary, at his conclusion I would have stood for a thunderous ovation sparked by the lightning of his rhetoric, passion, delivery, and message.

L’shanah tovah u-v’riyah to you all.

See https://www.swfs.org/resources/senior-rabbis-messages/when-god-weeps/

Education and literacy are Jewish tradition’s most important goals for individuals and the community as a whole. Consequently, tradition affirms that the community is obligated to educate its children not as a privilege but as a right, and that its teachers are the most respected of all professions and trades. Jewish tradition regards a community’s failure to educate its young as being unworthy to exist and doomed to failure as a civilized society. 

The Biden-Harris ticket affirms that community support for education from early childhood to senior adulthood is the key to an informed and cultured citizenry and the promotion of a pluralistic democracy in which the population takes decisions that are in its best interests, the best interests of every individual, and the best interests of a secure and humane national and international order.

The following are Jewish texts focused on education: 

“Hear, O Israel! Adonai is our God, Adonai alone. You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children….” –Deuteronomy 6:4-9 – Israel, 7^th century B.C.E. 

“Train youth[s] in the way they ought to go; they will not swerve from it even in old age.” –Proverbs 22:6 – Ancient Near East, 1^st millennium B.C.E. 

“When the Sages saw that not everyone was capable of teaching their children and Torah study was declining, they instituted an ordinance that teachers of children should be established in each and every province and in each and every town …” –Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 21a – Babylon, 6^th century C.E. 

“It is mandatory to appoint school teachers for small children in each and every state, in each and every province, and in each and every city. Any city wherein there are no children flocking to a master’s house, the inhabitants thereof should be excommunicated until they appoint teachers for the school children, if they then make no such appointment an excommunication should be pronounced against the city itself…” –RAMBAM (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon or Maimonides), Mishne Torah, Sefer HaMadda Laws of Torah Study, 2:1 – Egypt, 11^th century C.E. 

“Teachers are appointed in every city, and if any city does not have a teacher in it, a ban is pronounced upon the city until they appoint a teacher for the young. And if they do not make such an appointment, they are destroying the city, that is, they are undermining rather than sustaining the future existence of the city. For the world is sustained only by the breath of schoolchildren.” –Shulhan Arukh, Yoreh De’ah 245:7 – Israel, 16^th century C.E. 

“One who teaches a child Torah is considered to have taught that child and that child’s children and grandchildren, to the end of the generations.” –Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushun 30a – Babylon, 6^th century C.E.

BIDEN-HARRIS PLAN FOR EDUCATORS, STUDENTS AND OUR FUTURE 

“Joe Biden will build an education system that starts investing in our children at birth and helps every student get some education beyond a high school diploma, whether a certification, associate’s degree, or bachelor’s degree. Systemic racism is persistent across our institutions today – including in our schools – and must be addressed. President Biden will make sure that no child’s education opportunity is determined by their zip code, parents’ income, race, or disability by: 

·       Supporting our educators by giving them the pay and dignity they deserve.

·       Investing in resources for our schools so students grow into physically and emotionally healthy adults, and educators can focus on teaching.

·       Ensuring that no child’s future is determined by their zip code, parents’ income, race, or disability.

·       Providing every middle and high school student a path to a successful career.

·       Starting to invest in our children at birth.

·       Investing in community colleges and training to improve student success and grow a stronger, more prosperous, and more inclusive middle class.

·       Strengthening college as the reliable pathway to the middle class, not an investment that provides limited returns and leaves graduates with mountains of debt they can’t afford.

·       Supporting colleges and universities that play unique and vital roles in their communities, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions.” 

See the Biden-Harris detailed policy plans

For education of children here https://joebiden.com/education/

For education beyond High School here https://joebiden.com/beyondhs/ 

I ask that you distribute these blogs to anyone interested in what the vast majority of liberal American Jews believe (according to all polls) especially those living in the states identified by the Democratic presidential campaign where the closest results will likely occur: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. 

Especially distribute these blogs to young potential voters who historically turn out in smaller numbers relative to their percentage of the population and encourage everyone TO VOTE EARLY unless they are willing to stand in line at polling places despite the health risks. 

Past Jewish Values and the Biden-Harris Ticket Blogs include the following. You can find them on this blog at www.rabbijohnrosove.wordpress.com 

JEWISH VALUES AND THE BIDEN-HARRIS TICKET – Blog #1 

HEALTH CARE – Jewish Values and the Biden-Harris Ticket – Blog #2

ECONOMIC JUSTICE – Jewish Values and the Biden-Harris Ticket – Blog #3 

THE ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE – Jewish Values and the Biden-Harris Ticket – Blog #4 

SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH COMMUNITY – Jewish Values and the Biden-Harris Ticket – Blog#5 

IMMIGRATION AND TREATMENT OF THE STRANGER – Jewish Values and the Biden-Harris Ticket – Blog #6 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE, POLICE REFORM & RACIAL JUSTICE – Jewish Values & the Biden-Harris Ticket – Blog #7

A MUST READ ARTICLE

Dear Reader,

Sometimes, a story comes along that just can’t wait. That’s why we’ve decided to move up the online publication date for The Atlantic’s next cover story, by our staff writer Barton Gellman.

There is a pervasive and justifiable fear that Donald Trump will reject the election results if he loses to Joe Biden. But as Gellman documents in his authoritative and chilling story, the situation is far more dire than anyone, Biden included, might imagine. Gellman is a three-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, and one of the world’s finest investigative reporters. Given what he has learned, I wanted our readers to have access to his story, which will appear on the cover of our November issue, as soon as possible.

“The worst case,” Gellman writes, “is not that Trump rejects the election outcome. The worst case is that he uses his power to prevent a decisive outcome against him.” Merely by refusing to concede, Trump could keep the electoral result in doubt through the 79-day period between Election Day and the day the next president is to be inaugurated. Gellman’s reporting shows that Republicans are already discussing plans to bypass the popular vote and directly appoint electors to the Electoral College. This could lead the country to a precipice: Two men could show up to be sworn in on Inauguration Day. “One of them,” Gellman writes, “would arrive with all the tools and power of the presidency already in hand.”

Gellman’s report is a warning about the fragility of our entire system of governance. “An election cannot be stolen unless the American people, at some level, acquiesce,” he writes.

As readers of The Atlantic know, our magazine has been focused on threats to American democracy and to the American idea itself. This story is among the most urgent we have ever published, and I hope you will understand why I felt the need to share it with you now. I urge you to read Gellman’s story, and to share it with everyone in your life who is not only interested in the outcome of this election, but concerned about the future of our democracy.

Jeffrey Goldberg
Editor in Chief