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| Joe Lieberman eulogizing Senator John McCain |
Until then I had no clue that there was an observant Jew serving in the US senate. Since then Senator Lieberman has distinguished himself many times as a dedicated public servant and an observant Jew. In essence making a Kiddush HaShem each time.
He was so respected by his colleagues and the American people that when Vice President Al Gore ran for President he chose Lieberman as his running mate. Gore’s poll numbers jumped immediately – evening out with those of his Republican opponent, George Bush.
What a testament to this country that an openly Orthodox Jew was so well thought of, that his mere choice as a running mate placed a 10 point underdog into even contention with his opponent! The American people respected Lieberman because they saw him a man of integrity and high ethics whose moral compass was something they felt was missing from most politicians. That Lieberman gave this impression while championing his religious observance made him a walking Kiddush HaShem.
Which brings me to his eulogy for Senator John McCain last Shabbos in the National Cathedral. The question is: was it a Kiddush HaShem or a Chilul HaShem?
If one listens to his 22 minute eulogy, one can easily conclude that it was a Kiddush HaShem. He spoke about McCain’s respect for Lieberman’s religious practises – honoring it even at his own inconvenience. Such as McCain’s impatience with a Shabbos elevator in Jerusalem. Lieberman even his quipped about the irony of the funeral taking place on Shabbos forcing to him to walk there.
This is also a tribute to the respect that Catholic McCain had for not only Lieberman but for Judaism. So much so that he offered Lieberman the vice presidency! (I should add that it isn't only McCain who felt this way. Many politicians on both sides of the political aisle feel this way as noted about Al Gore. Examples also abound of President Obama also having the same kind of respect for observant Jews in his own administration. Making it a tribute not only to McCain but to the American ethos of respect for religious expression and freedom to exercise it upon which this country was founded.)
When a respected politician speaks so often about his observance in positive ways, especially when the whole world is watching as it did when Lieberman spoke last Shabbos it can hardly be seen as anything but a Kiddush HaShem.
How then, one may ask, could it possibly be a Chilul HaShem? Well, when one violates Halacha in public – especially if he is known to be observant, that is a Chilul HaShem. Did Lieberman do that by speaking into a microphone on Shabbos in a Church?
One might think so. But it is not entirely clear if that is the case. Let us examine each issue.
Microphones have been controversial for quite some time. The operate via electric power, so that when one speaks into it, they are affecting it which might be a violation of using electricity of Shabbos. Even if someone turned it o before Shabbos.
Microphone use was one of the major issues with rabbis of Traditional Shuls. Nonetheless these rabbis were 100% observant and were not only permitted to take positions at these Shuls – they were encouraged to do so by their mentor and Rebbe, Rav Chaim Dovid Regensburg a recognized Talmid Chacham that had studied in the great Yeshivos of prewar Europe.
Now it’s true that he was a Daas Yachid - a lone voice in a sea of Psak that disagreed with him. But the mere fact that there was such a Posek shows that the issue is a lot more complicated than meets the eye.
To oversimplify the issue, there is no violation of using fire or heat on Shabbos in today’s microphones. That it might effect the electrical current does not seem to be that much of a problem. The problem seems to be more in the area of amplification of sound (Mashmiyas Kol) which is also forbidden on Shabbos. And yet most major Poskim allow hearing aids to be used. Hearing aids contain tiny microphones that amplify the sound for the hearing impaired. There was also at least one Posek in the heyday if the Traditional Movement (in the early 1960s) that held there was no violation of Shabbos in using a microphone as constructed in those days. Although most (if not all) other Poskim disagreed with him.
Juts to be clear. I am not saying that microphones are permitted on Shabbos. I am only saying that it is not a simple mater to assume that Lieberman automatically violated Shabbos by using a microphone during his eulogy for McCain.
That leaves the other problem of entering a Church which most Poskim forbid. But that too is not so clear. The prohibition is based on the sin of idol worship (Avodah Zara). Most Poskim say that the deification of a human being qualifies as idol worship. There is one dissenting opinion. The Meiri holds that their Christianity does not rise to that level. True, he is a minority of one. But he is a respected minority of one that makes prohibition of entering a Church not a universal one.
One may remember that in 2009 Rabbi Haskel Lookstein accepted an invitation by President Obama to represent the Orthodox Jewish commubity at a national prayer service in the National Cathedral. He was criticized for that by the RCA but responded with the following - which read in part:
The Shulchan Aruch notes in YD 178:2 that a person who needs to be close to the government may wear even the Torah- prohibited garments of a gentile in order to represent the Jewish community well. The prohibition to enter a church is grounded in the appearance of impropriety, rather than an actual impropriety — indeed, wearing garments of gentiles is a Torah prohibition and this is generally thought to be a rabbinic one.
It is well known that many Chief Rabbis of England have gone into Westminster Abby when summoned there by the King or Queen, and many other great rabbis have done the same to represent our community. The Chief Rabbis of Israel have engaged in similar activities, and, most recently, the Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen was involved in similar activities. In fact, he attended the funeral of the late Pope, John Paul II.
Again. I am not saying that it is permitted to enter a Chruch. Or that Liberman was right in doing so. I have no clue whether he checked with a rabbi before he accepted the invitation to eulogize his friend on Shabbos with a microphone in front of him in a Catholic church. But for me the net result of all this is that I lean toward the view that this was at least possibly a Kiddush HaShem. And not a Chilul HaShem. Joe Lieberman has once again represented the Orthodox Jews well. And I am proud to be an observant Jew in America in part because of people like him.