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| Yaakov Shwekey singing an ode to the President (VIN) |
Although the post seemed to be directed specifically about the President, it was later clarified that this letter was not directed at any specific candidate of either party. But I am hard pressed to believe that it was as generic as claimed since the only candidate that is currently being idolized in some Orthodox circles is the President. Surely that is what generated that letter.
That said, a careful reading of that letter will reveal that technically - that clarification was correct. It was not intended as a message about who NOT to vote for. It was just to remind us of the following:
The integrity and impact of what we convey to our children and students about kedusha, tzni’us, emes, kavod habriyos and middos tovos are rendered hollow when contradicted by our admiration for, or even absence of revulsion at, politicians and media figures whose words and deeds stand opposed to what we Jews are called upon to embrace and exemplify.
Point being that we can vote for someone with a despicable character based on policies that favor us without embarrassing ourselves by treating him as the he was our hero and savior.
This is exactly my view of the President. He is a despicable human being - with questionable values at best. But I believe his policies have been favorable to us as Orthodox Jews and supporters of Israel.
One may quibble about how valuable that support is. Which in my view is heavily weighted by how you feel about him personally. But there is not a scintilla of doubt in my mind that his policies towards the Jewish state as reflected by the many things he has done for it - in both symbolic and substantial ways - is more pro Israel of any of his predecessors. Nor is there any doubt in my mind about his economic policies which – prior to COVID – contributed mightily to one of the strongest economies since the end of World War II.
If the President would just stop talking, then the discussion would be about polices rather than what comes out of his mouth.
Unfortunately his mouth is his worst enemy. His polices on the other hand deserve to be discussed, debated, and evaluated on their merit. Voting for him should be based on that. If you don’t like his polices, don’t vote for him. If you do, go ahead.
If you are like me and like some of his polices and not others the decision should be based on weighing the policies each candidate and voting for the one whose polices we believe benefit us and the country the most.
With respect to this President, there is in my view a lot of grey – if you leave out his mouth and some of his values (or more correctly his woeful lack of much of any values).
Which leads me to an event reported in VIN that is exactly what that open letter was opposed to:
Orthodox Jewish pop star Yaakov Shwekey sang an ode to Donald Trump at an Orthodox overnight camp based on his hit song “We Are a Miracle.” In videos of the performance shared online Monday night, Shwekey sings a rewritten version of the song with lyrics supporting Trump’s re-election. No one in the video appears to be wearing a mask.
“May God hear our prayers, four more years, cause we are America,” Shwekey sang.
“Every day you fight a battle. On the news they try to hide all your victories, your accomplishments, the way you lead with pride,” the song continues. “But truth is always stronger, so join us as we sing our song.”
This is wrong. I am disappointed in Shwekey. We are supposed to be a light unto the nations – praised for a wisdom that reflects the values of the Torah. Singing an ode to a man that whose words and much of his personal behavior are the opposite of those values does not stand us - and by association, the Torah - in good stead. If one praises a man like that, one is implying that his values are Torah values. Or at least they don’t contradict them.
And this doesn’t even touch upon the open disdain for the advice by health officials by refusing to wear masks and social distance from one another. The apparent lack of concern by Orthodox Jews about spreading COVID does not speak well of us. To say the least.
And that, my friends, is a Chilul HaShem.