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| Former Connecticut Senator, Joe Lieberman (NBC) |
I remember being impressed that such a high office holder, could be an observant Jew. I wasn’t sure how much power or influence someone like that could have.. But at least I knew that he would be a strong defender of Israel if nothing else.
Little did I know that in the year 2000 he would be chosen by Al Gore to be his running mate for the presidency. Which would mean that an observant Jew would be just a heartbeat away from being the leader of the free world.
What made Gore’s VP choice even more amazing to me was that until that point, Gore was 10 points behind Bush in a poll taken about who people would vote for if the election were held that day. After Gore announced his pick, his poll numbers jumped 10 points an he ran even with Bush until the day of election.
So here was this publicly observant Jew who was so popular with voters that they thought he would make a good president - should anything ever happen to Gore. Those poll numbers were eventually reflected in the close election results that gave Gore a slight edge in the popular vote. Alas, the electoral vote gave it to Bush. But the vote was so close that it was challenged by Gore in the Supreme Court. In a 5-4 decision they gave it to Bush.
What this said about the majority of the American electorate is that they did not consider being a Sabbath observant Jew to be an impediment to holding the highest office in the land.
But that is not all it said. It said that Joe Lieberman was a walking Kiddush Hashem that never sacrificed his religious beliefs and principles for expediency or anything else. When those who voted for him were asked about the possible limitations of a Jewishly observant President, they said it didn’t concern them. That his values and character mattered a lot more than his religious observances.
The nation perceived that Lieberman was all about doing the right thing. Despite his friendship with the president, he did not hold back from publicly criticizing him for his infidelity and immoral conduct with a young female intern.
The president and his party was not happy with Lieberman (to say the least). But the American people admired his sense of ethics and morality and his courage to speak out regardless of the political consequences. Which is why the following year Gore chose him as his running mate.
Doing the right thing is why this old fashioned liberal Democrat crossed party lines to endorse his good friend, Republican John McCain for President. Lieberman was ‘rewarded’ for that with harsh criticism from his party and ended upon losing Democratic nomination to a rival candidate endorsed by his party. He then decided to run as an independent and won.
How public was his observance? When the senate was occasionally in session on Shabbos, he would famously walk the 4 miles from his DC home to the senate building to execute his duty and vote on important bills.
I recall Lieberman’s eulogy of Senator John McCain where he again spoke about his Sabbath observance. He mentioned that since the memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral was on Shabbos he had to walk to that location in order to deliver the eulogy. He also joked about the many times he and McCain went on trips to Israel together and how much McCain good naturedly said how annoyed he was taking a Shabbos elevator with him on Shabbos.
Lieberman actually wrote a book about his sabbath observance entitled The Gift of Rest . The following is an excerpt from that book in a tribute by South Africa Chief Rabbi, Warren Goldstein:
It’s Friday night and it’s one of those torrential downpours that we get in Washington, D.C., and I’m walking from the Capitol to my home in Georgetown getting absolutely soaked — the United States Capitol policemen at my side as we make our way up Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol building towards our distant goal, a four-and-a-half-mile walk. But I do not — indeed, I cannot — accept a ride in the car...
“Sabbath observance is a gift that has anchored, shaped and inspired my life.”
Lieberman was uncompromising in his Shmiras Shabbos. But when it came to serving the public he believed in reaching across the political aisle to seek compromise in legislation that would benefit the American people.
Lieberman was that rare politician that was loved and respected by both Democrats and Republicans.
When a major public figure is so proudly and unabashedly observant, and at the same time so widely respected - THAT is a major Kiddush HaShem. He fulfilled the Torah’s mandate to show the world how wise are the chosen by God..