Politics and the Pulpit

By Alex Howie
KOC Assistant Editor
Miami University of Ohio

Politics is one topic that is sure to get everyone's blood boiling. If you love politics, you are infuriated by the person that disagrees with you and just can't seem to see things your way. And if you hate politics, you can't stand those darn people carrying on endless arguments on the same issue making the same points over and over again. Either way, politics incites some pretty strong feelings and is an issue as divisive as any in our society today. In fact, according to recent polls, the biggest relationship killer in America is none other than politics herself!

So, with this in mind, what role should politics play in Conservative Judaism?

In my opinion, very little.

I have read of Jews, and know some personally, who have discontinued synagogue memberships due to the rabbi's stance that liberalism was Judaism. This is more prevalent in the Reform Movement than in Conservative Judaism – and some Orthodox rabbis are too politically conservative for some – but it is something that is becoming more and more prevalent in the Conservative Movement as well. The divisiveness that politics can play in a synagogue cannot be ignored, and politics cannot be allowed to be a defining characteristic of our synagogues. A few Conservative rabbis have stated that although they may lose members because of the discussion of politics from the pulpit, they will not change. I cannot respect, or accept, this stance. The leaders of our communities and synagogues must represent all of their community. In Talmudic times, there were always majority and minority opinions on religious issues; and these issues often broke into the political realm. Yet, all opinions were given a voice. For the rabbis of those times, however, religion was their life and it dictated their actions in most of life's important areas. They wanted to live holy lives and their means of doing so was to follow God's laws as closely as possible, and to let God's law permeate their being.

Today, the Conservative Movement's laypeople are not living by the same standards. The majority do not consult Jewish law in their daily decisions. Because of this detachment, politics has become an issue that is either irrelevant or incompatible with Judaism. Jewish adherents to all political beliefs often have Jewish beliefs that fit with their politics, as opposed to political opinions that fit with Judaism; or else they merely view the two as separate entities. Yet, Jewish ethics and reasoning are compatible with both conservative and liberal stances on most issues, but because laypeople are not making their decisions based on their religion, they do not want to hear politics from the pulpit – unless it agrees with their preconceived political bent, that is.

The teachings of Judaism are open to conservative and liberal thought alike. Likewise, the values, morals, and actions admired in Jewish tradition can be upheld by both Conservative Jews and liberal Jews. Eric Cantor and Joe Lieberman illustrate this point. Cantor, the house minority whip, has stated that his political stances are often influenced by his Jewish beliefs. Lieberman has similarly been conscious of his Judaism throughout his political career. Both have traditional Jewish backgrounds and both maintain a strong connection to their religion, through their values and their Jewish observances. Brady Wine, a leading figure of the Republican Jewish Coalition, has noted that while "it's true we [the Jewish community] are not proportionately divided, [on many political issues, the issues are] things we can disagree about based on Jewish learning."

Judaism, therefore, has the ability to do something very rare: unite people from all ends of the political spectrum. Politics should not be something that divides us, Jew from Jew. In the context of Judaism, politics should be forsaken for the benefit of the community. For this to be the case, the Shabbat and holiday sermons should revolve around the Torah portion, Jewish history, or Jewish concepts and thought. They should be made relevant to the modern day Jew on a personal level rather than a political level. The point where politics enters the pulpit is when some Jews become lost to Judaism.

[Posted 11/6/10]