Rabbi Jon's Website and Blog

Engaging With the Election -- Take 1

Kudos to the Southern New Hampshire Jewish Mens' Club for this morning's forum with candidates for New Hampshire's open Senate seat, 2nd District Congressional seat, and governorship.  Great turnout, great questions, nicely run all around.  It's a tribute to the Jewish community to be able to host such an event.

It was good to see the candidates up close, to hear their voices and read their body language.

I'm going to start having something to say about the election in the coming days -- not who to vote for, but how to approach an election "spiritually."  I have two first reactions to what I heard -- and I only got to hear Kelly Ayotte, Paul Hodes, and Charlie Bass, so that's a caveat.  First, it was a lot of canned speeches in response to thoughtful questions, and I was disappointed about that.  Nuanced questions from insightful citizens deserve better -- this goes for D's and R's alike.

Second, there seems to be such a consensus at least in New Hampshire about the importance of renewable energy for jobs and the economic future.  It's a shame and a shonda that this Congress couldn't get a bill to the president.

More to come about how Jews and Torah might frame the issues and approach the vote, beyond "liberal" and "conservative."

Fourth of July

In my sermon this week I mentioned that in my view these are the three most important civic sermons in the history of the United States.  I spoke about the first, as the first example of the way the Hebrew Bible profoundly influenced the founding of the American colonies and the American republic.

1.  "A Model of Christian Charity" (1630) -- John Winthrop gave this sermon about community, covenant, and New England on the ship Arbela to the Puritans who would found Boston.  It's the source of the "city on a hill" quote, among other famous things.  The last third or so is a particular wonderful (and prophetic) vision of what New England should be before it ever was, in the idiom of Deuteronomy.

2.  Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865) -- a haunting religious meditation on the meaning of the Civil War and the hoped-for national reconciliation

3.  Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech (1963) -- important because of its ongoing impact and echoes.