Praying for the Welfare of Our Country - Yom Kippur Morning 5785

Imagine a crown beset with 12,000 diamonds and a banquet for 2,000 people. You could have both on July 19, 1821 when George IV was crowned king of England. His coronation was considered one of the most expensive in British history, as George reportedly wanted his service to rival that of Napoleon. It was hot out, though. Westminster Abbey reports that the “king sweltered in his suit [and] thick velvet coronation robes, a long curled wig and plumed hat, and he used no fewer than nineteen handkerchiefs to mop his heavily perspiring brow! Meanwhile, outside the Abbey, his estranged wife, Caroline of Brunswick, was desperately trying to get into the church to be crowned [queen] consort. George IV, adamant she would not be crowned, ordered those guarding the entrances to the Abbey to refuse her entry. Despite trying every door into the church, Caroline finally accepted defeat and left.”

One can hardly read this historical account without chuckling. For an event that was supposed to be so heavenly, it was, in fact, very human.

Judaism has always been wary of human kings. Somewhere around the 11th century BCE, the prophet Samuel anointed Israel’s first king, Saul, at the request of the people. According to I Samuel, the people expressed displeasure with the judges Samuel had previously anointed and demanded: “appoint a king for us, to govern us like all other nations!” (8:5). Samuel had misgivings, but took the request to God anyway. God responded, “Heed the demand of the people in everything they say to you. For it is not you that they have rejected; it is Me they have rejected as their king, doing as they usually do, forsaking me and choosing idols,” (I Samuel 8:7), “Heed their demand,” God reiterated, “but warn them solemnly of the dangers of the kingship, and be sure to report on the practices of any king who will rule over them.” (I Samuel 8:8).

Over time, as kings rose and fell, we learned our lesson. We would realize that the only true authority in this world is God. One human cannot possess power even close to the Divine. To assert that, our liturgy is full of references to God as king. Every time we say “Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu MELECH ha-olam,” blessed are you God, KING of the universe, we assert God’s supremacy. As antiquated and gendered as the word “king” reads, it serves to remind us, in nearly every prayer, of our human limitations. The headline is clear: there is no Divine authority but God. Our human governments are just that…human.

Ironically, the story of Israel’s first king also highlights the democratic spirit of the Jewish people. Afterall, Samuel appointed that first king at the request of the people. Even God concedes to their desire. Rabbi Yitzchak of the 3rd century reiterated, “One may only appoint a leader over a community if they consult with the community.” (Berakhot 55a)

The Jewish support for democracy and respect for the power of the people hardly comes as a surprise to us. We are not a particularly hierarchical religion. We believe in literacy and accessibility when it comes to Jewish life and learning, and yes, the government.

It is not just the democratic spirit that drives us, though, but the understanding of government’s importance as well. Talmud explains, “just as in the case of the fish of the sea, any fish that is bigger than another will swallow the smaller. So too in the case of people, were it not for the fear of the ruling government, anyone who is bigger than another would swallow the smaller” (Avodah Zarah 4a). For our own protection and that of others, we must establish and recognize the authority of a local government

The early sage Rabbi Ḥanina even takes it one step further. Not only should a government be established by the will of the people but he urges: “One should pray for the continued welfare of the government” (Avodah Zarah 4a).

What exactly is Rabbi Hanina suggesting when he tells us to “pray for the government”? Are we beseeching God to make our government the most powerful around? Or is it to steady our leaders’ decision making? Are we asking God to sway them in our favor?

Given our tradition, I’m skeptical, even fearful, of mixing “God’s blessing” with governmental affairs. To connect religion and state takes us back to when Pharaohs and Kings considered themselves divine or conduits of God’s will. It’s a slippery slope where you can begin to name a particular policy or a candidate the manifestation of God’s will and deify them as something more than mortal.

So I imagine Rabbi Hanina is talking about something similar to the “Prayer for our Country,” which we read earlier in our service. In that prayer, we articulated the values we would like to see our government govern by and we pray for our leaders to promote those values: a love of democracy, a desire to have our actions reflect our compassionate spirits, and steady, thoughtful leadership of our officials that benefits as many people as possible. We should “pray for the welfare of the government” so the big fish can’t swallow the little ones.

Esau McCaulley, a Wheaton College professor, along with photojournalist Thalassa Raasch, ran a photo essay in the New York Times Magazine in July. They explored this question of how one “prays for the government.” Observing a great amount of prayer at a major US political party’s convention, McCaulley, who is also an Anglican minister, urged:

“…if we are speaking to God, we must be honest about the things we need from politicians to enable human flourishing. Prayers that evoke only blessings or protection are inadequate accounts of our faith. They run the danger of turning the church into a chaplain of the empires on the left or the right. The church functions best as the conscience of a nation, reminding parties of higher goods. In the Christian tradition, prayers are also supposed to remind politicians of their limits. There is someone above and beyond them who will render judgment upon their actions. Prayers ought to highlight the tremendous responsibility that comes with governing. Politicians should at times be unnerved and humbled, not simply congratulated….The most important prayers for politicians might just be the ones that nobody hears but God.”

While McCaulley speaks from a Christian perspective, I can confirm that his sentiments hold true for Judaism. Both traditions draw from the ancient prophets. Prophets like Elijah and Huldah not only advised the kings of yesterday, but rebuked them as well. When David desires Batsheva and covertly sends her husband Uriah to the frontline of battle to be killed (so David can then marry her), the prophet Nathan humbles him in a scathing rebuke: “you have flouted the command of the Eternal and displeased God! You acted in secret, [but God will punish you in the] sight of all Israel and in broad daylight!” (II Samuel 12:9-12).

King David hangs his head in shame, “I stand guilty before the Eternal!” God spares his life but David is held accountable and suffers on account of his mortal and moral sins.

To pray for our country, to pray for its leaders, means holding them to the ethical standards of our tradition. In the words of the prophet Micah: “You have been told, O Mortals, what God seeks of you: to judge justly, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (6:8).

I have always been fascinated with that last phrase: “walk humbly with your God.” It’s an intimate picture. Rashi explains that when one person embarrasses their friend and comes to apologize, the friend will typically demand that the apology be offered in front of the people who heard the original embarrassment. But the Holy One, blessed be God, desires only that the person’s apology to God be between the two of them.” 

Walking side by side, talking with compassion and humility, God trusts the true intentions of our hearts, and we trust God to know and respect our apology. That is how God had the courage to order King David’s punishment and David was able to accept it. Even in a difficult moment, there was trust between them. As flawed as David was, our tradition reveres him as a man who walked humbly with God.

We are having a harder time finding government officials, or political candidates, walking humbly with God today. By and large, “trust” is not a word one would apply to the political state of affairs in the US today.

This is hardly a surprise though. Think about the ways our government has broken trust! When Roe was repealed, women could no longer trust that their country would put their health above politics. When voting rights protections were repealed, people of color could not trust they would have a voice in their government. As more children die in elementary school classrooms and no new gun sense laws are passed, parents can not trust that their babies will return home at the end of the day.

And then there are the conspiracy theories. Doubting election results is common practice. Media reports are biased and social media is rife with lies. Candidates pander and debates are just spectacles. Voters are not empowered, they are manipulated.

This lack of trust can have a very real impact in this year’s election. There is tremendous concern that voter disillusionment will lead to low turnout. Most disturbingly, we worry about what the results of November 5 will bring in terms of our very own physical safety. Once upon a time it would have been extreme to think that here in the US there could be civil unrest or violence in response to democratic elections, but this year the idea is not so far-fetched, as we saw it happen once already on January 6, 2021.

Writer Yuval Noah Harari explains: “People feel bound by democratic elections only when they share a basic bond with most other voters. If the experience of other voters is alien to me, and if I believe they don't understand my feelings and don't care about my vital interests, then even if I am outvoted by a hundred to one I have absolutely no reason to accept the verdict. Democratic elections usually work only within populations that have some prior common bond…They are a method to settle disagreements among people who already agree on the basics" (Harari, Yuval Noah. Homo Deus).

We are a long way from agreeing on the basics. We all know how fractured our country is. Embedded in our trenches, no-man’s land lies between us and the other side. At best, our democracy is at a standstill. More accurately, it feels more like we are one step away from setting off a bomb.

As Jews, this election is particularly consequential. Yes, the democratic spirit of our tradition runs deep and that would be enough to drive us to the polls, but this year especially, our lives are on the line. With Israel dominating the news cycle, Jews are a wedge issue. Yet again the anti-semitic trope of “dirty Jewish money” swaying the election has entered the scene. This is exacerbated by dangerous accusations from various candidates in all political parties about the nefarious influence of the Jewish people.

Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs said it succinctly: “Treating Jews and Israel as political footballs makes Jews, Israel, and all of us less safe. Dividing Jews into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ camps, engaging in dual loyalty tropes, and scapegoating Jews for…a potential loss only further normalizes antisemitism. It needs to stop, and anyone who cares about Jewish safety should call it out. This is not partisan politics — it’s about the fundamental safety of the Jewish community.”

I will reiterate, it is not just about one candidate, but many - both Democrat and Republican - who are exploiting the Jewish community for their gain. We have watched as nearly every politician and media outlet has used a very real and dire situation in the Middle East to create chaos, gain clout and further their political or economic ambitions.

Spitalnick urges: “instead of leaning into [the] increasingly siloed ways we are treating hate, we need to break out of it. We need to understand that the only way we are going to effectively fight anti-semitism is to take on the broader anti-democratic extremism and the other hate it is deeply interconnected with…”

When we go to the polls this November, we must have “upholding our democracy” at the forefront of our minds. Jews have long understood that as a minority community, we are safer and freer when all people are safer and freer. Even in the 6th century BCE, the prophet Jeremiah preached: “seek the peace of the city where you have been carried away captive, and pray to the Eternal for it; for in the peace thereof shall you have peace” (29:7).

Jeremiah knew: only in a peaceful society, can Jews live peacefully. In every age and country in crisis, anti-semitism rises with the political heat. We therefore must insist on the path of peace; pursuing justice and demanding safety for ourselves and our fellow citizens! Our fates are intertwined. Our allies are those who open doors and conversations, not those who slam them shut.

Yom Kippur is the day that asserts the power of covenant and conversation. The Talmud states: “for transgressions against God, the Yom Kippur atones. But for the sins of one human being to another, the Day of Atonement does not atone until they have made peace with one another” (Yoma 85b).

Now, I’m not so pollyannaish to say, “Let’s all get along! Have an open mind when you see your neighbor’s lawn sign for the candidate you detest. Engage them in a conversation!” This is a nearly impossible request, especially considering the amount of hurt all partisans have caused one another. And yet the health of our democracy demands that we find paths to partnership.

Jedediah Britton-Purdy, a Duke law professor, says that leaning into mistrust is like “quiet quitting for civic life.” He continues: “We need to shake off the idea that democracy should come naturally. This is a superstition of the enlightened, and it serves us very badly in a time of democratic crisis. As perceptive observers have always understood, democracy is extremely demanding. It requires the qualities of mind and character that sustain a healthy and balanced political trust, such as the willingness to listen to others and to doubt one’s own side. It also requires the commitment to build a world of citizens, not just consumers or spectators or even protesters, but people who expect to exercise power and responsibility together.”

Just like there is no Divine sovereignty but God’s, we cannot believe the place where we stand is Divinely right.

So does that mean we aren’t supposed to advocate for our candidate or policy of choice? No. It means we should choose and advocate for our side in ways that safeguards our rights and the rights of others. It means serving as poll workers and writing postcards to get out the vote. It means working at the grassroots to bring communities together across lines of difference when it is NOT a major election year. And yes, it means exerting effort to listen to others with an open heart.

“Seek the peace of the city where you have been carried away captive, and pray to the Eternal for it; for in the peace thereof shall you have peace.” We Jews are not held captive here in the US, but we certainly find ourselves in a tenuous situation. Let us not give into the narrative that one candidate or another is the “true friend of Israel” or the “true friend of the Jews.” Rather, praying for the peace of our nation means accepting that all candidates are flawed. Knowing that, it is our God-given responsibility to promote a government that will establish trust locally and globally.

It means that when our government officials behave badly, we will hold them accountable. It means having a healthy skepticism and a free press so that we can live by God’s words: “warn them solemnly of the dangers of kingship, and be sure to report on the practices of any king who will rule over them.”

I know it feels hard this year. Trust feels all but gone. But I believe each of us can find the strength within to protect our democracy before, during, and after this election; to judge justly, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God…and each other.

Ken y’hi ratzon…may it be God’s will.

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CLOSING THOUGHT:

There are two things you can do today to strengthen our democracy:

1) At the door to the tent, on your way out, Roberta et al will be handing out postcarding kits. The postcards urge support of NYS Equal Rights Amendment which would establish a NYS constitutional protection of reproductive rights as well as constitutional protections against discrimination based on gender, age, disability, nationality and ethnicity. Folks have until Oct 20 to write cards and mail to friends, family and other NY voters. Don't forget to flip the ballot and vote YES to solidifying personal rights when you go to vote.

2) There are bags, shopping lists, and QR codes to the shopping list to fill our food van. Promoting democracy does not only mean polls and votes, but simply opening your heart to the needs of others. Let’s fill our van to the brim.