Dear Friends,
I hope this note finds you well and managing these challenging times.
Recent weeks have brought us a complex mix of Yom Tov celebrations, progress in Israel’s war, and a high number of tragic losses of our precious chayalim. The toll on those serving and their families is staggeringly painful and cannot be adequately recognized and appreciated.
At the same time, in the United States we are dealing with next week’s election and all that goes along with that. The message below addresses this issue with some perspective from our parsha.
Elections, Prayers, and Gefilte Fish
America is a deeply divided country on the verge of a hard fought and highly contentious election. We are working hard to get out the vote so that our community’s voice and concerns will be heard and considered. During these profoundly fraught times, we need elected officials at every level of government who will uplift our country, lead it effectively, and be responsive to the significant issues of concern to our community, domestically and around the world.
Where does God fit into this?
Personally, I have found that the dynamics of politics and elections tend to push God’s role into the background, requiring real effort to remind myself of Who is really in charge. This time around, that effort is even more needed than usual.
Our Sages (Avot 3:2) have taught us to pray for the welfare of the government for were it not for respect for its authority, “people would swallow one another alive.” The Talmud (Avoda Zara 4a) amplified this teaching by citing the prophet Chabakuk (1:14), “You have made humankind like the fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler.” Absent responsible and effective government, we are left in a state of anarchy where the powerful oppress the vulnerable in a manner that is comparable to the law of the seas where the big fish are expected to devour the small.
That metaphor may lend insight to a relevant feature of the flood that destroyed the world in Noach’s time. The Torah (Bereishit 6:22) notes specifically that everything on the dryland died, leading Rashi to highlight that the fish remained safe in the deepest depths of the sea. Commentaries suggest that the fish did not have to be destroyed as – unlike the animals – they did not share the earth’s morally toxic environment with people and were therefore not corrupted by them (Maharal Gur Aryeh). According to the Ben Ish Chai and many Chasidic masters, this symbol of immunity to moral corruption is what made gefilte fish a staple of our Shabbos tables.
There is, however, a different way to view it. The fundamental failure of society in Noach’s time was in its governance, as leaders used their positions to take advantage of the weak rather than protect them (Bereishit 6:2, Ramban). They were doomed to destruction by their divisions, in contrast to the builders of the Tower of Bavel who valued peaceful cooperation (Rashi 11:9). This is why their destruction came by way of a flood that made the earth into one big ocean of anarchy, appropriate for the fish who are meant to live that way but destructive to humanity who must not. We may enjoy eating gefilte fish, but we must love and protect other people.
In our shuls every Shabbos we fulfill the dictum of Rabbi Chanina to pray for the welfare of our government. During this especially sensitive time with the future of our government in play, America deeply divided, and an abundance of anarchy on our streets, the time is right – especially this Shabbos and next – to offer those prayers with greater focus and intensity.
And as we head to the polls to elect our representatives in government for the coming years, we pause and raise our eyes to recognize the One Who, regardless of who is elected, will always be in office, the King of all Kings in Whose hands lie the hearts and decisions of our human leaders (Mishlei 21:1). We daven that these momentous and intense days usher in a period of greater tranquility, cohesion, peace, and uplift for America, for Israel, and for the world. Amen.
Have a wonderful Shabbos, and may we blessed with besoros tovos, very good news.
Moshe Hauer