{"id":80236,"date":"2024-03-29T13:24:09","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T18:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=80236"},"modified":"2024-03-31T13:41:09","modified_gmt":"2024-03-31T18:41:09","slug":"op-ed-sen-joseph-lieberman-a-personal-tribute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/op-ed-sen-joseph-lieberman-a-personal-tribute\/","title":{"rendered":"OP-ED: Sen. Joseph Lieberman: A personal tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By RABBI WARREN GOLDSTEIN<\/p>\n<p>(JNS.org) \u2013 The words that come to me as I absorb with great sadness the sudden passing of former Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, of blessed memory, are from the verses describing his namesake, Joseph in ancient Egypt: How all who encountered him, from the top echelons of government to those imprisoned in its dungeons, could see that \u201cGod was with him, and everything he did, God made succeed in his hand.\u201d (Genesis 39:3). As Pharaoh himself said, on appointing Joseph the prime minister of Egypt, \u201cCould we find another like him\u2014a man who has the spirit of God within him \u2026 there is no one as insightful and wise.\u201d (<em>Genesis<\/em> 41:38-39)<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_60789\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/GettyImages-486181348.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-60789\" class=\"wp-image-60789 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/GettyImages-486181348-300x198.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/GettyImages-486181348-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/GettyImages-486181348-768x506.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/GettyImages-486181348.jpg 880w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/198;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-60789\" class=\"wp-image-60789 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/GettyImages-486181348-300x198.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/GettyImages-486181348-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/GettyImages-486181348-768x506.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/GettyImages-486181348.jpg 880w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-60789\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sen. Joe Lieberman, z&#8221;l. (Photo by Andrew Burton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Like Joseph in ancient Egypt, as a U.S. senator, Lieberman held high office in a global superpower, succeeding in everything he did and enjoying Divine blessings. God\u2019s ambassador for the Torah\u2019s noblest attributes\u2014humility, wisdom, integrity and compassion\u2014he was the ultimate&nbsp;<em>Kiddush Hashem<\/em>, sanctifying the Divine name in the world, carrying it with befitting dignity and grace.<\/p>\n<p>Lieberman was a public servant in the truest sense, living, as our sages describe, \u201cfor the sake of Heaven.\u201d His memoir,&nbsp;<em>In Praise of Public Life,<\/em>&nbsp;is a tribute to the idea of politics for a higher purpose. The book is about the importance of making a difference; of getting involved in public life in order to make the world a better place. He writes, paraphrasing&nbsp;<em>Pirkei Avot<\/em>&nbsp;(\u201cThe Ethics of Our Fathers\u201d): \u201cThe day is short \u2026 and there is much work to be done,&nbsp;<em>tikkun olam<\/em>, repairing our government and improving our beloved country and world. We are not required to complete the work ourselves, but, as good and grateful citizens, we cannot withdraw from it either.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The senator was a man of principle. He was the first national Democrat to publicly criticize President Bill Clinton for his infidelity, drawing the anger of his party and risking his political career. And yet, the following year, Al Gore\u2014vice president under Clinton\u2014turned to Lieberman to join the ticket for the 2000 presidential elections, making him the first Jewish candidate on a major-party ticket for the White House.<\/p>\n<p>But Lieberman wasn\u2019t just Jewish by birth; he was a proud, vocal Jew, unreserved and totally committed to his Judaism. In the heat of the campaign, he made it publicly known that he would not be campaigning on Shabbat. As renowned political commentator Charles Krauthammer put it, \u201cJews in American public life are old news; Orthodox Jews are not. \u2026 Which is why Lieberman\u2019s entry onto the national stage is so significant. It not only confirms and ratifies the full entry of Jews into the higher councils of American life. It marks the entry of Judaism into the deeper recesses of the American consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And at the heart of the senator\u2019s own Jewish consciousness was Shabbat. In the opening pages of&nbsp;<em>The Gift of Rest<\/em>\u2014the title of his book on the subject\u2014he describes how delayed by an important vote at the Senate, he had to walk home one Friday night in the rain:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cIt\u2019s Friday night and it\u2019s one of those torrential downpours that we get in Washington, D.C., and I\u2019m walking from the Capitol to my home in Georgetown getting absolutely soaked\u2014the 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\u2014indeed, I cannot\u2014accept a ride in the car.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on this symbolic moment he wrote, \u201cSabbath observance is a gift that has anchored, shaped and inspired my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was through Lieberman\u2019s passion for Shabbat that I got to know him personally. We shared a vision of spreading Shabbat in the world. He kindly joined the International Advisory Board of The Shabbat Project, giving so generously of his time and effort, and sharing his connections and wisdom. He was a cherished advisor and mentor, and his gentle warmth and friendship meant the world to me. I will miss him dearly.<\/p>\n<p>&gt;Our world is dimmer without Sen. Joseph Lieberman. Let us illuminate it by living the values he personified\u2014sharing the light of Shabbat, dignity, decency and faith in our world.<\/p>\n<p>May his memory be a blessing, like his beloved Shabbat, \u201cthe source of all blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Rabbi Warren Goldstein is the Chief Rabbi of South Africa.<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"OP-ED%3A%20Sen.%20Joseph%20Lieberman%3A%20A%20personal%20tribute\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":60789,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[8790,8795,8509,8788,13676],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80236"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80238,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80236\/revisions\/80238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}