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Do I Renounce Satan?

November 3, 2024

I've been getting a lot of hate mail lately. From people on the right telling me I'm too left, and from people on the left telling me I'm too right. A couple days ago, I received an email from a Republican asking me if I "renounce" the Democrats. Right after that, I got a text from a Democrat asking me to "renounce" the Republicans!

Honestly, I have never really "renounced" anyone! (Plus, the only thing the word "renounce" reminds me of is when Michael Corleone renounces Satan in the Godfather baptism scene right as he's whacking all his enemies.)

One thing all the haters have in common is that they don't know me well and aren't familiar with the inner workings of JGO. I usually ignore them; they're just using the old Rabbi punching bag, and I can take a punch. But as the election this Tuesday brings the discourse to a fever pitch, it's kept me thinking about all those fan letters in my inbox.  

So for the record: who am I voting for? Sorry, but I'm not going to tell you. Which way does our organization lean? Nope, that's not us. Our job is to provide Jewish community for grad students. We stay in our lane. I always hated it when Rabbis would try to foist their politics on us, and I'm certainly not going to fall into that trap myself.

Our Jewish community is changing, and we are responsible to keep up with these changes. Today, people need love and belonging from the Jewish organizations they frequent. It needs to feel simple. It needs to feel refreshing. And the only way to create that environment amidst our diverse community is to remain apolitical.

While the nation at large is more divided than ever, our JGO campus programs are packed with grad students from across the political spectrum, united together. They're not coming to discuss U.S. politics, Israel's policies, or divisive issues in the Jewish community. Rather, they are coming to engage with the Jewish community, with their own Judaism, and to figure out what kind of Jewish life they'd like to lead after graduation. And we have one job: to help them do that.

Instead of pushing politics, let's push Judaism. Instead of supporting candidates, let's support each other. And instead of waiting for politicians to fix the world, let's start fixing it ourselves.

I'm a Rabbi, not Michael Corleone. I don't renounce people I disagree with, and I don't have political enemies. I'd rather bring people in than push them away. And this punching bag only gets stronger over time ? just like our Jewish community.

May the odds be ever in your favor

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