Joe Lieberman And The Gift Of Rest

“Joe Lieberman was the best of them- and there’s not a close second.”

So read the headline of an article written in memoriam of the senator who passed away this week.

The article (Mark Mckinnon, Vanity Fair) continued to extol his virtues. “Everything that is good about humanity and politics Joe Lieberman beamed like a lighthouse. He was generous, kind, smart, spiritual, and thoughtful. And he extended grace to everyone. I never heard him say an unkind word about a soul. He was the sort of man who would take as much time asking an office assistant about their well-being as he did asking the office assistant’s boss, a colleague, or a US senator.”

Mr. Lieberman had a long career in politics but when he retired, instead of a memoir about his accomplishments, he wrote a book about Shabbat observance and how life-enhancing it had been for him.

Observing Shabbat as a senator came at no small price. There were occasions where he walked for hours from his apartment to Capitol Hill to be present during an important vote on Shabbat, and — perhaps more often — he would be held up in the Senate late on a Friday evening for some important vote or another, and he would be forced to walk many miles home.

Nonetheless, he wrote that his career was not at all negatively affected by his Shabbat observance. On the contrary, people appreciated his religious commitment, and when they saw that he was consistent about it, they respected him even more.

His book, “The Gift of Rest,” reads like a love song to Shabbat. The entire goal of the book is to remind young Jewish Americans that one could cherish Shabbat and still be successful, and in fact, the Shabbat observance will actually enhance the success as well.

He makes an interesting point; while the three holidays of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot were celebrated by traveling all the way to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, Shabbat is a day which brings the holiness right into your living room.

He tries to bring the reader into the Shabbat experience. He describes how he attends synagogue, a space where he is no longer “the distinguished senator,” and not even Joe, but is instead “Yosef Yisrael,” his Jewish name with which he is called to the Torah. All week long, he listens to politicians pontificating, but during the Torah reading, he finally has the pleasure of listening to the word of G-d.

The key to Shabbat, he notes, is that it doesn’t only remain in the synagogue. When it comes to synagogue observance, Jews are divided. The real place for bonding is over a Shabbat meal; when it comes to Kiddush and challah and a delicious meal, being. different isn’t a source of conflict.

He was once asked what to do about the lack of Jewish unity in Israel. His response was that we need more “shul candy men.”

In many synagogues, there is a person responsible for handing out candies to children during the service to make the experience more enjoyable for them. “Maybe it’s time,” he said, “to have candy men for adults”. We need to look for ways to make Judaism enjoyable and meaningful for adults as well. He suggested learning by example from the Rebbe on how to look for the good and for the positive in every Jew.

In this week’s Torah portion, we read about the mitzvah to have a steady and constant flame burning on the altar (during the Holy Temple period).

Today, that steady flame refers to the Jewish passion that must be maintained in our heart.

Just as the altar’s fire had to be fueled with wood, our fire must be fueled too. Consistent practice of a mitzvah, Torah study or prayer is fuel for our heart’s passion.

Mr. Lieberman’s pride in his Jewish observance fueled the steady enthusiasm in his soul. May we all learn from his example.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom.