A Different Kind Of Election

Pay attention to this ballot box from the LaMerchav Ulpanah in Petach Tikvah (a girls school). Elections were declared there this week. Every student chooses one character trait that she would like to improve for the coming new year, a trait she would like to fix, and puts it in a ballot box.

The choices are: humility, looking at others favorably, initiative, perseverance, integrity, joy, and more.

At the end of the elections, all the notes will be counted, and the results will be translated next year into workshops and studying sessions.

I asked the girls for an explanation of their project, and they replied: “For us it is a reminder that the elections [in Hebrew, “elections” also means “choices”] do not really end today. It’s important to vote, but choosing is not a one-time event.

“Free choice is a fundamental principle in Judaism, and we choose each and every moment how to conduct ourselves in this world. May we merit to make good choices.”