Question: With the United States Presidential election at hand I am befuddled as to what to do. On the one hand I’ve always voted Democrat but with the economy and the war in Israel I’m leaning to the Republican ticket. My problem is that some question certain character traits of President Trump and his fitness for office. I really don’t think sitting out this election is a proper option. I read your columns and as such is it possible to present a Torah view in this matter.
No Name Please
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Answer: I’ve been asked my view in this matter but was hesitant to get involved as this is a halacha column. Yet I do have an opinion and I agree with you that one should not sit out this election.
The concept of democracy – the rule of the people goes back to ancient Greece. Yet it might have a source in the Torah in Parashat Shoftim (Deuteronomy 17:15) “Som tasim alecha melechasher yivchar Hashem Elokecha bo mi’kerev ahecha tasim alecha Melech lo tuchal latet alecha ish nochri asher lo achicha hu – You shall set over yourself a king whom Hashem, your G-d, shall choose; from among your brethren shall you set a king over yourself; you cannot place a foreign man over you who is not your brother.”
The above relates to the period after the entry of the children of Israel into the land beyond the Jordan River. Where they saw that the other nations had a king to rule and lead. As to the actual choosing of the king that had to be Divinely inspired via a prophet, just as we see that Samuel, the prophet, was tasked with seeking out Saul, a man of stature and sterling character, from the tribe of Benjamin, to serve as the first king. The democracy in that instance was their having sought a king and in their having accepted his rule over them.
The defining moments for modern democracy came when King John, granted the English people their liberties in the year 1215, via the Magna Carta a document that provided for the rule of the king alongside the people’s Parliament. The Magna Carta was considered by our nations founders to be such an important document that an original copy was patriated to United States and sits under glass in the Capitol Rotunda. Democracy further grew at the time of the American Revolution and the eventual adoption of the United States Constitution in 1787, with Article 1 providing for the landed gentry [those with the most at stake] the right to vote for their leaders, those who would lead and govern at every level of government. The founding fathers were religious men who firmly believed in G-d and as such sought their inspiration from Him in granting all rights as being from G-d.
Later on voting rights were expanded beyond the landed gentry to all free men and later at the freeing of the slaves to include black people [however universal suffrage for them would first come later] and at the beginning of the twentieth century came women’s suffrage. With the late twentieth century civil rights movement finally came enforcement of Black voting rights. Thus today in America every legal citizen has the right to vote in elections. And that is not only a right but a responsibility as well.
Our sages understood the importance of orderly governance with the statement of Rabbi Chanina S’gan HaKohanim (Avot 3:2) “Pray for the welfare of the government, for if not for its dread each will swallow his fellow [within a lawless society].”
Rashi (Genesis 1:1) reveals to us the reason for creation, Bereishit – for G-d’s reishit – His firstborn Yisrael – Israel the Jewish nation who were to accept His Torah. As the reason for creation the Jewish people are tasked with aspiring to an orderly social order whereby all are free to follow and promote peace wherever they sojourn.
The American citizenry, both Jew and gentile, have a G-d-given responsibility to upkeep the constitution in these United States of America, to ensure the freedoms that the founding fathers fought for remain intact.
I would like to quote from my dear friend, colleague and halacha columnist on these pages, Rabbi Aharon Ziegler the author of Halachic Rulings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, that appear in The Jewish Press. In a column some time back he states as follows: “Some of our Biblical giants had natural instincts for doing the right thing. They had the inclination and intuition that helped to lead them in the correct path to make proper decisions. Others, on the other hand, had to struggle to achieve their goals. They made mistakes, they erred and fell, but eventually rose to overcome their shortcomings and emerged victorious. What characteristics and qualities should we seek in our leaders, our rabbanim and our manhigim?
According to Rav Soloveitchik, the Torah advises us and guides us in making such choices. We find that Yosef and Yehuda represent two opposite personalities. Rambam, in his introduction to the eighth chapter of Tractate Sanhedrin, describes Yosef as a “chasid me’uleh,” one who naturally gravitates to that which is morally sound and correct. When his father sent him on a mission to check the welfare of his brothers, he went without hesitation in spite of the fact that he knew full well that his brothers despised him and wished him harm. When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him, Yosef repeatedly resisted her advances.
“Yehuda, on the other hand, is referred to as a “moshel benefesh,” one who stumbles and gives in to temptation but ultimately recovers. He entered into a relationship with Tamar (his daughter-in-law), thinking she was but a prostitute. Later, he publicly acknowledged that he was the father of her unborn child. Yehuda was the one responsible for selling Yosef into slavery, yet when it came to sparing Yaakov the grief of losing Binyamin, it was Yehuda who rose to the occasion.
“What type of individual would be most suited for a Rabbinic position or for a leadership role in the community? What type of person could best serve as a role model for children and adults? Yaakov believed it was Yosef, the son who seemed perfect in everything he undertook, and so he groomed him for that position by providing him with a ketonet passim, a multi-colored garment symbolizing royalty. But Hashem had other plans, for very few people could aspire to reach the heights of Yosef HaTzaddik, the righteous Joseph. Most of us are like Yehuda: we fall and fall again, but are able to learn from our mistakes. It was for this reason that the Torah states (Bereishit 49:10), “Lo yasur shevet miYehuda,” the staff of authority shall not depart from Yehuda. The Torah is realistic and down to earth. Leaders are not infallible, they are not perfect, and they do make mistakes. But if they can learn from their mistakes, picking themselves up and climbing to greater heights, they are truly worthy of our confidence.” Thus concludes Rav Soloveitchik.
I will add that throughout the period of the Shoftim – the judges, before there was a king in Israel the people in the land of Israel were ruled by judges and leaders that were chosen by the prophets and sages to lead them. One of those leaders was Jephthah – Yiftach, whose mother as a second wife married out of her tribe to Gilead and bore him Yiftach. As such his brothers, the sons of Gilead’s first wife and the leaders of Gilead cast him out as an outsider and of lower caste. However, when they were faced with the enemy, Ammon, they turned to Yiftach, who though they considered him to be of lower caste they knew him to be a leader. Indeed as a leader Divine inspiration came upon him and he served them for six years..
Thus our Talmud (Rosh Hashana 25 a-b) teaches a rule Yiftach b’doro k’Shmuel b’doro – Jephthah in his generation is as Samuel in his generation. We choose a leader who has the necessary qualities for his generation.
We now come to the candidates for the current Presidential election. There are two candidates, Kamala Harris who serves as vice president in the now lame duck Biden administration; and Donald Trump whose presidency immediately preceded the current one.
If we compare the two, the Biden – Harris administration has weakened the American economy and failed as well on the world scene. On the other hand under the Trump administration the economy was doing quite well and beginning the recovery from the Obama administration that preceded it. It is hard to imagine any of the current world wide strife being possible under a strong Trump administration and that includes the horrors and catastrophe that the people of Israel have endured on October 7, 2023 as well as the ongoing war on four fronts, Gaza from the west, Hezbollah in the north, Iran from the east, and the Houthis from the south.
Two other short and simple facts – both the Obama and Biden administrations were soft in their support of Israel when it was attacked in the UN by withholding their veto for crucial anti-Israel UN Security Council votes.
It was Donald Trump who not only moved the American Embassy to Jerusalem, Israel’s eternal capital, as promised by numerous previous administrations albeit never delivered, but who also initiated the Abraham Accords bringing greater peace to the Middle East and to the nation of Israel. We as Jews, under this administration are suffering a resurgence of the antisemitism that we all thought was a relic of the past.
Additionally to question Donald Trump’s character in relation to either Joe Biden, Kamala Harris or Tim Walz is like the pot calling the kettle black.
We as loyal citizens and as Jews must vote for a better America and as Jews, express our gratitude – Hakarat HaTov to Donald Trump and elect him our 47th president. In my estimation he is the candidate that deserves our unqualified support.
