ByYoni Birnbaum, Yoni Birmbaum
It cannot be right for rabbis to sit there quietly, not voicing an opinion on any thorny, politically sensitive issue, says Yoni Birnbaum. But how do religious leaders stay on the right side of the political line?
April 1, 2019 13:29
According to legend, David Ben Gurion once gave some simple but direct advice to a group of rabbinic acquaintances: “Rabbis —stay out of politics.” Fair enough if you aren’t a rabbi. But if that happens to be your profession, the question of how political to be is one with which plenty of rabbis regularly grapple.
The issue is particularly timely, not just because of Brexit but because we are now in the run-up to an Israeli election. Historically at least, that means it is high season for rabbis to attempt to give a political viewpoint. And not all politically charged questions can be dodged in the style of the rabbi in Fiddler on the Roof, who, when queried whether there is a blessing for the Tsar, famously responds: “Of course, keep him… far away from us!”
Admittedly, certain topics are safer than others. Recently, I spoke about the bravery of Luciana Berger and her colleagues in resigning over the abject failure of the leadership of the Labour Party to deal with antisemitism in the party.
After the service, a congregant approached me and advised me that I had chosen a completely safe topic to speak about, because, in his words: “We all agree about Corbyn”. But is that really the best measuring stick for a rabbinic sermon? To be a crowd-pleaser, only speaking out on politically safe topics? Surely not. Life would be boring.
At the same time, plenty of rabbis have been caught out by being too overtly political, coming down on one side or the other of a sensitive issue and alienating half their community as a result. Rabbis also have a responsibility to remember that the charitable status of their organisation may make it essential that they remain politically neutral during a live election campaign, ensuring that they do not attempt to influence the manner in which their congregants vote.
And I can also understand Ben Gurion’s point of view from another perspective. Why should it be a rabbi’s place at all to voice an opinion on Brexit, or whether a particular Israeli politician is suitable for high office? Rabbis pray for divine inspiration, it is true. But that doesn’t mean it is always granted.
Yet, it cannot be right for rabbis to sit there quietly, not voicing an opinion on any thorny, politically sensitive issue. The primary role of a rabbi is as a teacher of Torah and Torah-values, and most importantly of all, someone who attempts to live by those values, thereby setting an example to others. In the context of any major political issue, values and value-judgments are usually front and centre of the debate.
So, a rabbi must be able to call out wrong-doing where it exists, or to highlight how essential the protection of moral values is for us as individuals, as a community, and for the people of Israel.
The Israeli political scene is fiendishly complicated. Here, too, I would argue that it is not a rabbi’s place to advocate for a particular political movement. But it is a rabbi’s place to express a view on the values underpinning the way Israel approaches the challenges it faces or addresses the behaviour of its leading politicians. Equally, it is entirely appropriate for a rabbi to publicly decry the worrying rise of extremist movements and attitudes in politics, whether in Israel or elsewhere.
We live in a world of relative values, where people in positions of power are often able to twist values to suit their own ends. Surely, in that environment, it must be a primary function of spiritual leaders to not only express a view on the key issues at stake, drawing from the wellsprings of Jewish tradition and learning in order to do so, but to highlight the fact that, without the correct values at the heart of any political decision taken, the future is likely to be bleak both for the electorate and their leadership.
In this sense, during the current political season, I think it is entirely appropriate that rabbis make their views known from the pulpit. To be sure, apropos Ben Gurion, they should stay out of trying to make political decisions on behalf of their congregants. But that should not mean abdicating responsibility regarding discussing politics entirely. The world needs a sense of moral vision today more than ever before.
Yoni Birnbaum is rabbi of Hadley Wood synagogue