We have just completed an election in which the American people are deeply divided. Half the country is happy, hopeful and victorious and half is sad, scared and defeated. Some even think that our democracy itself is a failed experiment. What does the Torah say about this? Can one take pride in the democratic process even if one believes that, as Alcuin of York wrote to Charlemagne in 798 CE, ”Those people should not be listened to who keep saying the voice of the people is the voice of God, since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness” (Works, letter 164 [1863])?
In the book of Shmuel (Chapter 8), the Jewish people tell the prophet Samuel that they want a king. Samuel assures them it is a terrible idea, that a king will persecute them, and when he does God will not come to their aid:
“This will be the practice of the king who will rule over you… He will seize your choice fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his courtiers… He will take a tenth part of your flocks, and you shall become his slaves. The day will come when you cry out because of the king whom you yourselves have chosen; and the Lord will not answer you on that day.”
Nevertheless the people feel vulnerable, they want protection and security, and they respond: “We must have a king over us, that we may be like all the other nations. Let our king rule over us and go out at our head and fight our battles.”
Samuel is beside himself since he knows this is a bad idea, and he asks God what to do. Surprisingly, God answers, “Heed their demands and appoint a king for them.”
It seems God values the consent of the governed over what the prophet knows is best. The voice of the people is more important than the right outcome.
Even before election day, people on both sides of the political aisle shared with me fears about their fate and the future of our country if the other side won. We can not control the future, but we can, through guarding our tongues, work hard to ensure that our community and our world remains one that is civil, caring and respectful even if we at times hear rhetoric from our leaders which does not hold up to our Jewish standards. As Ivanka Trump wrote on her X account on Nov. 4: “Avoid Lashon Hara / Gossip. Choose words that heal, not harm.”
Kesher Israel has always been the model of a community in which those on opposite sides of the political divide pray together, eat together and celebrate Torah and Jewish life together. Now, more than ever, the world needs us to continue this vital Kesher Israel tradition and to spread our culture of tolerance and appreciation for others who have very different perspectives from our own.