November 6, 2022|י"ב חשון ה' אלפים תשפ"ג Reflections on the Israeli Elections: Lessons We Can Learn From Avraham Avinu By Rabbi Jonathan Muskat

Israel is poised to have a stable government, at least for now. Some in our community are elated, while others are very anxious. Some are elated because we finally have a government with a strong religious Zionist party of 14 seats in the Knesset and the government is comprised of people who are right-wing both politically and religiously. Others are very anxious. They are concerned about the rise of Itamar Ben Gvir who is viewed as an extremist and someone who may undermine values of equality and inclusion, especially with regard to the minority Arab population. They are concerned about changes in religious-state issues which may increase religious coercion in the country. Essentially, Israel is forever living with the tension of being a both a Jewish and democratic state. Even within the orthodox community, we have differing views on what this should mean for a modern country. Some of us feel that Israel should be more “Jewish,” while others feel that it should be more “democratic.” Regardless of our political leanings, how should we feel about the outcome of the Israeli elections? Avraham Avinu highlights three values that are important to me in how we respond to elections, whether our candidate won or lost.

First, Avraham is a man of principle. He doesn’t sell out his values. After Avraham defeated the four kings and he rescued Lot and the five kings, including the king of Sodom, the king approaches Avraham and says, “ten li ha-nefesh v’ha’rechush kach lach” – “let me take the people and you take the money.” But Avraham does not want the possessions. He swears in the name of God, “im michut v’ad seroch na’al v'im ekach mikol asher lach” – I will not take so much as a thread or a sandal strap of what is yours, “v’lo tomar ani he’esharti et Avram” – you should not say, “It is I who made Avraham rich.” What’s fascinating is that earlier in the parsha, when Pharaoh wanted to take Sarah for himself, he gave Avraham gifts and Avraham had no problem taking those gifts. Why does he have no problem taking Pharaoh’s gifts but he doesn’t want to take even a thread or sandal strap from Sodom? Avraham tells us. It’s because “v’lo tomar ani he’esharti et Avram” – Avraham is concerned that the king of Sodom will assert that he made Avraham wealthy. He is not concerned that Pharaoh will make a similar assertion. I think the reason is that Avraham was not planning to live in Egypt, so he takes Pharaoh’s gifts and he leaves. However, Sodom is living in the land promised to Avraham Avinu. They are neighbors and Sodom wants to form an alliance of sorts with Avraham. Avraham suspects that the king of Sodom may want to go around saying that he enriched Avraham, that Avraham is who he is because of Sodom. That is dangerous, because Sodom’s value system is the antithesis of Avraham’s value system.

Avraham not aligning himself with Sodom highlights the concern of creating a misperception that you condone the values of someone with whom you align yourself. Unfortunately, the world of politics requires compromise with other parties who don’t share our values and a purist’s view of looking at things can create political gridlock. We have seen that in Israel with five elections in less than four years. Avraham’s model is always important to consider, but having a functional government is also important. So where does that leave us? Arab parties in the government or no Arab parties in the government? Coalition with the Charedim or no coalition with the Charedim? Should the centrist parties sit in the government with Netanyahu or not? Have Ben Gvir in the government or not have Ben Gvir in the government? These are difficult questions and they are even more difficult for people like us who do not live in Israel as we aren’t directly affected day-to-day by the answers to these questions. That being said, if for practical reasons we need to align ourselves with certain politicians who do not align with our political or ethical views, we need to make sure that we are like Avraham. Make it crystal clear that you don’t share their values.

Second, Avraham was an optimist. After Avraham defeated the four kings, Avraham questions God’s promise of having a spiritual successor. But why now? Why specifically after the war of the four kings and five kings does Avraham question God’s promise? I read a fascinating answer to this question by Rav Gad Eldad, a Ram at Yeshivat Har Etzion. He explains that Avraham always hoped Lot would return to him. When his shepherds and Lot’s shepherds quarreled, Avraham did not want to completely separate from Lot. He simply said, “ha’lo kol ha’aretz lefanecha hipared na lefanai im ha’smo’ol v’aimena v’im hayamin v’asm’ila.” He simply told Lot that the whole land is in front of him. He simply told Lot to take the land that they both want in this area or perhaps a broader area of land and allocate separate areas, so that their flocks won’t intermingle. Avraham tells Lot that Lot gets first pick, but never does Avraham seem to indicate that their separation should be permanent.

When Lot surprises Avraham by leaving him, Avraham does not believe that the separation is permanent. After all, God promised him zera, or children to succeed him and he’s too old to have children, so Lot must be the successor. Avraham is waiting and waiting for Lot to return. Avraham even risks his life and battles four kings simply to free his nephew whom he thinks will be his successor. Then what happens? The king of Sodom recognized the greatness of Avraham and greets him, Malkitzedek blesses Avraham, but there is one person who doesn’t greet Avraham and that person is Lot. Lot is nowhere to be found. That’s when Avraham comes to the tragic realization that Lot is not coming back, that the separation with Lot is permanent, that God’s promise will not be fulfilled with Lot, and that’s when Avraham has a crisis of faith and questions God.

Until that moment, Avraham was full of optimism. No matter what happens, Avraham is optimistic about Lot’s return, even in the face of all odds, even if at the end of the day, his optimism is not realized. I am inspired by Avraham’s optimism throughout his life and that is how I try to live my life. Was I happy about the last left-center government under Prime Ministers Bennett and Lapid? Am I happy about the soon-to-be right-wing government under Prime Minister Netanyahu? What I can say definitively is that I was and am optimistic about both governments. I was optimistic about a government that included a wide variety of parties including an Arab party in the hopes that if it worked out, then maybe this very diverse government will further strengthen the partnership between Jews and Arabs and create a more moderate Arab approach towards the Jewish state. I am also optimistic about the soon-to-be right-wing government. I am optimistic that it will finally provide much needed stability to the country. I know that there were concerns about the previous government and I know that there are concerns about the soon-to-be government, but the issues are very complicated and not clear cut. When that is the case, I hope to be like Avraham, optimistic and hopeful. It’s very easy to paint doomsday scenarios whenever your political candidate doesn’t win, but I choose to live my life being optimistic once I voted and the elections are decided.

Finally, Avraham teaches us the importance of flexibility. When he finally realizes that Lot is not coming back and when he realizes that it’s almost impossible to have a child at his age that he questions God, God responds that Avraham will have a biological child. Then the Torah states “v’he’emin ba’Hashem,” that Avraham had faith in this new plan. Until now, Avraham believed that he was not going to have children at his age. Naturally, this meant that Lot would continue his legacy. As such, he is understandably devastated by coming to grips with the reality that this will not be the case. He has a crisis of faith. But then God helps him shift his perspective, that maybe he will actually have a biological child to carry on his legacy, as unlikely as it seems. Avraham’s flexibility in his approach leads to a newfound faith.

For those who supported Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is a time to celebrate. For those who may feel devastated because your candidate did not win, it is a time to reflect, and shift our perspective, and not be so quick to simply demonize the other side. In fact, neither side should demonize the other side, whether our candidate won or lost. We need to be above that. If we experience loss like Avraham, we need to be flexible to perhaps change perspective a bit and try to understand why our candidate lost and what that says about the needs and desires of the people in our nation. Once we are flexible with our position, then “v’he’emin ba Hashem.” We can have faith in our new perspective.

These three values – being principled, optimistic and flexible – are critical in dealing with the very polarizing, challenging political landscape in which we find ourselves. This is true for the Israeli elections of this past week and this is true for the US midterm elections this coming week. Let us not allow the reality for political compromise preclude the simultaneous need to clarify our principles and values and what we stand for. Let’s be optimistic once the results are in and hope for the best for our country regardless of the outcome. I love what outgoing Prime Minister Lapid said. “I wish Netanyahu good luck for the people of Israel and the State of Israel.” Be optimistic about the future of our people in Israel and in America. And if the outcome didn’t go your way, be open to shift your perspectives to understand why the other side is not simply evil but maybe they are filling a need or a value for so many people in this country. If we can adopt these three values – being principled, optimistic and flexible, then we would not only do a great service to our country, but we would be following in the footsteps of Avraham Avinu.