Election Day / Judgment Day
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008Four years ago, Reb Zalman sent a letter to Rabbis regarding his suggestions for Election Day preparations. In it, he compares Election Day and Yom HaDin / the Day of Judgment and recommends that they be approached in similar ways, with Selichot / Prayers of humility and forgiveness, and fasting. Here’s the core ideas from the original letter, updated to reflect Reb Zalman’s thoughts for the current climate, as I heard them in a talk he recently gave for Ohalah. Gabbai Seth Fishman, BLOG Editor.
“To my Fellow and Sister Rabbis:
“Shalom. This coming November 2008, we will undertake the mitzvah / obligation of voting.
“Much depends on this election. It is indeed a Yom Hadin / Judgment Day.
“May God bless us with the wisdom to do what is right and to learn from what we have seen.
“May we, before entering the ballot chamber to vote, struggle with the questions of our time to the best of our abilities. I want to do so with an open mind, and I urge you to do the same.
“A really important part of this process is to openly raise the kinds of questions with which we must wrestle if we are to learn anything from what has befallen us.