Our Shared Responsibility to Vote

Shabbat Shalom,

Politics was never something we discussed around my parents’ dinner table. Truth be told, it still isn’t.

We talked about school, what was happening at synagogue, and plans with friends for the weekend. Between bites, we debated baseball, laughed about old family stories, and received plenty of (often unsolicited) parental advice. But politics? That was left outside the front door.

What was discussed was something far more important: responsibility.

My parents believed that being an American was both a blessing and an obligation. They didn’t tell us how to vote. They taught us that we should vote. Every election. Every time. It wasn’t about party. It was about participation.

As Jews, we understand that principle deeply.

One of the most powerful words in our tradition is Hineni. “Here I am.”

When God calls to Abraham, Moses, Isaac, and others throughout our sacred texts, they respond with a single word: Hineni. It is more than an acknowledgment of presence. It is a declaration of responsibility. It says, I am here. You can count on me.

While Judaism has never been a spectator faith, American democracy has given us a remarkable way to answer that call: by participating.

I’ve always been especially proud of my own family’s story.

Several generations ago, my ancestors settled in Wyoming. Long before Wyoming became a state, and fifty years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment, women there had already won the right to vote. That means the women in my family, Jewish immigrant women building new lives on the American frontier, were among the first women in our nation to cast a ballot.

Think about that journey for a moment.

To come from the shtetl of Eastern Europe, where Jews possessed so few rights and so little influence over their own future, to arrive in America and have the women of your family recognized as full participants in civic life it is nothing short of extraordinary.

Needless to say, in our family, voting has always been taken seriously.

It is more than a civic responsibility. It is an inheritance.

It is a reminder that rights are precious, participation is sacred, and democracy depends on ordinary people choosing to show up.

That same spirit inspired countless Jewish women who fought for suffrage across the United States. Leaders such as Maud Nathan, Lillian Wald, Hannah G. Solomon, and Rose Schneiderman believed that the pursuit of justice did not end at the doors of the synagogue. Their Jewish values compelled them to work so that more Americans could have a voice in shaping our nation’s future.

Today, we are not being called from a burning bush.

But we are being called. Called to care about our neighbors. Called to strengthen our communities. Called to participate.

Voting is one of the clearest ways we answer Hineni.

“Here I am.”

As an American.

As a Jew.

As someone who cares deeply about the values at the heart of both.

And as someone who recognizes that generations before us sacrificed so that we could have a voice today.

With Missouri’s Primary Election Day approaching on August 4, make sure you know your polling location (which you can look up here). Or take advantage of in-person early voting, which began July 21 (find locations and hours in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County).

And when the election is over, continue to do what Jews have done for generations: disagree with respect, seek understanding over division, and remember that we are one people even when we hold different opinions. The Talmud is built upon vigorous debate conducted with dignity. Our democracy should aspire to the same.

Wishing you and your loved ones a peaceful, meaningful, and restorative Shabbat.