Steven Waldman's recent Beliefnet post on Republican VP nominee, Sarah Palin indicates that significant numbers of Jews find the governor "scary." But she doesn't scare me, at least not as a Jew. She does, however, make comments about God and God's will that make it unclear if she wants to be the next Vice President or the nation's leading prophet.
Suggesting that the Iraq war is "a task from God" and that a gas pipeline is "God's will," makes me wonder if she knows that those are not the same job. I don't know why that should be particularly scary to Jews, but it should command the attention of anyone giving serious consideration to the McCain/Palin ticket or anyone who wants to campaign against them intelligently.
Hoping that one's actions are in line with God's desires is not surprising, if one believes in God and in a God who possesses a will about how humans should behave. But proclaiming to know that will with such clarity and certainty regarding issues that so many people can properly disagree, is more than a little problematic....unless of course you really know! In which case, Governor Palin would actually be doing us all a favor by making sure that we do what is absolutely true, right, and good. But she can't know that for sure, and talking as if she does is sloppy at best, and dangerous at worst.
While many people will surely be uncomfortable with Governor Palin's choice to introduce the concept of God's will into her political discourse, it's really the specificity of her claims and the clarity with which she makes them that is most problematic. I mean, nobody got particularly distressed when Senator Obama prayed for humility and wisdom at Jerusalem's Western Wall. And that is probably because his request was sufficiently vague and mutually agreeable so as not to get anybody really upset. But that just means that our anxiety is not a function of politicians sharing their spiritual aspirations in public, as much as it is about their claiming to channel absolute truth through their chosen policies, which makes a great deal of sense.
To be fair, Palin's comments about the War in Iraq were not as problematic as those she made about the pipeline. In speaking about the war, she said "Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God, that's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is God's plan." Like Senator Obama, she was praying that the decisions of our government reflect the highest values, which guide her life. That's actually a good thing--indicating ongoing questioning and her willingness to seek the right path to follow. I may disagree with her path and/or her conclusions, but I hope that we all share that process.
But her comments about the pipeline are another story all together. She did not pray that the pipeline was a good idea. She told a roomful of people that God thought it was a good idea. That's the opposite of prayer, it's prophecy! And there is no room in a democracy for elected officials who believe that they are prophets. By definition, prophets draw their authority from a direct relationship with God. Our elected officials draw their power from the electorate--at least they are supposed to!
I have no problem with Sarah Palin sharing her religious beliefs with us--in fact, if they are going to inform her political thinking, she has a moral obligation to do that. But we should all have a problem with a prophet who wants to hold political office. So I invite Ms. Palin to think about her beliefs, her choice of words, and to decide which she wants to be: a prophet or a politician. Both may be real jobs, but you can't hold both jobs at the same time. Sarah Palin needs to make her decision or John McCain needs to find a new running mate.
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Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of 
Scott R,
What do you have against uneducated people?
What do you have against religious zealots?
What do you have against politicians who use irrational fear to impose their corrupt policies on America?
Where do you get these bizarre ideas about freedom of speech. If you will just listen to Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, and the good rabbi, you won't go wrong. Their hands are directed by G-d's wisdom.
I pray that Sarah Palin will send her pastor to exorcise the witches from your soul so that you may be save by the Love Jesus.
Here in Canada, we consider you American folk more than just neighbors, you are our friends, brothers and sisters and we really do care about you. When we see someone who could potentially be the president of your country using the same kind of rhetoric you would expect from an Islamic extremist - “Gods Will” (in reference to God's plan for the war in Iraq), we get very frightened. Regardless of your religious beliefs, it seems very clear that actual mortals will be ultimately responsible for solving these man-made problems. Not only is it totally irresponsible to lay this on God’s shoulder (yet again), maybe one should consider that perhaps this is God’s test to see if we have evolved enough to actually clean up our own mess without divine intervention and perhaps if we can’t, maybe we don’t deserve to continue as a species. Good luck to you, the world is watching to see just exactly who America has become - the various possibilities make me feel like praying.
Re: The "will of G-d."
ט לַעֲשׂוֹת-רְצוֹנְךָ אֱלֹהַי חָפָצְתִּי; וְתוֹרָתְךָ, בְּתוֹךְ מֵעָי. 9 I delight to do Thy will, O my El; yea, Thy Torah is in my inmost parts.' Psalm 40:8
It appears we are all amiss about The Eternal One's "will". Using the principle of "parallellism", "will" equates to "Torah" [teaching or instruction by way of example].
Mis-information is abundant in this age of information.
יב יֵשׁ דֶּרֶךְ יָשָׁר, לִפְנֵי-אִישׁ; וְאַחֲרִיתָהּ, דַּרְכֵי-מָוֶת. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12
ב כָּל-דֶּרֶךְ-אִישׁ, יָשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו; וְתֹכֵן לִבּוֹת יְהוָה. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes [wisdom]; but the Eternal One weigheth the hearts. Proverbs 21:2
Re: The "will of G-d."
ט לַעֲשׂוֹת-רְצוֹנְךָ אֱלֹהַי חָפָצְתִּי; וְתוֹרָתְךָ, בְּתוֹךְ מֵעָי. 9 I delight to do Thy will, O my El; yea, Thy Torah is in my inmost parts.' Psalm 40:8
It appears we are all amiss about The Eternal One's "will". Using the principle of "parallellism", "will" equates to "Torah" [teaching or instruction by way of example].
Mis-information is abundant in this age of information.
יב יֵשׁ דֶּרֶךְ יָשָׁר, לִפְנֵי-אִישׁ; וְאַחֲרִיתָהּ, דַּרְכֵי-מָוֶת. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12
ב כָּל-דֶּרֶךְ-אִישׁ, יָשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו; וְתֹכֵן לִבּוֹת יְהוָה. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes [wisdom]; but the Eternal One weigheth the hearts. Proverbs 21:2
New Beginning, Laura ,Scott R,Canadian contributor and others(not forgetting the esteemed,honorouble Rabbi),
I strongly commend and highly applaud you for your persperctive on the matter at hand and am in total agreement. Yet I am ushering in a perspective that no one seems to have pointed at as a reason to avoid this hunteress of Alaska like plague. In broad daylight (figure of speech) and on a forum of national if not international magnitude, this woman had the audacity to laugh at and mock community organization/leadership and the grassroots. She totally seemed to be ignorant of the fact that her power as mayor, govenor and what have you is based on the very grassroots/community organisation and leadership. In essence, she laughed at and mocked all us- the electorate- since we are essentially the community, the grassroots, the basic!. She mocked and laughed at us together with some of the greatest/most brilliant souls in human History, who remain our light and beacon more in death than in life and who were essentially community organizers/leaders in life. Included in this category is the likes of Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Theresa and the Greatest Rabbi of all times: The Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth (just to mention a few). Only Republican, ignorance, audacity and arrogance would be capable of that and still claim salvation from damnation through the same Rabbi. What hippocracy and double standards!
Yet, because 'you can take a horse to the water BUT cannot make it drink' come November 4, we shall ALL collectively and individually hand her the key to the whitest house on the planet. Why? because we have neither the audacity nor the gumption nor enough caring to read with candour and comprehension such fine works as: The Audacity of Hope & Dreams of My Father and et cetera! I am willing to stand corrected and no wonder it is STILL a White House instead of a color-free neutral and Human House!
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