We Jews Have Our Own Constitution

Israel sorely needs one. But we’ve had a binding social contract since we stood at Mount Sinai.

A blast from the past that still resonates with us today.

On the eve of Rosh Hashanah 5784, a majority of Jews in the U.S. and Israel are deeply concerned about the future of democracy at home. 

I share those worries about societal laws that, though seemingly binding, can be ignored or overturned almost overnight by those in power. As Israelis vigorously debate the balance of power between its judicial and legislative branches, all sides agree that the only real solution is to finally create a Constitution for the Jewish State, a document of consensus that sets legal boundaries while assuring the rights of all of its citizens and protects against the abuse of power by politicians. That won’t happen anytime soon. The political climate is far too toxic for a sincere effort to bring opposing sides together. 

But Jews everywhere can take a measure of comfort in recognizing that we inherited and share a singular Constitution we can trace back to Mount Sinai. The Torah defines us. It is the foundational text of our faith, and outlines our responsibility to create a society that, in the words of the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, is based on “justice and compassion and the inalienable dignity of the human person as the image of God.”

We Jews have, and even take pride in, our differences – two Jews, three opinions, etc. We have a range of cultures, denominations and beliefs. But remarkably, over centuries of dispersion and persecution, the Torah has survived as the universal touchstone of our faith. Thousands of years after our encounter at Sinai, we continue the debate over the truest meaning of the text, and who wrote it, but not about the words themselves. In communities and synagogues around the world, each Torah has been written in a timeless tradition by scribes who painstakingly take ink and pen in hand and, as prescribed, copy each letter on parchment, with awe and intention. 

At a moment in time when we as a people appear hopelessly divided over increasingly deep political, religious and social differences, here and in Israel, we would do well to step back and reflect on the underlying message of the common Constitution that binds us – the Torah. And that is to balance the law (“Justice, justice shalt thou pursue,” Deut. 16:18-21:9) and compassion (“Love your neighbor as yourself,” Leviticus 19:18) in the pursuit of being a moral, if not holy, people. 

Only if and when we can see through our differences and respect each other as equals will we be able to find a common path forward. And the Torah can lead us there.

Shanah Tovah.  

A Rosh Hashanah Bonus: 

Helping The Next Generation Appreciate The ‘Treasure’ Of Being Jewish

This past Sunday morning, Bret Stephens, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Times and founding editor-in-chief of Sapir: A Journal of Jewish Conversations, joined me in conversation, via Zoom, on a wide range of issues, from Israel’s political crisis to countering anti-Semitism. 

The occasion was the annual program my family sponsors in memory of my parents, Rabbi Morris D. Rosenblatt and Rebbetzin Esther Rosenblatt, who served Congregation Kneseth Israel in Annapolis, Maryland with devotion for most of their lives. 

Near the end of our discussion, Bret made an impassioned case for embracing Jewish identity, not based on our history but on our future — a message that seems particularly appropriate for the eve of the new year.

Here is our 45-minute conversation: