Rabbi Steve Segar's message in Havurah Happenings
The newsletter of the Reconstructionist Havurah of Cleveland   November 2002

Get to the polls: It's the Jewish thing to do.

One of the most well known dimensions of Mordecai Kaplan's thought involves his insistence upon the need for cross fertilization between the Jewish and American civilizations if American Judaism is to survive and thrive. In particular, he emphasized the role of democracy in this process. On one hand, he observed that for most American Jews, being exposed to democratic experiences in the public arena would make it very difficult if not impossible to accept the traditional authority of rabbis and of Jewish law. Thus, Jewish communal practices and decision making would have to be more democratic if Jews were to remain involved and committed.

On the other hand however, Kaplan also believed that Jews would have much to contribute to the American democracy by bringing traditional Jewish values and ethical insights to bear on the way in which contemporary issues are discussed, analyzed and voted on. In other words, we would become better Americans to the extent that we are conversant with and knowledgeable about Judaism. Kaplan also argued that Democracy as a political system in the abstract deserved Jewish loyalty and support since it was the most effective approach to politics that has yet been developed for maximizing the possibility that people will treat one another beings created in the Divine image. In this context, it is easy to see why for Kaplan, participating in the annual pilgrimage to the voting booth had both American and Jewish significance. I believe that Kaplan would even argue that it is a mitzvah, a commandment to vote in an election.

Therefore, it is in this spirit that I offer the following new blessing to be recited as one stands in the voting booth this coming election day:

Rabbi Steve