Democrats and the Torah

If the Democrats do consult the Torah, they will realize – right at the beginning – something that may surprise them: They should be feeling great right now.

After the recent resounding Republican victory, the Democrats have started a process of determining how they lost so conclusively. They are looking at politics, candidates and much else – but there is one source that none seems to have consulted. This is the Torah, the sacred text for Jews and Christians that starts with Genesis and concludes with Deuteronomy. Why the Torah? It is, as Moses asserts in Deuteronomy, the ultimate guidebook – designed to provide practical and actionable direction for all people, of all faiths, in all times. This astonishing claim, as I demonstrate in my forthcoming book, “God Was Right,” has validated by modern social science.

If the Democrats do consult the Torah, they will realize – right at the beginning – something that may surprise them: They should be feeling great right now.

It is Genesis 4 and Cain, the elder son of Adam and Eve, brings a simple offering to God “from the fruit of the soil”. His brother Abel, a pastoralist, similarly brings an offering, but does so “from the firstlings of his flock and their choicest”.

With Abel having given his best and Cain having given an inferior offering, God, we read, “turned to Abel and his offering, but to Cain and his offering he did not turn.” Cain is both angry and sad – he is, in a word, devastated. Today’s Democrats could relate.

God has advice for Cain. First, He asks why Cain is upset – as if Cain’s reaction is unnecessary and even mystifying. But God explains his question, saying: “Surely, if you improve yourself, you will be forgiven.”

Defeat, God teaches, presents a remarkable opportunity. It enables learning, improving and incorporating lessons that enable one to live better long into the future.

Cain rejects the opportunity -- luring his brother Abel into a field, and killing him. Cain is cursed by God to wander the earth purposelessly and aimlessly.

If the Democrats want to avoid the fate of Cain – which, as the Torah makes clear, was far from inevitable – how might they do so? The Torah is an abundant source of guidance. Here are but three of the many lessons they may glean from an honest assessment of their loss:

1. Celebrate Viewpoint Diversity and Make a Republican Friend. In the waning days of Vice-President Harris’s campaign, she and her surrogates took to crowds and the media. Kamala Harris said that Donald Trump was a fascist – implying that his supporters were also fascists, or too stupid to realize that they were supporting one. President Biden said that Trump supporters were “garbage.” New York Governor Kathy Hochel said that Trump voters were “anti-American.” Hillary Clinton said, well before the rally at Madison Square Garden, that it was akin to a Nazi rally – as the American Nazi Party held an event there in 1939. President Obama said that black men who were not supporting Kamala Harris were sexist. MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said that Latino men who supported President Trump were racist. How could these Democrat leaders believe such things about more than half of their countrymen?

Cue Genesis 11:1: “The whole earth was of one language and a common set of words.” The seeming redundancy is intentional. “One language” refers to the actual mode of communication, while “a common set of words” refers to the content. Everyone, it seems, was required to use a prescribed vocabulary. And with that uniform set of words came a uniform set of beliefs. Everyone, in other words, thought the same. They decide to construct a “tower with its top in the heavens” – but do so “in a valley.” This was, perhaps, the most ill-fated building project ever. The people knew that God doesn’t have a physical house in the sky, and certainly not one that they could reach by building a structure – particularly starting from a valley. However, the absence of viewpoint diversity leads to very stupid thinking.

Do the Democrats, perhaps, speak with a “common set of words”? While they don’t all do so, a consideration of the intellectual milieu in which many reside is instructive. Try going into a “progressive circle” and wondering what exactly is meant by “the future is female,” challenging the assumption behind “check your privilege,” or questioning whether there is really a “global climate crisis.” Expect to be ushered out of there -- probably on the grounds that you made those in the group feel “unsafe,” “spread misinformation,” “invalidated other’s experiences,” “promoted hate” or something else that would fit into a “common set of words.”

The data from the social science literature is also instructive. A study by YouGov in 2020 and another by AEI in 2021, found that Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to report having no friends from the other party.

If the Democrats want to really understand Republicans – and a lot of swing voters – they would do well to cultivate the viewpoint diversity that God expressed the need for in Genesis 11.

If they engage with genuine respect, and a spirit of friendship and brotherhood – they will learn a lot. They will likely see what the social science data shows: that conservatives are more likely to have happy marriages, are more charitable, more likely to volunteer and even more likely to give blood than are liberals. They will find plenty of other grounds as well for respect that will make them recoil the next time a Democrat says that only racists, sexists, Nazis, anti-Americans and idiots vote Republican.

If a Democrat engages socially with Republicans (or doesn’t) and still thinks that Trump voters are “garbage,” the Torah offers more guidance. In Numbers 23, the high priest (Aaron) blesses the people. The ancient Rabbinic commentators, observing the words that describe how he does so, decreed a rule: One cannot bless the people without loving them. A leader who does not love the people should find another profession.

2. Have a rigorous and coherent policy agenda. What specifically, aside from abortion access (which is now determined by the states), did Kamala Harris stand for or want to accomplish as President? Clearly, the American voter struggled to work it out – which is why she and Tim Walz framed their campaign in terms of “vibes” and “joy.”

They were not the first politicians to base a campaign on virtually nothing. In Numbers 16, Korach foments a rebellion against Moses. Korach’s platform: “The entire assembly…are holy…why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of Hashem?” That’s it – there are no policies he wants to enact, changes he wants to make, no positive agenda he wants to advance. Korach just says that everyone is special and I should be the leader.

Korach’s “vibes” campaign is a sharp divergence from the leadership modeled in the Torah. The two great Jewish political leaders in the Torah- Joseph and Moses- each had rigorous policies – only some of which were popular or successful. The result: We call Joseph Tsaddik (righteous) and Moses Rabbenu (teacher)- while Korach is swallowed up into the earth.

If the Democrats return to the days when they had a governing vision and a policy agenda, they will have some reconciling to do. Do they believe in girls sports, or is Title IX transphobic? Do they want to build housing infrastructure in a timely and cost-effective manner, or maintain all their green (and other) regulations? Do they want to improve education, or maintain their opposition to choice and now even charters? Do they want citizens in vulnerable communities to live safely, or to discourage active policing? Do they want a healthy and thriving young population, or to normalize drug use?

3. Choose leaders from the people. It was weeks following her nomination before Kamala Harris gave an interview or a press conference. When she did engage, she generally did so with mainstream media figures who were supportive of her. Even then, her answers were so canned that her interviewers sometimes completed her familiar stories. She gave one interview to Fox – but arrived late, filibustered and had her people demand that it end early. She refused an invitation to appear on the Joe Rogan Experience, which would have given her three hours to communicate with more than forty million young people. And she concluded her campaign with seven concerts by rock stars – leaving the campaign, apparently, in debt with vendors from those events unpaid. President Trump concluded his campaign by riding a garbage truck.

How big a problem is it to be far removed from the people you hope to serve? Big enough for the Torah to emphasize throughout. In Leviticus 21:10, God tells Moses to choose a Kohen Gadol (High Priest) who is “great from his brother” – implying that his greatness will derive from his connection with the people.

Moses incorporates this lesson in his concluding speech. In Deuteronomy 18, he instructs the Jews about how to choose a leader: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brothers.” The addition of the phrase “from your brothers” teaches us that the leader is not above or in any way better than the people – but is just fulfilling a role like all of his productive fellow citizens. Consequently, the leader must be comfortable with and relate to the people – a process that will enable him to understand their concerns, appreciate their aspirations and win their trust. The Democrats once understood this very well; the quintessential modern candidate “from the people” – who everyone would want to have a beer with, and him with them – was Bill Clinton.

These lessons from the Torah, and many more like them, show not only that the Democrats can change – but that there are practical ways that they can do so that will accrue to their benefit, and to that of our great country that is best with two strong and vibrant parties.

This piece appeared recently in the Jewish Journal.