6 | JANUARY 9 • 2020 

essay
A New Year’s Resolution

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This year let’
s rededicate ourselves to political engagement.
T

here is a story in the 
Talmud about a young 
man who had fallen 
into a coma. When suddenly 
he awakened, his father was 
sitting by his side. Startled 
and grateful, the man asked 
his son what 
he experienced 
during that 
brief journey to 
the next world 
and back. The 
son answered, 
“I saw an 
upside-down 
world.” 
From this brief journey 
we learn that a world upside 
down affects everyone. We 
cannot carry on as we once 
did before. We get distracted; 
making decisions becomes 
difficult. We lose our sense 
of who we can trust.
 
This is a lesson to help 
mourners through a difficult 
time, such as the one I expe-
rienced following the recent 
passing of my father. After 
the passing of a loved one, 
our world is turned upside-
down. We get disoriented 
and lose our way. Slowly, we 
find our way back. This is 
also a lesson for all of us to 
better understand our world 
today and the opportunities 
in the months ahead. 
Not only are we in a new 
year, we are also in a new 
decade. This is our chance 
for a do-over, to start from 
scratch and reconnect to the 
very place we got distracted 
from. 
It also is our time to fix 
our world — together. It is 
time we find purpose in what 
we do, at work and at home, 
with our families and in our 
community. The Hebrew 

word for purpose is kavanah. 
It is a term commonly used 
in prayer, but the concept 
has a much broader appli-
cation. In prayer, it is about 
being present and fulling the 
mitzvot. 
I recently attended a lec-
ture by Robert E. Quinn, 
a professor with the Ross 
School of Business at the 
University of Michigan. 
In his latest book, The 
Economics of Higher Purpose, 
Quinn tells us that the pur-
pose of a leader is to recog-
nize the common good and 
sacrifice for it so that others 
will follow.
There is no better time for 
us to take this opportunity 
to reflect on the past sever-
al years to help each of us 
prepare for the months and 
years ahead and to be pres-
ent in the world around us.
The past decade was a dif-
ficult one. We emerged from 
a recession and saw a polit-
ical tidal wave of changes, 
not just in the United States, 
but all over the world. With 
these changes, we witnessed 
an increase in anti-Semitism 
and violent acts of terrorism 
targeting schools, shuls and 
shops. 
Anti-Semitism is on the 
rise again as Jews are being 
targeted by terrorists in New 
York, New Jersey, Germany, 
California, Italy and the 
United Kingdom. 
Anti-Semitism is hard to 
stop, and it is hard to educate 
the ignorant. But what if we 
elected more Jews to posi-
tions where they can prevent 
it or quash misinformation 
by other influencers? If we 
elected more Jewish people 
to office in America and 
abroad, while investing our 
time in building relation-

ships and fighting against all 
forms of hate, then perhaps 
we can minimize the impact. 
While more than 6 per-
cent of the U.S. Congress 
is Jewish, with 34 Jews 
among the 535 lawmak-
ers in the U.S. House of 
Representatives and Senate, 
in Michigan, there are just 
two Jewish legislators, one of 
whom will be term-limited 
next year. 
In 2020, we will not only 
elect the next president of 
the United States, we will 
elect or re-elect a U.S. sen-
ator, members of the U.S. 
House of Representatives, 
members of the Michigan 
House of Representatives, 
county-wide seats, township 
supervisors and trustees, 
state supreme court justices, 
university regents and judg-
es. 
It takes courage, commit-
ment and heroism to run for 
office. These people are put-
ting their reputations on the 
line to stand up and speak 
out against injustice, to help 
their communities overcome 
challenges and to improve 
our quality of life. 
Many of us are involved 
in the community. We sit on 
boards, volunteer for non-
profits and make financial 
contributions to organiza-
tions that make a meaningful 
impact. As we sit on these 
boards or volunteer, we grow 
frustrated as to how these 
organizations are filling a 
void left by the government. 
A void left in part due to 
a lack of understanding of 
where the real needs are. 
We can no longer hide 
behind the veil of tikkun 
olam; we need to take addi-
tional steps and become 
more engaged politically and 

with our elected officials. 
Philanthropy is vital to our 
community but so, too, is 
political engagement.
As a community, we do a 
great job of building rela-
tionships. Some of us may 
even travel to Washington 
to lobby Congress. But how 
often are we leading cara-
vans to Lansing, to Pontiac 
or Detroit? Why aren’
t we in 
Lansing or in our city halls 
more often supporting legis-
lation or policies that benefit 
or protect our community? 
Why aren’
t we part of coa-
litions to support a broader 
agenda or advancing our 
own? And why aren’
t we out 
in the community working 
diligently to encourage peo-
ple to run for political office? 
The time is now to recruit 
more people from our com-
munity to run for office. 
April is the filing deadline. 
There is plenty of time to 
find more bold leaders who 
are willing to stand up and 
speak out, not just around 
the dinner table but to take 
the next step and run for 
office. Then we need to edu-
cate the candidates on what 
issues matter to us and how 
they can help support our 
community. 
As we enter a new 
decade, I challenge you to 
think about your purpose 
and rededicate yourself in 
becoming a part of a network 
of advocates who will not 
only support our community 
philanthropically but also get 
involved politically, even run 
for office. 

 
Daniel Cherrin is the founder of North 
Coast Strategies, a public relations 
firm. He recently announced his 
intention to run for elected office.

Daniel 
 
Cherrin

