ROSH HASHANAH

42 | SEPTEMBER 22 • 2022 
 
 
 
 

T

he sermons on Rosh Hashanah 
and Yom Kippur give synagogue 
rabbis the opportunity to 
influence the largest number of listeners 
— and put rabbis under the most 
exacting scrutiny. Rabbis across the 
spectrum will try to connect the classical 
themes of the season to the lived reality 
of their congregants. Any advice about 
the lives of congregants, though, might 
touch on deep political divisions. 
This year, when your rabbi gets up to 
speak, do you want him or her to talk 
politics?
An argument for avoiding all political 
issues has at least two supports: 
• The rabbi has earned expertise 
in Judaism but might have no special 
expertise in current controversies. 
• Congregants join synagogues that 
reflect their commitments to Jewish 
ritual. The congregants might not share 
political commitments. A 
political sermon inevitably 
will make some congregants 
feel unwelcome at precisely 
the synagogue where they 
should belong.
On the other hand, Jewish 
educator Deborah Klapper 
says, “If you can’t call out evil and call for 

good, what’s the point?” 
But how to deal with morality without 
merely presenting partisan talking 
points? 
Rabbi Alon Tolwin of Aish HaTorah 
Detroit in Oak Park explains, “I don’t 
think that it is wise … to 
talk about politics, per se. 
Yet, with the issues today, 
it is very easy to address 
the morality that Judaism 
teaches. If the congregants 
connect the drashah 
[teaching] to a partisan 
issue, that is their deal.”
Tolwin believes it appropriate to 
deepen the discussion when political 
partisans pick terminology that makes 
complex problems seem simple. For 
example, he asserts, rabbis may object to 
describing abortion as only a question of 
“reproductive rights,” which leaves out 
all other considerations. 
Rabbi Robert Gamer of Congregation 
Beth Shalom in Oak Park deals with 
similar concerns. 
“I don’t often stray into political 
discussions, but I have recently with 
regard to the issue of abortion access. 
Many congregants did not know there 
are times that Halakhah permits, forbids 

or even requires abortion,” he says.
“I always talk about any issue from a 
strictly Jewish perspective,” he says, “and 
I try to present the various 
halakhic views.
“During the holidays, I 
plan on a sermon about 
extremism (on both the 
left and the right) and how 
that is impacting Jewish 
life — from Christian 
Nationalism and radical 
secularism. I think it is important that 
we, as Jews, understand that while there 
is a separation of church and state, 
that many ‘political issues are really 
religious issues. Access to abortion and 
contraception are two such topics, but 
so are circumcision, shechitah [ritual 
slaughter] and more.”

‘POLITICS HAS ITS PLACE’
If some people believe that rabbis should 
try to avoid political statements, Joe 
Feldman of Bloomfield Hills says, “It 
is an important responsibility to bring 
politics to the pulpit.” 
He particularly welcomes rabbinical 
input when organizations have values 
attractive to Jews, but also have 
leadership “both antisemitic and anti-
Israel.” 
Max Kresch, formerly of Oak Park, 
now of Israel, warns against 
rabbinical overreach. Kresch 
observes that last summer, 
when he was administering 
vaccinations, some religious 
Jews would explain either 
that their rabbis had ordered 
them to get vaccinated 
or had prohibited them from getting 
vaccinated. While he preferred to hear 
the ruling in favor of vaccinations, 
Kresch insists that “the only medical 
advice rabbis should be giving to their 
congregants is ‘Listen to your doctor!’” 
As a congregant, Allen R. Wolf of 
Bloomfield Hills accepts that 
his rabbi will offer guidance 
in partisan matters, even if 
the advice is imperfect.
“The Torah is supposed to 
be a guide for living. A rabbi 
is supposed to be a learned 
Allen Wolf

Rabbi 
Robert 
Gamer

Deborah 
Klapper

Rabbi Alon 
Tolwin

Max Kresch

Politics 
from the 
 
 
Pulpit

The pros and cons of 
talking about current 
events at shul.

LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

continued on page 44

