Yom Kippur with Mamdani

Congressman Jerry Nadler, prospective Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Comptroller Brad Lander

Having these three political figures at our Yom Kippur services was both uncomfortable and deeply comforting. I’ve had Congressman Nadler and Brad Lander at my annual Downtown Passover Seder and they both are hard-working liberal Jewish public servants who deserve tremendous gratitude for the effort they put in. Candidate Mamdani I met backstage for the first time last night, looked him in the eye, made him laugh when I explained the barrel ark on stage was made out of necessity when we got our first Torah and needed a holy storage cabinet at Lab Shul high holy days at City Winery (one of the wine barrels at the Winery was the perfect fit). Anyway, he seems like a good guy, really young (but I’m getting old), more importantly, I observed him truly connecting with Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie at Kol Nidre services and our messages from the stage.

I know there is divergent perspectives in the Jewish community about Mamdami with strong opposition for not condemning the “Globalize the Intifada” slogan initially, for suggesting a headline grabbing arrest warrant for Netanyahu, and describing Israel’s military actions in Gaza as “genocide” which stirs the deepest of painful issues in crossing the line for us elevating it to the threshold of the holocaust. Semantics matter. Don’t call me an anti-semantic. Nevertheless, the war must stop, the killing must stop, the hostages must come home, we are all aligned on that. The language is so nuanced and much gets lost in heated or myopic positions where most argue and really don’t listen to the other side.

But Amichai spoke about bridges of empathy, to try and connect to the other side. Shira Kline, another of our spiritual leaders spoke at Rosh Hashanah of trying extra hard to allow for this heart to heart to others as a chance to repair, for Tikkun. I saw Zohran Mamdani shake his head in full agreement with this peaceful approach to our challenges of today. I witnessed the power of Amichai’s messages connect positively with Zohran. I believe I have good EQ, and in this first in-person chance to spend a few hours in our pop-up shul, I believe he is not anti-sematic. And like many of us Jews, is not conflating a condemnation of the aggressive criminal behavior of Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and Smodritch with a right to a Jewish homeland. Plus, like many of us Jews, also supportive of the right to a Palestinian homeland so that we can try and live in peace. Finally, in full agreement that Hamas is a terrorist organization, period!

Today, Yom Kippur-- the holiest of holidays, this conversation of “Shalom”—peace was in every Jewish place of worship today around the globe including at the sad synagogue in Manchester, England. At Lab Shul in Lower Manhattan, we were lucky to observe and have a safe, in-person place of worship to build bridges and let as many know that a message of “Shalom” is very much on Mandami’s plate, not division. What made some people uncomfortable is the juxtaposition of a communal spiritual gathering place for a political show before an election. Yet, there is little separation of church and state on the right. If us Jews, Muslims, Blacks, Hispanics, and all immigrants can’t come together in the United States to fight back against the current state of affairs and speak truth to power, then we are complicit in our allowing the US to become a autocracy.

I know I am very hungry right now fasting, and perhaps even slightly hallucinogenic, but this is the time that our humanity, which was fought so hard for by the founders of our constitution, was to prevail over authoritarianism, to prevail over silence, compliancy, and create justice for all. Bringing political figures into our spiritual daily lives can only make them more human and more open for real and honest dialogue. I think we accomplished that in a small way at this year’s Lab Shul Yom Kippur. Let’s go eat!