Rather than endorsing candidates or policies, they might consider speaking about democracy in general and how to think about competing values using Jewish sources and texts

Rabbi Avi Finegold
FOUNDER, THE JEWISH LEARNING LIBRARY, MONTREAL

Rabbi Philip Scheim
BETH DAVID B’NAI  ISRAEL BETH  AM CONGREGATION, TORONTO

Rabbi Scheim: With Canada and the United States each entering political campaign seasons, as rabbis we often feel a need to tread with great caution. As someone with strong political convictions and interests (and a huge fan of our current prime minister, deeply grateful for his principled, consistent support of Israel), I struggle not to use my pulpit to advocate for a particular party, feeling that to be abusive of a captive audience. 

I am sensitive to the American concept of separation of church and state, and feel that Israel would be better off were religion removed from the political sphere. Others in the rabbinic world clearly feel differently and rally their communities to line up solidly behind the candidate or party of their choice. As a result, they often receive a disproportionate amount of attention from politicians. 

I have long believed that my congregation does not need me to be a source of current events, and I prefer to teach Torah rather than preach from the day’s editorial page. Where do we draw that line between an honest sharing of our passions and our respect for the integrity of the political process?

Rabbi Finegold: I would frame the question slightly differently. Am I sad to be living in a world where rabbis are hesitant to express their political opinions lest they become dogma in their community, or am I glad that we live in a world where rabbis recognize that their expertise is not all-encompassing and choose not to express opinions which are beyond their specific training?  

There is a concept in the haredi community that is referred to as da’at Torah. It claims that Torah scholars, by nature of their acquired wisdom, are qualified and indeed compelled to express what they see as the Torah’s opinion on matters that range from political preferences to medical choices. This opinion then becomes part of the corpus of Torah and must be followed. 

While this is a relatively recent phenomenon, it has become widespread and can often lead to negative consequences. I would love to live in a world where rabbis can express their opinions without fear of them being followed blindly. But I am aware of the consequences of the da’at Torah model and prefer it when my colleagues do not preach politics.

This is not to say that rabbis cannot have well thought out and articulate positions on non-Torah matters. But we do not generally call our electrician and ask them what they think of the candidates.

Rabbi Scheim: I would not ignore the electrician’s perspective, especially since in Israel the most informed and interesting political commentary often comes from taxi drivers. Sometimes, amcha, the average Jew in the street, picks up what may elude the more intellectually grounded among us. 

More seriously, I do recognize the fact that on non-halachic matters, my opinions rarely determine my congregants’ choices in life. When I am asked a specific halachic question, such as the permissibility of quinoa on Passover for Ashkenazi Jews (my most often-asked Pesach question), my response will usually be accepted and followed. When asked or when I offer unsolicited opinions on secular matters, I happily expect to be taken less seriously. 

As much as I want rabbis to be respected, such respect rightly requires perspective, so that our authority is not extended beyond rabbinic expertise. Some tragic cases in recent months reflect the consequences of a rabbi perceiving himself as larger than life and of communities overlooking the over-stepping of authority with painful consequences.

Rabbi Finegold: The issue of charisma in the way we relate to rabbis can certainly be extended to the political sphere, where often candidates trade off their personas rather than the issues they stand for and their ability to uphold the values of the people they represent. 

Perhaps the middle path to your initial question could be to encourage rabbis to preach politics from the pulpit but not speak about the candidates or endorse particular issues. Rather, as bearers of communal values, we could speak about democracy in general and how to think about competing values using sources from Jewish thought as our foundation. 

That way we could have an educated population that is encouraged to promote its own personal values, while still maintaining public neutrality as rabbis.