We have already entered
the nine days leading up to Tisha B’Av, the fast day mourning the destruction
of the first Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians in the year 586 BCE and the
second Temple by the Romans in the year 70 CE. I fast the 25 hours required by
halakhah to mark this calamitous day in Jewish history. Nevertheless, I can’t
the recite all those kinot, poems
written in the Goanic period and the Middle Ages lamenting the utter
destruction and desolation of Jerusalem. Although these descriptions were true
when those poems were written, they no longer describe today’s reality.
Jerusalem is a growing and bustling city. Streets are full of the old and the
young again. I joke that the national bird of Israel is the crane because there
are so many building cranes in use around cities like Jerusalem.
What can we meditate upon this Tisha B’Av if we recognize
the miraculous rebirth of modern day Jerusalem? I think that today’s daf
Shabbat 139 suggests a topic that is relevant not only for us as Jews and as United
States citizens.
“It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi
Yosei ben Elisha says: If you see a generation that many troubles are befalling
it, go and examine the judges of Israel. Perhaps their sins are the cause, as
any calamity that comes to the world comes due to the judges of Israel
acting corruptly, as it is stated: “Please hear this, heads of the house of
Jacob, and officers of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all
equity, who build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. Their heads
they judge for bribes, and their priests teach for hire, and their prophets
divine for money; yet they lean upon the Lord, saying: Is not the Lord in
our midst? No evil shall befall us” (Micah 3:9–11).
“And the Holy
One, Blessed be He, will not rest His Divine Presence on the Jewish people
until evil judges and officers shall be eliminated from the Jewish people, as
it is stated: “And I will turn My hand upon you, and I will purge away your
dross as with lye, and I will remove all your alloy. And I will restore your judges
as at first, and your counselors as at the beginning; afterward
you shall be called the city of righteousness, a faithful city” (Isaiah 1:25–26).
“Ulla said: Jerusalem will be redeemed only through
righteousness, as it is stated: “Zion will be redeemed with justice and those
who return to her with righteousness” (Isaiah 1:27).” (Sefaria.org translation)
From our Gemara we see that injustice is a major source of
our problems, troubles, and calamities. I am not knowledgeable nor competent to
evaluate the state of Israel’s judicial branch. I am terribly concerned the
direction the United States is heading and the problems, troubles, and
calamities that it is engendering.
From the very outset of his presidential
campaign through his tenure, Trump has continually sought to undermine the
third branch of our government, the judiciary. “Donald
Trump has displayed a troubling pattern of attacking judges and the courts for
rulings he disagrees with — a pattern that began during his presidential campaign
(and even before), and has continued into his presidency.
“This threatens our
entire system of government. The courts are bulwarks of our Constitution and
laws, and they depend on the public to respect their judgments and on officials
to obey and enforce their decisions. Fear of personal attacks, public backlash,
or enforcement failures should not color judicial decision-making, and public
officials have a responsibility to respect courts and judicial decisions.
Separation of powers is not a threat to democracy; it is the essence of
democracy.” https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/his-own-words-presidents-attacks-courts
Visit this webpage and see in his own words how he has undermined justice by
criticizing Supreme Court justices Ginzberg and Sotomayer, Judge Jon Tigar of US
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, District Court Judge William Alsup, and Judge Amy
Berman.
Not
only does he attacks sitting judges he disagrees with, he has nominated so many
unqualified people to become judges. “As of July 1, 2020, the ABA had offered ratings
for 248 of President Trump's nominees. The ABA rated nine of those individuals
not qualified for the nomination. Four of those nominees were unanimously rated
not qualified: Steven
Grasz, a nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit; John O'Connor,
a nominee to the United States District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, and
Western Districts of Oklahoma; Brett Talley,
a nominee to the United States
District Court for the Middle District of Alabama; and Sarah Pitlyk,
a nominee to the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
The following
nominees were rated not qualified by
a majority or a substantial majority:
·
Charles B. Goodwin,
a nominee to the United States
District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma;
·
Holly Lou Teeter,
a nominee to the United States
District Court for the District of Kansas;
·
Jonathan Kobes,
a nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit;
·
Justin Walker,
a nominee to the United States
District Court for the Western District of Kentucky; and
Lawrence VanDyke,
a nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.”
https://ballotpedia.org/ABA_ratings_during_the_Trump_administration
Finally his
Atty. Gen. William Barr appears to be more interested in protecting Trump than
representing the American people. “Four former
presidents of the D.C. Bar Association have signed a letter calling on the group to investigate
whether Attorney General William Barr has violated its rules. The District of
Columbia Bar authorizes lawyers to practice in the city and has the power to
punish them for breaking its rules and to revoke their law licenses.
The complaint argues that Barr has
broken Washington's ethics rules by being dishonest and violating his oath to
uphold the Constitution, along with other charges. And it highlights four
episodes in Barr’s time as attorney general to make the case: his
characterization of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russia’s 2016
election interference, his criticism of an inspector general report on the Russia
probe, his criticism of FBI officials in a TV interview, and his role in the
disbursement of peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square, outside the White
House. A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment.
“Mr. Barr’s client is the United States, and not
the president,” the letter says. “Yet, Mr. Barr has consistently made decisions
and taken action to serve the personal and political self-interests of
President Donald Trump, rather than the interest of the United States.” https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/22/bill-barr-bar-association-probe-377272
I think that this Lincoln project video sums
up the Trump tenure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p00fxoDpaIo
Just as “Zion will be redeemed
with justice and those who return to her with righteousness” (Isaiah 1:27)” So too will the
United States. Make sure you vote this November.
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