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From the Rabbi's
Desk..
In just a few weeks, Barack Obama will be sworn into office as the forty fourth President of the United States. Throughout the campaign and especially during these weeks prior to the inauguration, a nationwide “Obama Phenomenom” has developed. New born babies are being named Barack. His framed photograph and collectibles are appearing in homes around the country. A record three-hundred-thousand people have applied for positions in the Obama administration.
I think we can all feel good about the appointments he has announced. He has opted for politically broad based expertise and experience. His appointees are all well known and highly regarded in their respective fields.
President-elect Obama will assume office at the most difficult of times. Any one of the many challenges he faces would be daunting. He must deal immediately with global and domestic economic woes, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the threat of a nuclear Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a host of domestic issues ranging from jobs, health care,
energy and housing to immigration reform, homeland security and Defense Department spending. Facing these enormous challenges, the President-elect continues to exhibit a great deal of personal confidence which is reassuring to most Americans.
Naturally, we in the Jewish community are concerned about his position vis-a-vis Israel. I heard him speak at the AIPAC conference in Washington last June. He said then that his support for Israel was unshakeable. As a candidate his oratorical support of Israel was soaring as was Secretary of State designate Senator Clinton’s. We hope his support as President will match the words he spoke as a candidate. He assured us that as President he would never pressure Israel to do anything it was averse to doing. We are therefore cautiously optimistic and hopeful.
I just finished reading Geraldine Brooks' Civil War book, ‘March’. She describes the inhumanities perpetrated upon black slaves by their owners. They were treated as chattel, tortured and beaten at times for even trying to learn their letters. To be sure, bigotry and racism have not yet been entirely eliminated in The United States. In fact they may never be. However, one-hundred-forty-three years after the Civil War, the inauguration of a bright, articulate, highly educated African American as President of The United States is to America’s great glory. It is profoundly historic.
Were I to find myself in Barack Obama’s presence, I would consider it a privilege to recite the blessing reserved for a King or Head of State, “Praised are You Lord Our God, King of the universe, who has given of his glory to flesh and blood”
Rabbi Albert Thaler
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