Missed Opportunity

Dear Justice Kagan,

I was thinking of you yesterday, knowing that it was the day that you were taking the oath as the 112th Supreme Court Justice. And I extend my best wishes as you begin what, I imagine, will be a long tenure as a member of the highest court in the land.

Much has been made of your religion. Within our community, of course, there has been a surge of pride as we watched one of our own expertly and deftly handle the confirmation process. We have read with interest of your insistence to publicly mark your coming-of-age at a time and in a place where such things were not done. Your Bat Mitzvah service was the first one held in your shul and had a profound and lasting effect on its approach to ritual participation of women.

I was, therefore, especially disappointed in the day selected for you to take your oath . On a Saturday. On Shabbat. With the Court about to break for recess, timeliness was a concern. And yet I wonder why the oath could not have been administered on Friday.

Though your childhood synagogue would certainly be described as such, you do not claim to be an Orthodox Jew. You do, however, consider yourself to be a Conservative Jew. Conservative Judaism affirms the role that Halakha plays in daily life, while recognizing the need to understand them in our own day. The Conservative Movement continues to view Shabbat observance as a major tenet of Jewish life, but has sought to make it more observable within a reasonable, yet firm, framework. For example, in 1960, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards adopted a takkanah regarding the issue of driving on Shabbat. Asserting that “the Sabbath cannot function as the great day of the Lord unless we consciously “make a fence around it”. The most important of the fences we must make to safeguard the Sabbath as an oasis of peace and of holiness is the avoidance of travel,” the Committee ruled that modern circumstances have placed congregants in a further proximity from the synagogue than in earlier times. Since there is a positive value in attending shul on Shabbos and most folks no longer live within walking distance, the law was relaxed in order to encourage the community to come together weekly. For the purpose of worship.

With three Jewish Justices now sitting on the Bench, there is no question that we have been accepted in the general society. Our contributions are valued and we benefit from the many freedoms which you now protect on behalf of all citizens. Imagine the precedent that would have been set had you said, “even though I am not a Halakhic Jew, I still recognize the historical and religious sanctity of the Jewish Sabbath” and insist that the swearing-in be held on a day other than a Saturday.

Again, b’hatzlacha and mazal tov on this auspicious undertaking and take to heart the words spoken to Joshua on the precipice of his new role as Israel’s leader: חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ — Be strong and of good courage.

Sincerely,

Rabbi FrumeSarah