Community at Temple Israel
Rabbi’s Message – October 31, 2024
A not-so-ancient tale: The Chazon Ish, an Orthodox Rabbi who became a leader within the Haredi community in Israel from 1933-1953, tells of meeting an average Jew in the street on Election Day. The Chazon Ish asks the man if he has voted yet. The man replies, “No.” “Why not?” asks the Chazon Ish. The man responds that he does not have 3 Israeli Pounds to pay the poll tax.
When I first heard this story, I thought the Chazon Ish was going to give the man the money for the poll tax without hesitation, or find a way for him to earn it quickly. This would emphasize the importance of voting in the elections. However, that is not how it continues. Rather the Chazon Ish persists: “Do you own a pair of tefillin?” “Of course!” the man responds. The Chazon Ish then directs the man to sell his tefillin and use the funds to pay the poll tax so he could vote.
If you are surprised by that ending, then you are in good company with myself, and those around the Chazon Ish. The story continues that he provided an explanation to another Rabbi that while wearing tefillin is a mitzvah, the man could acquire or borrow tefillin to fulfill that mitzvah, whereas the mitzvah to vote exists on that day alone and thus needed to be prioritized.
The obvious lesson here is that Chazon Ish is equating voting in the elections as a high-priority mitzvah. Coming from a Reform Rabbi, the ending might not have felt as surprising. After hearing Rabbi Sofian’s class on Religious Zionism, my use of this story took a turn. I assume this story comes from the period where the Chazon Ish is leading his community in Israel after the founding of the State. So, what kind of Zionist was he? A little digging, and it seems he was mostly… wasn’t. He opposed secular Zionism, and fairly anti-Zionist against both the secular Zionists and the Religious Zionists. His relationship to the State of Israel and its politics seems mostly pragmatic. Given that the State of Israel gained independence, he met with David Ben Gurion and encouraged his followers to vote – although he never was directly politically involved. I think this adds a layer to our story – despite this view of Zionist enterprise, he still held voting as an important mitzvah.
We can dig a little deeper. Until recently, when I heard this story, I made the assumption that the man he encountered was a follower of his. If so, the question about whether he owns tefillin is a little odd. Certainly an ultra-Orthodox Jew would own tefillin! In my understanding now of this story (with no concrete proof), is that the Jew the Chazon Ish encounters is not from his own religious community, but rather, is more likely a secular Israeli. This take solves the issue of why the Chazon Ish has to ask if the man owned tefillin. For someone whose relation with the State is pragmatic, you might think he would only encourage like-minded voters to vote, but I think here, he takes his obligation for representation and applies that to all Jews, regardless of religious or political affiliation.
This leads me to the text, from Hillel (Pirkei Avot 2:5) that is often cited around election time: “Do not separate yourself from the community.” The text is used in this context to highlight our responsibility to be active in the community, and to have a voice in choosing our leadership – from the next president to the “lowliest” of races and issues on the ballot. Despite his intellectual views on the Zionist enterprise, the Chazon Ish understood this – if the State of Israel had elections, everyone needed to be represented in the elections.
Our elections function a little differently – thankfully, there is no direct poll tax. Voter registration, however, can be a barrier (though you should be able to cast a provisional ballot anyways), but the message that having our voices heard is a Jewish imperative that overrides other high priority tasks holds for us, in the US, today. Government and non-profit groups work hard to make voting possible for all eligible voters – if you need help voting, reach out. All of our voices should be heard, and all of us should help all other voters get to the polls – no tefillin selling required!