This is a company town. As rabbi to a very entertainment-industry centric congregation, I am often called by film makers and entertainment executives to consult on projects, or to weigh in on disputes. We are really no different than other communities whose orbit and attraction pulls from a common interest. Because our business is communication, we often lose site of the power that our words and images have, especially during these times of social media turmoil.
There are so many divided families and longtime friendships being torn apart over, you guessed it, politics. The depth of disdain for each candidate has led to unprecedented levels of incivility. I just returned from London where one commentator called our election “the evil of two lessers.”
In 2006, then Senator Hillary Clinton spoke at our Temple of the Arts Yom Kippur service on the topic “How I Learned the Lessons of Forgiveness.” She threw aside her prepared text and spoke from the heart. Despite past Clinton scandals, even Republicans were moved. While she did not directly address her fractured relationship with her husband, she did reference the power of forgiveness which we will all have to learn to exercise after this contentious election is in the history books.
There is much at stake for our nation’s future and the passions understandably run deep. Last Yom Kippur, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer came up to the Bimah for an Aliyah and it reminded us of how a new president will impact the future of the nation’s highest court. As a people that treasures justice and the rule of law we recall how the Nazis corrupted the judiciary early on to enforce its nefarious Nuremberg Laws.
Can we believe that a responsible president will place partisan politics aside and select the candidate best suited for the high court? Sadly, in this era of partisan rancor it’s one of numerous questions to ponder. Many believe that evangelists have their own narrow agenda and ask, “Can a devout Christian’s proclaiming support for Israel really be trusted?”
Last year, I had Shabbat dinner in Jerusalem with Governor Mike Pence, his family and 20 elite Israeli soldiers. The governor, now a vice presidential candidate, was unequivocal in expressing his support for Israel. As for his running mate, what can one say? Incendiary bigoted statements, Jewish grandchildren notwithstanding, are beneath the dignity of the office and diminish our ability to engage in a focused discussion of the issues.
I am pleased to see a change in tone and demeanor taking place let’s hope it lasts. There is a Jewish practice many observe during these days which is referred to as “seeking forgiveness” (Levakesh Mechilah). One goes to the neighbors and friends and declares “if I have done or said anything in the past year to offend you I am sorry.” When approached in this manner we are required to accept the apology.
So many have shared with me how taking this first step and opening the door by email or text greeting for the New Year has brought about a new dialogue. Not every hurt can be assuaged so easily but this practice importantly initiates rapprochement and puts us on the right path. Maybe it can become our post-election healing template in that reconciliation, while required during this time of year, is open to us all year long.
We will vote in November and return to our post-election critiques and analyses. Can we do so with common decency? Our sages remind us “Derech Eretz Kadma Letorah” — common decency in our conversation and in our behavior precedes even Torah.
L’Shana Tova, a strife-free new year of reconciliation, healing and peace.
Donald Trump's Biggest Feuds, Fights and Foes: From Rosie O' Donnell to Univision (Photos)
Donald Trump doesn't seem to be afraid to make enemies. His blustery threats and relentless dealmaking have caused him to run afoul of politicians, celebrities, models and more. Here are just a few of the people Trump has locked horns with over the years.
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In 1973, the U.S. Justice Department sued Trump's real-estate company, accusing it of refusing to rent apartments in New York and Virginia to African-Americans. Trump countersued the DOJ for defamation, seeking $100 million in damages. Trump settled the case.
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Arguably no celebrity has been a bigger target for Trump than Rosie O' Donnell. Their feud began back in 2006, when O'Donnell called Trump a "snake-oil salesman on 'Little House On the Prairie'" on "The View." Trump said he would "look forward to taking lots of money from my nice fat little Rosie."
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In the '80s, Trump was a popular target of the satirical publication Spy Magazine. After the magazine called him a "short-fingered vulgarian" in 1988, Trump predicted the magazine's demise and said that his fingers "are long and beautiful, as, it has been well documented, are various other parts of my body.”
Univision dropped Trump's Miss USA pageant from its programming after his comments about Mexican immigrants at the start of his presidential campaign. Trump responded by suing the network for $500 million. The lawsuit was settled in February.
Trump ejected Univision's main news anchor, Jorge Ramos, from a news conference during his campaign. Ramos had attempted to ask Trump about his immigration policies. "Go back to Univision," Trump said.
Former Miss USA contestant Sheena Monnin accused the pageant, which Trump owns, of being rigged. Trump responded by filing and winning a $5 million defamation lawsuit against Monnin. She later said her situation with Trump "has been resolved" and that no money was paid out of my pocket."
Trump repeatedly attacked Sen. Ted Cruz during the Republican Primary. The most infamous attack came on March 22, when he threatened to "spill the beans" on Cruz's wife on Twitter after a Super PAC affiliated with Cruz posted a picture of Trump's wife, Melania, from a nude GQ photo shoot. Cruz endorsed Trump last week.
In 1993, Trump's Atlantic City casino was falling behind the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, which is owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. Trump's reaction? While testifying before a Congressional subcommittee, he claimed that "it’s obvious that organized crime is rampant on the Indian reservations" and that the Pequot "don't look like Indians to me."
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In 2011, Trump repeatedly demanded President Barack Obama's birth certificate, claiming he wasn't born in the United States. After Obama released the birth certificate, he belittled Trump during the White House Correspondents Dinner.
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In an interview with "Today," Cole Bolton, editor-in-chief of The Onion, revealed the humor site received a letter from Trump's lawyer over a satirical op-ed supposedly from Trump entitled, "When You're Feeling Low, Just Remember I'll Be Dead In 15 or 20 Years."
Trump also attempted to sue Bill Maher when the comedian joked on "Real Time" that if Trump could provide proof that his biological father is not an orangutan, he would donate $5 million to the charity of Trump's choice. Trump took him up on that offer, and then sued to try to get Maher to pay the money. The lawsuit was later withdrawn.
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The success of "The Apprentice" inspired NBC to make a spinoff starring Martha Stewart. But Trump wrote an open letter blasting Stewart for the show failing to take off. "I knew it would fail as soon as I first saw it -- and your low ratings bore me out," he wrote.
In a May 15 front page New York Times article, former Miss Universe Alicia Machado accused Trump of using her weight problems as a media opportunity shortly after she won the Miss Universe pageant. "He's always been white trash, a racist, a horrible person," she said.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted that Trump sounded like a "two-bit dictator" and a "pathetic coward who can't stand that he's losing to a girl." Trump has responded by calling Warren "Pocahontas," referring to Warren's contested claim in 2012 that she had Native American ancestry.
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Perhaps Trump's most famous confrontation this year was with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son was killed in the Iraq War. Khzir Khan declared that Trump "sacrificed nothing and no one," to which Trump suggested that Khan's wife did not speak at the convention because she "wasn't allowed to."
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The GOP candidate was making enemies long before 2016
Donald Trump doesn't seem to be afraid to make enemies. His blustery threats and relentless dealmaking have caused him to run afoul of politicians, celebrities, models and more. Here are just a few of the people Trump has locked horns with over the years.
Rabbi David Baron is the rabbi of the largest arts and entertainment-industry synagogue in the United States, Temple of the Arts in Beverly Hills, which owns the 1,900-seat, art deco Saban Theatre. His Yom Kippur services and sermons are broadcast on national television and webcast to U.S. troops overseas on the Armed Forces Network. He authored the books "Sacred Space, Sacred Moments" and "Moses on Management: 50 Leadership Lessons From the Greatest Manager of All Time." He has consulted on numerous feature films dealing with Jewish subject matter, including Ridley Scott's film "Exodus: Gods and Kings" and "Stranger Among Us."