It’s 1:35 in the morning on the East Coast, and we are living in a different world.
I’m tired.
I’m amazed.
I’m bleary-eyed.
I am watching CNN — the people are overflowing on Pennsylvania Avenue. They are pressed up against the gates of the White House, jubilant.
This is a tough, tough battle we have won. And, as Barack alluded to tonight, the hardest work is still to come. I will have plenty more to say about this on Wednesday.
Tonight, I want to say congratulations, to all of those who worked so hard to make this happen.
Tonight, I want to thank my cousin, Nate, who worked as hard as I’ve ever seen anyone work, to help elect Barack in Pennsylvania.
And I want to thank my cousin Molly, who was registering voters at a Target in Ann Arbor, long before McCain had even thought of conceding Michigan. Molly, who drove to Akron one weekend to help me take this blog and give it some pizzazz.
I want to thank Jon and Barb, for working — not just this year — but over a number of years, in reliably red Southern Ohio, always convinced that neighborly persuasion and optimism could convince enough voters to turn Ohio blue.
I want to thank my wife, who stayed with the kids all those days I went out canvassing, and who went out today, with my mother-in-law and me, pounding the pavement for Barack as if her life depended on it. And my mother-in-law, who has been working the streets of Akron with me for weeks. Remember that day at the Gas & Go, registering people as they pumped gas, when we dared to imagine an election night victory?
And I want to thank Marsha, for helping with the Jewish vote in Central Jersey.
I want to thank my mom, for calling at the exact right moments with the latest pick-me-up poll updates, and my grandmother, who called Monday night to tell me Obama had run a “brilliant” campaign, and was going to win.
Thanks to Amalie, for heading out solo into the streets of Akron. Thanks to Ytha, for loving and taking care of our kids while we went out barn-storming for Barack. You’ll never know how much it means to us.
Thanks to Himmel, for keeping me sane these many months, and Rosen, for keeping me honest.
Thanks to Loyal, for helping to make this blog what it was, and keeping it real. And to Eileen, for liking it enough to start her own. Thanks to all those who have contributed to this blog — it’s become a community. There are too many to name.
I could go on and on.
But I want to end this night on a different note.
Last week, we read parsha Noah, from Genesis, the story of the ark and the flood. In it, we read that after 40 days of rain, Noah opened the window of the arc, and sent out a raven. Then, he sent out a dove. The dove, though, couldn’t find a resting place, so Noah waited seven days, and sent it out again.
“The dove came back to him toward evening, and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf!” we read. “Then Noah knew that the waters had decreased on the earth.”
Here’s the midrashic interpretation of that line: “A dove bearing an olive branch in its beak has become the symbol of the peaceful resolution of conflict. An olive branch, however, tastes bitter. Perhaps this should warn us that although victory is sweet, it sows in the soul of the defeated the desire for revenge. Compromise, which could leave a bitter taste, promises an end to conflict.”
It has been a long and bitter general election campaign. I’m sure many of us — after eight hard years — are feeling that desire for revenge. We want to gloat, just a little.
But that is not the spirit that Barack Obama conjured tonight. That would only make it tougher for him ultimately to govern. If he is to succeed — if we are to succeed — we need to reach out to the other side, now, more than ever, in a spirit of compromise. If they’re not ready, we should tread lightly, and wait until they are.
With this in mind, my wife and I went outside a half an hour ago, and took down our Obama-Biden yard signs, along with several others touting local Democratic candidates.
It’s a small thing. But I’m pretty sure our neighbors will appreciate it when they look across the road tomorrow morning, on their way to work.
Enjoy this day – It’s freaking epic. Have pride in those signs (and bumper stickers, and pins) for a little bit longer. And then, take them down.
I bet Barack would have it no other way.
Wow, Josh, beautiful! Almost enough to make me religious! Thanks for your thanks, I did it for you, my kids, my grandchildren and all the children of the world. After all, I work in pediatrics. The future is all.
It’s 6:10 AM and I am on my way to work. Relieved more than happy. It’s going to be a tough 4 years, but not as tough as the last 8!
You did a great job—not only with the blog but with the energy you brought to the campaign efforts here and across the country. Mazel Tov and can you now be at least a little bit less neurotic?
Thanks Josh, for writing so eloquently what so many of us were feeling.
After MSNBC called the election last night for Presbama, all of us in the room recited a beautiful & brief blessing – known to Jews as the “Shehecheyahnu”. This is something meaningful that virtually all Americans of religious faith can say:
“We praise You, God, Sovereign of the world, for giving us life, sustaining us, and enabling us to reach this moment.” Amen!
Barbara –
Coming from you, that means so much. And you’re right: “the future is all.”
GRosen –
It’s been a blast doing this with you.
I’ll get back to you on a little less neurotic. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.
Paulie –
Thanks for YOUR beautiful words. The Shehecheyahnu is the perfect prayer for this moment. It’s one of those prayers that speaks to people, Jewish or not, religious or not, for its universal message of gratitude — and it belongs on this blog on this day.
-ND
-ND
I applaud your sentiments today and I’m as happy as everyone else about Obama’s election, the increases in Dems in the House and the Senate.
I don’t want to dampen the excitement, but I just want to add a small reminder that the election of Obama is only the first step, that world hasn’t changed yet, and that bigotry and small-mindedness still exist as state constitutions were altered in California, Arizona and Florida to ban gay marriage. Let’s all celebrate, and then roll up our sleeves to expand equal rights to all.
How appropriate to refer to Noah. For many reasons. I think of the Noachide code (or covenenant) which establishes the behaviors that demonstrate righteousness for those who do not share the beliefs of Judaism. And (as noted below) those who follow them are welcomed into the community and allowed to sacrifice in our synagogues as a righteous individual.
Obama said again that we are not red states and blue states, but the “United States of America”. So people of good will from all persuasions must be welcomed to the table to contribute their ideas, their passions, and their efforts to Tikkun Olam. We must repair the world, now first, by repairing the United States: its moral compass, its infrastructure, and its example as a constitutional democracy.
The following is from
THE NOACHIDE COVENANT
AN OVERVIEW
***
The human race consists of two distinct religious groups, each of which is to serve G-d in accordance with His expressed will. The first group, the Jews, are to study and observe the Torah, their Code of Law, and their other holy books.
The second group, the non-Jews, also have a code of law. This legal system is based on G-d’s six commands to Adam and the additional prohibition He imposed on Noah.
Since these seven laws are included in the Torah (some paralleling the Ten Commandments), they are to be observed by Jews as well. They consist of one positive command and six negative commands:
1) Establish courts of law:***.
2) Do not blaspheme: Anyone who curses his G-d shall bear his sin.
3) Do not worship idols (the second of the Ten Commandments): ***
4) Do not murder (the sixth of the Ten Commandments): ***
5) Do not commit adultery (the seventh of the Ten Commandments): ***
6) Do not steal. ***
7) Do not eat the limb of a living animal: ***
Although most of these regulations were given to Adam, they are called “The Seven Laws of Noah,” for Noah became the progenitor of the human race after the flood. Each of these commands actually comprises an entire system of laws, for just as the basic commands of the Torah gave rise to the Code of Jewish Law, these seven laws are the foundation of the Noachide Code of Law.
The historical transmission of the Seven Laws of Noah was virtually identical to that of the Jewish Code of Law. Both systems remained oral for over one thousand years, until they were recorded in what has become known as the Talmud.
The Noachide Covenant is also acknowledged in the New Testament: Even though we disagree with their faith, this IS worth noting, since They ARE gentiles!
Acts 15:19-21
Therefore my (James’) judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to G-d, but should write to them to abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from unchasity and from what is strangled and from blood. For from early generations Moses has had in every city those who preach him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.
In antiquity, non-Jews living in Israel and observing these seven universal laws were permitted to offer sacrifices in the Temple.
***
A Gentile who accepts the seven commandments and observes them meticulously is a “Righteous Gentile,” and will have a portion in the World to Come, provided that he accepts and performs them because G-d commanded so in the Torah…
excerpts from
http://jdstone.org/cr/files/noachideoverview_hollowinheritance.html
We did it, Josh. We did it.
This has been a joyful, thrilling, emotional, euphoric, exhausted day. I am so proud to be an American. I am so proud of what we have accomplished, and I am ready for the work that lies ahead.
We are the change.
Loyal –
Wow — was just reading in the parsha about the Noahide laws. Thanks for this amazing education. The new slogan, btw, for the National Jewish Democratic Council is: “Repairing the World, One Election at a Time.”
Molly –
Could not have done it without you.
Your pride just seeps through the screen. I love it.
Re: your pride in being an American. I’ve got another blog in me, on this. Check back, maybe Thursday …
-ND