By Betzy Lynch in La Jolla, California
With elections in Israel and the United States just one week apart, I have been thinking about the extraordinary privilege and responsibility of living in this moment of Jewish history. For Israelis, the outcome of the upcoming elections feel existential in ways those of us in America cannot fully understand. Here, we face our own profound concerns about antisemitism, safety, democracy, and belonging.
While we do not all have a vote in both elections, we have a stake in both outcomes and in our relationship with one another. These elections matter enormously. But I wonder whether, in the intensity of this moment, we sometimes place too much responsibility for our future in the hands of governments and too little in our own.
For much of Jewish history, our ancestors lived under rulers they could not elect and laws they could not change. Yet they built communities, educated children, cared for one another, and sustained Jewish life across generations. We should never romanticize their powerlessness, but we can learn from their extraordinary capacity to create agency even when they had little political power.
Jewish mysticism offers a beautiful concept, itaruta d’letata, an awakening from below. It teaches that transformation does not always begin in heaven; sometimes it begins with us. Our actions can awaken possibilities that did not previously exist. Perhaps that is the extraordinary opportunity of our generation: Our ancestors often had to create Jewish life in spite of the world around them. We have the privilege of helping shape that world while creating Jewish life within it.
Maybe we need the wisdom to zoom out far enough to remember that the Jewish story is larger than any election, and then zoom in close enough to recognize that our future is shaped by what each of us chooses to do next. Governments have profound responsibilities for our safety, rights, and freedom, but no government can create the relationships, Jewish confidence, sense of belonging, and shared purpose that only we can build together. At the JCC, I see that possibility every day. Whatever the outcomes of these elections, the responsibility and opportunity to shape our Jewish future remain ours. And for that, I find myself filled not only with concern, but with gratitude.
A Prayer for This Moment
Source of Life and Possibility,
We offer gratitude for the extraordinary privilege of living in a time when so many of us have a voice in shaping the societies we call home.
For the right to vote, to speak, to question, to disagree, and to participate in determining our collective future, we give thanks.
We remember the generations who came before us, who dreamed of freedoms they would never experience, who sustained Jewish life when they had little power to change the world around them.
May we honor their courage not only by remembering what they endured, but by embracing what we have been given the opportunity to create.
Grant wisdom to those who lead, compassion to those who disagree, protection to those who are vulnerable, and peace to those who live with fear and uncertainty.
And awaken within us the courage to act.
May we never surrender our responsibility to the outcome of an election, nor mistake our ability to vote for the full measure of our power to make a difference.
Help us build communities of kindness, belonging, justice, and hope.
May we be worthy of the freedoms we have inherited, generous with the opportunities before us, and courageous enough to imagine a Jewish future more beautiful than the one we know today.
And whatever the outcome of these elections, may we remember that the work of creating that future remains in our hands.
Ken yehi ratzon. May it be so.
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Betzy Lynch is the CEO of the Lawrence Family JCC in La Jolla, California.