Don’t Reduce Religious Freedom to Freedom of Worship

Jan. 30 2024

In a public appearance in Wisconsin last week, Vice-President Kamala Harris spoke about the various freedoms Americans cherish, among them “freedom of worship”—a phrase used by Presidents Biden and Obama as well. This is certainly an important right, but, as Timothy Carney observes, the First Amendment guarantee of the “free exercise of religion” refers to something much broader:

How and what we eat is part of our exercise of religion. Christians and Jews are obligated to love our neighbors, and so that is an exercise of our religion. We are obligated to honor our father and mother. Crucially, we exercise our religion by living our daily lives in accordance with the moral teachings of our faith, and so the government infringes on the free exercise of religion if it compels a person to violate his conscience.

Forcing a Quaker to take up arms violates the free exercise of religion. Forcing an observant Jew to work on Saturday violates the free exercise of religion.

Especially for Jews, whose religious practices span many spheres of life not usually considered by Christians, this distinction is critical.

Read more at Washington Examiner

More about: Barack Obama, Freedom of Religion, Kamala Harris, U.S. Constitution

A Jewish Obligation to Vote

On October 3, 1984, Rabbi Moses Feinstein—a leading figure among American Orthodox Jews, whose halakhic opinions are obeyed and studied today—wrote a letter encouraging Jews to vote in the upcoming elections. Feinstein, a talmudist of the old school, was born in a shtetl in the vicinity of Minsk, then in the Russian empire, before elections were known in that country. He came to the U.S. in 1937, at the age of forty-one, to escape the ever-worsening persecution of devout Jews in the Soviet Union. That experience no doubt shaped his view of democracy. Herewith, the letter in full:

On reaching the shores of the United States, Jews found a safe haven. The rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights have allowed us the freedom to practice our religion without interference and to live in this republic in safety.

A fundamental principle of Judaism is hakaras hatov—recognizing benefits afforded us and giving expression to our appreciation. Therefore, it is incumbent upon each Jewish citizen to participate in the democratic system which safeguards the freedoms we enjoy. The most fundamental responsibility incumbent on each individual is to register and to vote.

Therefore, I urge all members of the Jewish community to fulfill their obligations by registering as soon as possible and by voting. By this, we can express our appreciation and contribute to the continued security of our community.

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More about: 2024 Election, American Jewry, Democracy, Halakhah