Enroll, register, and record. The fourth book of the Torah begins with a lengthy process of enrolling, registering, and recording the names of the leaders and adult members of the tribes. This process reminds me of our electoral system—idealized in description, fraught in execution. While the patriarchal, clan-based system of Torah is archaic, I wonder whether our democratic electoral system is also doomed to the ash heap of history.
Counting and Disenfranchisement
The fourth book of the Torah is called Numbers, and it begins with an instruction to record the males over the age of twenty from each tribe. The purpose was both to create a governance structure and a method of conscription. Through a theological lens, we understand that counting people recognizes their worth and role in society. Yet through a democratic lens, we must note that the system disenfranchised women and enshrined tribal leaders who gained power through familial lines. There were no elected leaders and no votes to empower the people.
Elections are about numbers. The person who gets the most votes wins. Yet in the United States, our government has consistently found ways to upend the simplicity of democratic elections. We use the Electoral College in presidential elections, a system designed to favor Southern states. We have primaries to select candidates, a process that attracts the most engaged and, typically, the most radical elements of our two-party system. Electoral districts are gerrymandered, fashioned to favor the party in power. And for nearly one hundred years, states imposed poll taxes, literacy tests, and barriers to registration that prevented people of color from even registering to vote.
Progress and Setback
In a time of reconciliation and democratization, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Race could no longer be the basis of registration and voting processes. For the first time since Reconstruction, Black legislators were elected to Congress. The United States Supreme Court recently ruled in Louisiana v. Gallas, eviscerating protections for minority voters.
Our Jewish Responsibility
There are other Jewish texts to consider. The biblical verse “acharei rabim l’hatot” (Exodus 23:2), interpreted as “follow the majority,” grounds democratic practice. The Talmud in Bava Batra 8a establishes that community residents must contribute to public welfare and participate in communal decisions.
With voting rights constrained by the Supreme Court, I recall another Jewish text. The Talmud in Shabbat 54b teaches that one who can protest community misconduct but fails to do so bears responsibility for the consequences. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all of us to protest the attacks on democratic principles by authoritarian elements now controlling the three branches of our federal government.
Numbers will matter. How many will vote in the mid-term elections? How many will encourage their neighbors to vote as well? Will most Americans, who cherish our democracy, do their utmost so that a majority rejects the party that supports authoritarianism?
Will you help save democracy?
Rabbi Evan J. Krame
If this reflection resonates with you, consider sharing it on social media—or simply take a moment to reflect on how you can create a better community.
