Did Lieberman violate Jewish law?

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:00:00 +0000

On the Jewish calendar, the 24 hours from sundown Tuesday to sundown Wednesday constituted the 15th day in the month of Av, a little-known holiday called Tu B'Av. Coming a week after Tisha B'Av, a day of mourning on which observant Jews neither eat nor drink, Tu B'Av is a minor but joyous celebration of love. People buy each other flowers on Tu B'Av. However, for the observant Jew who just lost the U.S. Senate primary in Connecticut, it's hard to see how it will ever be a joyous day again.

Like many of you, I first noticed Sen. Joseph Lieberman after that pompous, silly rebuke of President Clinton's behavior from the floor of the Senate in 1998. My thoughts at the time were twofold. As a Democrat, I resented Lieberman giving any cover to what looked and felt like an attempted coup. I also wondered what the heck a U.S. senator was doing trying to give anyone lessons in morality. Politics is not a profession that makes it easy for a person to stay on a straight moral path. The fact that I heard nothing from Lieberman when Newt Gingrich's personal life made news only confirmed my initial impression.

What’s in a hat?

Fri, 06 Jan 2006 12:00:00 +0000

The picture of Jack Abramoff walking out of a federal courthouse on Tuesday wearing a distinctive fedora is by now iconic. And chances are, like Howard Fineman and Maureen Dowd, you thought he looked like a gangster. But that wasn't my reaction. What struck me was that Abramoff was wearing my hat, a Borsalino, the ne plus ultra of Yeshiva boy caps. Tucked tight on his head, pinched even, perfectly symmetrical (if a little deep for my taste), it was immaculate.

Maybe the contrition Abramoff expressed in his statements was real. Maybe he even recited "Baruch Dayan Emes," the blessing you make when you hear really bad news, after he went to court. Maybe he was wearing a yami (a diminutive yarmulke) underneath his fedora. While it's no secret that he's an Orthodox (if not Torah-observant, or frum) Jew, I've never seen a picture of him with either a Borsalino or yarmulke before. Why now?

Salon.com > Stephen Hirsch

Did Lieberman violate Jewish law?

What’s in a hat?