Rabbi To Give Invocation on Obama’s Big Day [Rabbi David Saperstein, Thursday Prayer at DNC]

The Jewish Daily Forward ^ | Aug 21, 2008 | Forward Staff

[Alex Murphy]

Washington — Presidential historians and convention observers believe this year’s Democratic convention will be the first time that a rabbi gives an invocation before the presidential nominee’s acceptance speech since the advent of modern American political conventions nearly a century ago.

Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, will be making history August 28 as he opens the Democratic convention’s last day, in front of an expected crowd of 70,000 in the audience and millions more watching from afar.

The choice of a Jewish religious leader to give the prime-time invocation is only one part of a move by the Democratic Party to raise the profile of faith in its rhetoric and activities, a move from which Jewish religious activists and evangelical Christians seem to be benefiting more than other faiths. Both groups are seen as key constituencies for the Democrats in the November elections.

“This shows how critical the party and the campaign believe the Jewish community is in the upcoming elections,” said Matt Dorf, Jewish outreach coordinator for the Democratic National Committee.

Saperstein, who was approached by convention organizers only two weeks before the scheduled invocation, said he does not see his role as a show of support for Senator Barack Obama or the Democrats, but rather as common tradition “so ingrained in American life that it cannot be perceived as a political endorsement.”

Advisers for the Obama campaign, as well as convention organizers, chose Saperstein, who for the past 34 years has led the Reform movement’s Washington political arm, after joint consultations. An official involved in the process said that Saperstein was picked because he is widely respected by members of all faiths, thanks to years of activity in building advocacy coalitions on social issues as well as on foreign policy. Saperstein has been a leading force in the Save Darfur Coalition, which strives to raise public awareness of the genocide in Sudan.

But Saperstein, according to the official, was also favored because of his firm support for the separation of church and state. “If anyone was concerned the Democrats are going too far toward faith, then all the rabbis featured in the convention are very strong on church-state separation,” the official said, referring to Saperstein and six other rabbis who will attend formal events at the convention.

Not all are convinced. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which advocates strict limits on the role of religion in the public arena, called the decision to feature religious leaders in political conventions a mistake. “It seems that this year, both parties will try to prove they are holier than the other,” he said, which in his view is no more than a form of pandering.

Naturally, faith leaders participating in the convention reject that argument. Among them is Rabbi Steve Gutow, head of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

“One of my principal goals is to help Jews engage in faith in the context of their activism,” said Gutow, a Reconstructionist who will participate in the convention’s panel on “Getting Out the Faith Vote.”

Saperstein’s big moment will take place at Denver’s Invesco Field and, after Obama’s acceptance speech, will be followed by a benediction by Joel Hunter, an evangelical pastor from Northland, a church in Florida.

The creation of a “faith caucus” and a variety of planned events featuring religious leaders will bring to the Denver convention a record number of rabbis. In addition to Saperstein and Gutow, the convention will feature Orthodox rabbis Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, and Marc Schneier; Reform rabbis Amy Schwartzman from Virginia and Steve Foster of Denver, and Jack Moline, a Conservative rabbi.

In an attempt to respect sensitivities of Orthodox participants, who do not support mixed prayer, organizers made an effort to define the interfaith meetings as “gatherings” rather than services.

The Republicans have yet to announce their plans for including faith groups at their convention, which will open in St. Paul, Minn., a week after the Democrats’. An initial agenda released on August 20, however, reveals that at least three Jewish politicians will speak at the convention: Republican Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle and Independent Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman.

[SolidWood]

Reform Judaism

Pffft. Guess even Senator Lieberman has more authority than that Reform "Rabbi".

[Jmouse007]

Since when do Jews pray to Molech and Baal in bahalf of those who sacrifice their children to him and promote sodomy?

[SolidWood]

Reform JINOs do.

[SolidWood]

Hitlery Klintoon and David Saperstein.

[WorkingClassFilth]

Figures. A sham claimant to ‘Christianity’ selects a sham claimant to ‘Judaism’ to give his official invocation. Maybe brother Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Congressional Muslim, will be on hand to use his Koran for the swearing in ceremony.

[tbpiper]

And for a big finale, he's going to have a Palestinian ‘freedom fighter’ blow up the bus he's thrown everyone under. (just so all his constituents are represented)

[LRoggy]

“. . . a sham claimant to ‘Judaism’ . . . “

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I don’t know what your background is. As a conservative Republican brought up as a Reform Jew in a land of liberals, I hope you understand how offensive this is to the Reform Jews. I believe David Saperstein is the son of Rabbi Sanford Saperstein of Merrick, N.Y., the man who Bar Mitzvahed me on September 11th, 1971 (yep, thirty years to the day!).

I can tell you the Hebrew lessons and Sunday School of my youth were not a ‘sham’.

[LRoggy]

Sorry, upon further research, David is Sanford’s nephew, not son.

[Piranha]

Chexk out the Religious Action Committee’s website (sorry, I don’t have the link with me here, but you can google it). It’s appropriate that someone from that group is giving this talk since the Democratic Party platform seems more fundamental to their faith than the Torah, and certainly more than the oral law that has defined Judaism since Mt. Sinai.

[SJackson]

I don’t know what your background is. As a conservative Republican brought up as a Reform Jew in a land of liberals, I hope you understand how offensive this is to the Reform Jews....

You're wasting you're breath, but thanks for pointing out a major impedement to acquiring Jewish voters.

[Salvation]

Not good in my estimation.

[LRoggy]

You’re wasting you’re breath, but thanks for pointing out a major impedement to acquiring Jewish voters.

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Thanks for the comment. As for some of our narrow-minded breathren, I’d like to point out that the conservative view of individual choice and personal responsibility extends to religious beliefs too. If I don’t share the same interpretation of biblical studies I don’t look down on you.

[Uri’el-2012]

I’d like to point out that the conservative view of individual choice and personal responsibility

Since when is Murdering innocent babies an individual choice.

TNK Deuteronomy 5:17 You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai

[LRoggy]

Hey stupid, I am pro-life.

I said I am a conservative. My point is about religious belief. Individual liberty does not mean pro-choice. You want to practice your bible thumping there are plenty of other places to do so.

Or are you one of those that believe a Jew can’t go to heaven without accepting Jesus and you need to convert me for my own good?

[Piranha]

Here is the web site for the Religious Action Center:

http://rac.org/index.cfm?

[SJackson]

Since when is Murdering innocent babies an individual choice.

I never said it was. The question was whether Reform Jews, or presumably any Jew who doesn't meet a particular individual's sense of propriety, are simply sham claimants to Judaism. That's really quite absurd.

[kosta50]

That’s odd, given that only 2.5% of Americans are Jewish, and 80% claim to be Christians. What’s next? Christian inaguration prayer in the Knesset? I doubt it.

[WorkingClassFilth]

I can understand your affection for the faith you've been given, but it's not Judaism to most conservative or traditional Jews - let alone Christians that look to the Torah and Hebrew history for truth. For beginners, the leftist ideology that suffuses much of the Reform movement seems to have little to do with the faith of Abraham and Moses and nothing to do with the law. Of course, they won't see it that way, but then, that is always the way it is with break-away religious thought.

In a like manner, most of Protestantism has left the basic tenets of it original beliefs as well. Ask most Christians what they think of the liberal left theology being passed off as Christian thought and you'll get an equally critical response.

It seems to me that ‘reformer’ faith practice tends to dilute and delete more and more of the original content of it's origins until, at last, nothing more remains but humanist thought. Permit me an illustrative joke:

‘A Unitarian Universalist evangelist is out door knocking. He goes up to a house, knocks on the door and waits for the occupant. When the door opens, he introduces himself and asks the owner if he could spare a few moments of time to discuss spiritual things. The occupant says ‘yes.’ The Unitarian then says ‘What do I believe?’

When you break from the concept of absolute truth, you do little but create your own. Humans being what they are, eventually come up with the same old heresies.