Ruth Hashanah

I’ve never published on a Jewish high holy day, and I likely never will again. But I’m making an exception for an exceptional moment involving an exceptional person; one who is likely the most notable Jewish woman in American history. I’m hopeful my rabbi will understand. I’m quite sure my mom and dad will. The Jewish holiday being celebrated today is called Rosh Hashanah. Those words translate as “the head of the year.” God knows we could use a new year, and with any luck, this will be a Ruth Hashanah, a year when America returns to the ideals of one if its greatest leaders in the fight for equality and justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah, literally “day of shouting or blasting.” So consider this less of an affront to a Jewish holiday and more a special edition news blast. Today, Nina Totenberg tweeted: “A Jewish teaching says those who die just before the Jewish new year are the ones God has held back until the last moment because they were needed most and were the most righteous.” It’s considered a big deal if a person dies on Shabbat, and an even bigger deal when it happens on Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah. Ginsburg died as the sun set into both. In Jewish tradition, this would make her a Tzadik (RBGT); a person of great righteousness. It’s a shame to lose another one of those when America needs them the most. Time for the rest of us to pick up the slack. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: 1933-2020.