Joshua Cypess Profile picture
Nov 9, 2020 13 tweets 5 min read Read on X
1/ The signs were an act of leadership

In the pulpit it was crucial to be non-partisan (I was always political, b/c halakhah covers every topic). But even out of the pulpit, no signs; e.g. in 2012, despite my support of Obama, I didn't broadcast it.
2/ I never put up signs until I needed to repudiate Trump (ym'sh). As a rabbi & thus a moral leader I had to show my politically conservative community it's possible to be 'civil' & cordial while standing up publicly for what the Torah demanded: anti-racism, compassion, justice
3/ It took a lot of risk. It came with a cost to our social life.

I knew it would be costly, yet that's why bravery is the highest ideal. Courage is risking for a mitzvah. It's what being Jewish is supposed to entail. It's the 'true' in "Torah-true Jew"

4/ But one thing I've learned over the years about bravery: it's a force multiplier. When a leader is brave, followers will be too

You can stand up for them and it strengthens them. They're buoyed by your own sense of self & determination
5/ Without knowing the effect I would have, I used my empathy to reflect that in the same situation I would need leaders to show there's another way.

Moreover, my actions - helping the 20/30% who resisted Trump (ym'sh) - also condemned those who slavishly marched off to fascism
6/ This is one of the hard lessons I believe we need to learn from Lot in Sedom. He's a sullied character; the Torah is explicit about his moral failings. But without his contrast, the depravity of Sedom wouldn't be as clear. He resisted & they hated him for it.
7/ Being Jewish means standing out and saying "yes" to compassion, decency (aka modesty), benevolence but, by necessity & impulse, saying "no" to cruelty, arrogance, & injustice

Our Abrahamic nemesis is Sedom; Mosaic nemesis is Amalek; rabbinic nemesis is Rome. All the same tho
8/ My anti-Trump (ym'sh) stand is designed to provide support for those who need to resist, but also a silent & passive rebuke for those who donned the RedHat.

Based on the rules of 'tochecha' I determined direct rebuke would backfire.

9/ Much of the RedHat program is self-absorbed selfish egotism which keeps them in a cognitive-dissonant cage.

It's mislabeled a sense of 'honor' when it's actually a fragile sense of crushing lack of solid self-esteem. They venerate false prizes; and lies need a system of myth
10/ For any of the cult to do teshuva (repentance), they need to be shown the truth.

I expect them to slowly try to walk back to the right path when the truth is revealed. If they don't? Then they were never salvageable.

13/ @threadreaderapp please unroll.

@threader_app please compile.

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More from @JoshuaCypess

Nov 3
225.01/ Week two-hundred and twenty-five, November 2-8, 2024, thread begins here.

Week 224 below.
225.02/ Finally dropped off our ballots this morning & took a selfie. A fun thing then happened: a young dad carrying a baby arrived after us & he said that it was his first time voting after becoming a citizen! So I insisted on taking a photo of him (with his camera). USA! USA!
225.03/ Yes, I'm the one who waited all Shabbas for the poll, taught my kids how polls work (social science PhD, baby) & what I hoped would happen (GOP leading by only 5). And they got to see my stunned elation in real time when I read the news.
Read 4 tweets
Oct 27
224.01/ Week two-hundred and twenty-four, October 26-November 1, 2024, thread begins here.

Week 223 below.
224.02/ There's sticker shock and then there's "standing on the bathroom scale after 3 three-day yuntifs and 2 major fasts over 3 weeks" sticker shock.
224.03/ BTW, Trump (ym"sh) abd the MAGA-GOP going completely mask-off with racist nativism was very much on my BINGO card.

Read 29 tweets
Oct 20
223.01/ Week two-hundred and twenty-three, October 19-23, 2024, thread begins here.

Week 222 below.
223.02/ Downside of "October is the Best Sports Month" - mixed blessing really - is that at 8pm tonight 3 of my teams will be on at the same time. NYMets facing elimination, #LIGHTITUPNYL in the last game of the finals, and the Steelers on SNF.
223.03/ #ChochmatNashim for #Vezot #SimchatTorah #SheminiAtzeret 2023-5784 (LAST YEAR). @ChochmatNashim
Downloadable PDF with working links with Divrei Torah by Orthodox women scholars on the topics of the week. 23 Pages
drive.google.com/file/d/1pQso-a…
Read 6 tweets
Oct 14
222.01/ Week two-hundred and twenty-two, October 12-16, 2024, thread begins here.

Week 221 below
222.02/ #ChochmatNashim for #Sukkot 5784 2023 (LAST YEAR) @ChochmatNashim.

Downloadable PDF with Divrei Torah by Orthodox women scholars on the holiday & other weekly topics. 15 pages.
drive.google.com/file/d/154AH4_…
222.03/ Another October sports is awesome moment: Mets playoffs, Yankees playoffs, Monday night football plus the #NYR at home. Pretty much all at the same time.
Read 7 tweets
Oct 6
221.01/ Week two-hundred and twenty-one, October 5-11, 2024 thread begins here.

Week 220 below. #HappyNewYear #ShanahTovah 5785
221.02/ #ChochmatNashim for #YomKippur 2023 5784 (LAST YEAR) @ChochmatNashim

Downloadable PDF with working links to Divrei Torah by Orthodox women scholars on the holiday. 24 pages.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Rw-PaB…
221.03/ Yes, there's been a noticeable online vibe shift that makes people think the GOP is strengthening. It's an op. It's what they did in 2022 with garbage polls but now they've added juicing the betting markets. Fascists need to appear unstoppable. Don't panic.
Read 5 tweets
Sep 29
220.01/ Week two-hundred and twenty, September 28-October 2, 2024, thread begins here.

Week 219 below.
220.02/ Thank God, today my family was able to receive our #BivalentBooster shot, for COVID19 and the flu. I'm so grateful to live in a country which has easy and plentiful access to life-saving medicine.

220.03/ #ChochmatNashim for #RoshHashana 2023 5784 (LAST YEAR). @ChochmatNashim.
PDF with working links to Divrei Torah from Orthodox women scholars (24 pages). Also see the retweet for a relevant PDF from last week.

drive.google.com/file/d/1lwuTy9…
Read 8 tweets

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