By Rabbi Levi Shemtov
It is almost impossible to believe that our dear friend, Sen. Joe Lieberman, has so suddenly passed away. He was like a beloved older brother to me. For decades, I watched as he graced the halls of the U.S. Senate and powered the imagination of the American Jewish community, indeed of America itself.
I don’t need to reflect on his unique and historic political odyssey, as there will be so many more qualified individuals who will do so. His more personal greatness is something I was privileged to witness up close and is the real treasure he leaves us.
We met almost 35 years ago, before I moved to the nation’s capital, when he greeted me with that famous twinkle in his eye and his humble smile, one that immediately put you at ease and made you realize that in the hustle and bustle of the nation’s capital, there was someone different, even more real in some ways. I’ve had the good fortune to meet literally hundreds of members and leaders of Congress over the past three decades, and many meaningful conversations are part of that amazing experience. Yet, I never felt any of them could quite understand me or what I was trying to achieve like Sen. Lieberman did. On many occasions, he would help me navigate challenges with interest reflecting deep dedication to helping bring people together and working to create a greater and better society.
One day in the mid-1990s, Lloyd Ogilvie, the Senate chaplain at the time, called me and asked whether it would be appropriate if one or two senators joined us for our Passover Seder at home. They were keenly interested to know what it was really like and were reluctant to intrude. Within a few days, several more senators who heard about it wanted to join, and the list kept growing, so I suggested another way. Rather than have the senators feel like they are guests and might be imposing on our Seder if they had any questions, why wouldn’t we just make a “model Seder” a few days before the holiday, only for senators and their spouses, no press or staff, so they could feel more comfortable with the experience. He loved the idea, and a week later, dozens of senators and their spouses gathered in an elegant room in the U.S. Capitol for the “model Seder.” The idea was to go through the entire Seder practice, but this way they could ask any questions or say whatever they’d like as this would now be “their” Seder.
I’ll never forget how Sen. Lieberman, who together with his dedicated wife Hadassah, helped my wife and I “host” that Seder, proudly made the kiddush prayer to start the proceedings, his colleagues looking on with obvious deep respect and affection. The room was electric with not just the kiddush prayer, but with a Kiddush Hashem (positive awareness of the Almighty), as leaders of our nation satisfied their curiosity about the Jewish faith and some well-known, yet little understood, rituals in the private and comfortable setting the room provided. And I learned there how prominent people outside the rabbinate could touch hearts in ways rabbis can only dream of. He sanctified G-d’s name, not only that day and to those Senate leaders, but every day and to all the world.
Somehow, Joe conveyed a unique ease as he shared this Jewish tradition of millennia right in the 20th century. He was a proud Jew, and an elegant one, who knew well the temperament of his colleagues and how to present things effectively to them. I would often watch in awe as he did so, explaining so many initially strange concepts to his colleagues through his example and experience, and when appropriate, with a little twist of his legendary wit and humor. They respected him and where he came from, even if they didn’t always see eye to eye politically.
Sen. Lieberman graced many of our events in the nation’s capital, always lending his name and presence to our efforts to engage Jewish congressional staffers who, given their hectic and unpredictable schedules, might benefit from Jewish programs right at their doorstep and in their domain of Capitol Hill. I remember his many walks of several miles on Shabbat to and from the Senate when necessary, a few of which I was lucky to accompany him on. Both my wife’s and my mother are still alive, thank G-d, but Hadassah became like our favorite aunt. We had her and Joe over to our home a good number of times for Shabbat and festivals like Purim, and at family events which they attended whenever they could. I always got the sense of history in their unabashed Jewish observance, watching people jostle to greet them and get a glimpse, hello or a handshake and photo. People adored Joe and what he and Hadassah represented as prominent Jews in our age.
His walking to and from shul on Shabbos while a vice presidential candidate, and the impact that made on America, itself says volumes about who he really was. His Secret Service agents even chose to walk him home one last time – on their own time – when official protection expired during services that day.
One of Joe’s favorite funny quips was “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your mother.” The legendary respect he showed for his mother, publicly and especially privately, was simply inspirational. I would often hear younger people marvel at it. It was mutual, as listening to Mrs. Marcia Lieberman speak about her Joey clearly showed how truly proud he made her by how he lived his life.
Another quip was about how a political life works. He once told me it’s basically, “Who’s Joe Lieberman?” followed by “Get me Joe Lieberman” followed by “Who’s Joe Lieberman?” followed by “We need a Joe Lieberman.” I’m not sure the third one ever happened, but I have no doubt the fourth part will come very soon.
He always made sure to personally be part of the Living Legacy conferences we present to honor the legacy of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, of sacred memory, in the hallowed halls of our nation’s capital. He always knew what to say and how to share his special relationship with the Rebbe in the most relatable terms to a diverse assemblage.
It might be appropriate to remember our dear Joe in light of some quotes from his remarks still ringing in my ears from an event he attended in 1995, when the Rebbe was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, America’s highest civilian honor.
“The Rebbe took the Torah and brought it down to Earth for us and taught us how to incorporate it within ourselves,” he said, “and in doing so, the Rebbe gave encouragement to each of us to understand how easy it could be to combine a life of Yiddishkeit with a life of full involvement in the broader community.”
At the last such event he attended, in 2022, he spoke of the 120th anniversary of the Rebbe’s birth, and referenced the Torah’s description of the biblical Moses, who lived until 120, and where the Jewish expression “may he live until 120” stems from. “His eye had not dimmed, and his vigor did not diminish.” (Deuteronomy 34:7) And then, referring to the network of the Rebbe’s emissaries and institutions the world over, he thundered, “Because of the followers that you have gained, in some real sense, the Rebbe, certainly his vision, his leadership, is still alive, and he will go on living well beyond 120 …”
I can’t help but feel these two choice quotes are, in some real sense, bookends to the impact of Joe Lieberman which I was privileged to know and learn from. He brought the Torah and Jewish tradition to Capitol Hill, the nation’s capital and indeed the world, in such a vivid and personal way. His life was reflective of the biblical Joseph, who walked the halls of Pharaoh and won the deep respect of the powers of the day, rising to lead the most powerful nation at the time without assimilating and abandoning the ways of his forebears. He took the world he was born into and changed it for the better. His middle, perhaps less known name, was Yisroel, or Israel, a name of victory given to our forefather Jacob after he wrestled with an angel and prevailed. Joe certainly wrestled with many challenges and prevailed.
Given what Joe did and built in his lifetime, he too will live on well past “120” – the time, too short I feel, which we were fortunate to have him among us.
His memory and legacy will be for a blessing.
Rabbi Levi Shemtov is executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad).