This week, we mourn the passing of Joe Lieberman. He served four terms as U.S. senator from Connecticut and in 2000 was nominated for vice-president on the Democratic Party ticket, becoming the first Jewish candidate to represent a national party platform. Like many Jews, I will never forget seeing that make headlines.
Much has been written about his policies, and tributes have poured in from allies and rivals, all of whom recognize his uniqueness as a decent and honorable man, dedicated to his faith, family and country, and a staunch advocate for the Jewish people and Israel.
The part of his story I would like to highlight today is that Joe Lieberman was also a very proud and observant Jew. As a man who kept Shabbat, there was a time he famously walked five miles from his home in Georgetown to Capitol Hill for an emergency vote on a Saturday. 
Less known is that he also kept kosher, wrapped tefillin every weekday morning, prayed three times daily, and regularly studied the weekly Torah portion. He was a regular synagogue attendee, and even during the busy campaign seasons, everyone knew that on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah, he would not be on the trail, but at services.
He had a deep commitment to Torah observance, and he showed all of us that it’s really possible.
In a public address several years ago, he related a humorous anecdote about how he managed to keep kosher while campaigning for vice president, and even while traveling abroad.
“When I traveled, the Secret Service kept my hotel location classified for security reasons. Yet somehow, in city after city, when I arrived at the secret location, there was a kosher meal waiting for me there from the local Chabad.” Lieberman said he was never sure how Chabad accomplished that; did they have a connection at the CIA, or perhaps his mother told her Chabad rabbi where her son was going? 
His life and dedication can be a good lesson to all of us. We are not being asked to walk five miles to keep Shabbat, nor do we need to perform security gymnastics to keep kosher. Let us honor his memory by doing an additional mitzvah. This week let's be like Joe.

This Sunday, we will celebrate Purim and read the Megillah. The two most famous words in the Megillah are “venahpoch hu - it was reversed,” alluding to the overturning of Haman’s genocidal decree against the Jews. More broadly, these words encapsulate the essence of the Purim miracle when everything was turned upside down.
It was these words that came to mind this week when I read a letter from over 1000 Jewish Hollywood figures, proudly standing up in defense of the Jewish people and steadfastly refusing to renounce or refute their Judaism.
This stands in stark contrast to the actions of three infamous university presidents who couldn't bring themselves to condemn calls for the genocide of Jews.
The irony that there could be more moral clarity and human decency in Hollywood than in today's academia, which clearly suffers from moral decay and ethical erosion, certainly took me by surprise. But then again, if that isn’t an example of “venahpoch hu,” I don’t know what is.
Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi explained that Haman’s genocidal decree had an interesting loophole. If Jews renounced their faith and identity as “Mordecai's people,” Haman would leave them alone. Yet, remarkably, not one Jew even considered the option!
This profound sense of faith and commitment stemmed from Esther, who risked her life to approach the king. Contrary to what may have seemed more rational, popular, or less risky behavior, Esther didn't abandon or refute her Judaism; she stood firm. As Mordechai told her, “If you remain silent at this time, relief and rescue will arise for the Jews from elsewhere, and you and your father's household will perish; and who knows whether it was for a time such as this that you ascended to the throne.”
The lesson for us from Esther is clear. When we find ourselves at a crossroads or facing an important decision, where proudly expressing true Jewish values matters most, we must realize that we may have been gifted with our unique set of talents and abilities specifically “for a time such as this.” It might just be the very thing that you or I say or do at that moment, that will prove to be pivotal and alter the course of history. 
Queen Esther requested we read the Megillah on the 14th of Adar. Her wish has been honored by the Jewish people ever since, and the Book of Esther is included in the canon of our sacred texts. Join us on Sunday, March 22nd, the 14th of Adar, and hear the Megillah just as Esther requested.

I recently participated in the signing of a bill that will make it easier for South Dakota law enforcement to hold antisemites accountable. Though anyone can stand in the street and say whatever they’d like, HB1076 makes it easier to protect Jews in our state from hateful conduct. 
If sometime in the future, a Jewish child in South Dakota will be safer and more protected, it will be because of this bill. That is why I wholeheartedly supported it and am grateful to the South Dakota legislature for their overwhelming and bipartisan support, and to Governor Noem for making it a top priority this session.
Will it destroy the haters and completely eradicate antisemitism? Unfortunately not. 
So what, if anything, can be done to stop Jew hatred? Some argue we should be less visible and hide our mezuzahs, megillas and menorahs. Others suggest we need to be less supportive of our brothers and sisters in Israel and that Israel should defend itself less, to pacify and win over the rest of the world. The news and rhetoric today can be frustrating and isolating. 
During the time of the Purim miracle Jews were threatened with genocide by the evil Haman. It all changed when Mordechai met a group of children and asked them what they learned that day, and they began reciting verses of Torah to him.
It was at that moment that Mordechai knew the Jewish people would be okay. When there is proper Jewish education, there are knowledgeable Jews. When there are knowledgeable Jews, there are proud Jews, and where there are proud Jews there is a Jewish future. Incidentally, it was at that moment that Haman also knew that, try as he might, he would not succeed in getting rid of the Jews. 
When it comes to finding a career and making a living, we understand this idea well; if we want our children to succeed we must provide them with an education. We know this for their lifestyle and hobbies too. A parent recently told me they want their child to show an interest in soccer. So they started showing soccer games and championships on their TV screen at home and hope will build an interest in the child to sign up for the neighborhood soccer team. 
The same applies to Jewish identity and lifestyle. When a child can hold a siddur the right way up and read the Torah in its original Hebrew, they will be passionate as a teen and adult to attend services and participate in Torah classes. If they introduce themselves to their college friends as a proud Jew, it will only happen if they've been educated as one.
This is also our best weapon against antisemitism, as we say in the Passover Haggadah “In every generation they rise up to destroy us, but the Torah that has stood by our ancestors and for us, and You (G-d) save us from them.” 
Yes, we must always do what we can to ensure hateful perpetrators are held accountable, but as individual Jews, we can’t forget that the most important thing is to focus on and invest in Jewish education. Imagine what the Jewish community would look like if every dollar spent on educating the world about antisemitism was spent instead on educating Jews about Judaism; Jewish education.
Think about the astonishing fact that you and I are here today as  Jews continuing our 3,500 year old heritage and tradition. Answer these questions to yourself Who are we? What in fact is our heritage and tradition? What makes us Jewish? The “Chosen People”? What is our purpose here on earth? What is our privilege and responsibility as a Jew in 2024?
When we have a good sense of our Jewish identity, we may not be able to change the haters, but we will accomplish something far greater: We will have changed ourselves in ways that the antisemite will no longer be able to instill fear in us as they did before. When we are fully confident and proud of who we are, much of the antisemitism won’t matter anymore.
And if there is indeed any way to change how others look at Jews, this itself might be the best approach after all. In the words of the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, "Non​-​Jews respect ​Jews who respect ​Judaism."

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This past Wednesday, Governor Noem signed HB1076 into law, incorporating the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism into the Human Rights Code. This bill received overwhelming, and bipartisan, support in the Legislature. 
Contrast that to Georgia, where for five years, the Klan (Neo-Nazis) and CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) joined forces to oppose the legislation. Incredibly, what brought the KKK and CAIR together, was their common Jew hatred.
In preparing this bill, experts from national Jewish organizations offered insights into the legislation. Kenneth Marcus, Chairman of Brandeis Center for Human Rights told the committee that "passing this bill is the number one thing the State of South Dakota can do right now to protect Jews."
These experts shared that while they encountered challenges and opposition in other states, their experience in South Dakota was unique. Here, legislators debated not whether to support the bill, but how to strengthen it further, intensify the fight against antisemitism, and provide even greater protection and support for the Jewish people and Israel.
This reminds me yet again how fortunate we are that in South Dakota the vast majority of citizens stand in solidarity with the Jewish community.
Later this month we will be celebrating Purim. Mordechai is referred to in the Megillah as “Mordechai Ha-Yehudi.” The term "היהוד Ha-Yehudi" holds several significant meanings:
היהודי means "the Jew" from the word "Judea," in the Holy Land of Israel. It means the one who was מודה (“modeh”), recognizing and accepting G-d while rejecting the popular idol of the day, even at the risk of his life. And it means the one who is אודה (“odeh”), giving thanks.
These three connotations carry relevance in our daily lives today. To be a Jew means recognizing our identity, origins, and heritage. Only by understanding and embracing these aspects can we truly live life to its fullest, all while maintaining an attitude of gratitude.

This week, a Jewish woman in New York made one of the single largest charitable gifts ever: Ruth Gottesman donated one billion dollars to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine to provide free tuition to all its students in perpetuity.
Upon reading this news, I felt a sense of pride seeing the Jewish value of tzedakah being done in such a remarkable manner. It also made me think about the instruction G-d gave Moses in this week's Torah portion, where he was tasked with taking a census of the Jewish people.
The reason why countries or locales conduct censuses is to assess the strength of their population for military or tax purposes. A larger census typically signifies greater power. Yet, counting the Jews poses a challenge; because our numbers are consistently small it could portray us as vulnerable. 
In fact, there is an interesting Jewish tradition that we refrain from directly counting Jews by number because of fear of the evil eye. Instead, when necessary, we count through the words of a verse. For example, when counting ten men for a minyan, we recite a verse with ten words like "hoshiah, es, amecha, etc.," rather than counting "one, two, three," and so forth.
This brings us to the specific details of G-d's instruction in this week's Torah portion: Moses was told to count the people indirectly, by asking each person to contribute a coin, which would then be counted.
As the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks eloquently put it, while we may be small in number, our contribution is very big. Indeed, there have been no people who have contributed as much to the world as the Jewish people, whether in ethics, medicine, economics, sciences, arts, or, most importantly, in matters of G-dliness and spirituality.
It's important to remember each morning as we awaken that this is also a fundamental aspect of Judaism: thanking G-d for giving us another day and recognizing that each of us has a significant contribution to make in improving the world. And we need not wait until we can write a billion-dollar check to do so.