As many discuss Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death in the political sense, it can be equally important to note her death in a spiritual way.
Ginsburg, who died at age 87 of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer, was the high court’s first Jewish female justice.
Her death has become a large topic of discussion for the coming Nov. 3 election. And again, much like what happened with Antonin Scalia’s death in 2016, the two parties are bickering over when the new Supreme Court nominee should be named.
This had led many political minds to argue that her death is untimely. But stepping away from politics (which is admittedly a hard thing to do), let us look at how her death affected something else.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday, Sept.18, which was also the Jewish New Year: Rosh Hashanah.
Translated, Rosh Hashanah means “head (of) the year,” and it is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days specified by Leviticus 23:23-32.
About a week later comes Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. This is the holiest day of the year in Judaism.
And as many Jews moved into — or in this time of COVID-19, logged on to — their temples last Friday to listen to their rabbi or hear the ceremonial shofar, they were met with the news that the Jewish justice passed away.
Ronald S. Lauder, World Jewish Congress president, expressed his deep sadness for the passing of Ginsburg in the following statement:
“As Jews across the United States and the world welcomed the hope that comes with the first night of Rosh Hashanah, we learned of the devastating loss of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg was a trailblazer on behalf of gender equality, and she paved the way for women in the law and on the courts.
“She fought fiercely and unflinchingly to advance and defend the rights of women and minorities, and, in the tradition of Justices Louis D. Brandeis and Benjamin Cardozo (two other Jewish justices), embodied the principle of equal justice for all under the law, as well as the Jewish value of ‘tzedek, tzedek, tirdof’ — ‘justice, justice shall you pursue.’”
But it did not take long for some to acknowledge that this could mean something much more powerful for those members of the tribe.
Ruth Franklin, whose book “A Thousand Darknesses: Lies and Truth in Holocaust Fiction” was a finalist for the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, tweeted soon after the news of Ginsburg’s death and what this means to Jewish belief.
“According to Jewish tradition, a person who dies on Rosh Hashanah, which began tonight, is a tzaddik, a person of great righteousness,” she said.
Nina Totenberg, National Public Radio reporter and one of Ginsburg’s friends, explained this further in a tweet: “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 & were the most righteous.”
It can easily be argued that Ginsburg’s death is another burden to bear for voters, another topic for an upcoming debate and another headache for the other eight justices. But what we may have to think about is how to Ginsburg’s family, and those who loved her so much, this can mean a bit more.
We do not have to agree with everything she said in order to see the beauty in her actions. I myself have found myself disagreeing with much in her later decisions on the bench.
But it is still reasonable to admire all she has accomplished.
Ginsburg was beyond a trailblazer for women. She basically torched the whole field.
Before serving on the court, she argued seven cases during the 1970s woman’s movement, winning five of them.
While on the bench, Ginsburg’s notable majority opinions — such as in United States v. Virginia, which gave women the right to attend the all-male Virginia Military Institute — were often overshadowed by her powerful and eloquently put dissenting opinions.
These included her thoughts on such causes as the employment discrimination case Ledbetter v. Goodyear, in which a female employee argued that she was consistently given low raises relative to male employees, or in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, which discussed religious objections in the workplace regarding the use of contraception.
Her legacy has been cemented in the very steps of the Supreme Court.
Even now, my fellow recent university graduates are posting Ginsburg quotes on their social media or wearing photos of her on their shirts. Some are even going so far as to get tattoos of the 87-year-old justice.
When was the last time you’ve seen someone care this much for a bubbie (a Jewish grandmother) who wasn’t even theirs?
Seeing people from ages 18 to 98 express this level of care and compassion for her truly shows the legacy “The Notorious RBG” left behind.
To her family I say, Shanah Tovah Umetukah — “(have a) Good Year and Sweet Year” — and may her memory be for a blessing.
• Contact Adam Bakst at 581-7233 or abakst@gwcommonwealth.com. Twitter: @AdamBakst_GWCW
