The election that matters most

We find ourselves in the midst of an extraordinary election season. The result of this election will determine our fates for the months and years ahead. Understandably, much thought and energy are being invested in making the right decisions about our future. 

I’m not referring to the midterm elections in the United States, crucial as their outcome may be for the Jewish community. Many will be watching the results closely on 3 November, including the important Michigan Senate race and numerous other contests that could alter the balance of power in Washington. 

Nor am I referring to Israel’s election on 27 October. We are following that contest with keen interest, many of us holding strong views about who is best suited to lead the country, which coalition might provide the greatest stability, and how peace and security might finally be restored. 

Closest to home, of course, are South Africa’s local government elections on 4 November, just one day after the American midterms. These will affect us most directly. We must choose wisely if we want roads without potholes, water that flows when we turn on our taps, and an uninterrupted electricity supply. We want an end to corruption and graft, and public representatives who care more about their constituents than their own pockets. But this isn’t the election that will determine our personal fate directly. 

The election I’m referring to takes place on the weekend of 12 and 13 September, with the second round on Monday 21 September, and the final results issued on Friday 2 October. On these sacred dates, we make choices about our personal lives that can affect us throughout the coming year and far beyond. And in this election, each of us is both the voter and the candidate. 

The process begins with the two days of Rosh Hashanah, reaches its climax 10 days later on Yom Kippur, and concludes with the issuing of the Divine writs on Hoshana Rabbah, towards the end of the festival season. 

“On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed, and on the fast of Yom Kippur it is sealed.” we recite in the haunting Unetaneh Tokef prayer, often with tears in our eyes as we face the open Holy Ark. Traditionally attributed to the 11th-century Rav Amnon of Mainz, this moving piyyut (liturgical poem) depicts each human being passing before the Divine Judge, “like sheep before the shepherd”. 

We get so caught up in the chazan’s fearful words – “Who will live and … who will be enriched and who will be impoverished” – that, in the emotion of the moment, we can easily miss the most important sentence of the entire prayer, “Teshuvah (repentance), tefillah (prayer), and tzedakah (charity) can remove the severity of the decree.” 

This is the time of year when we can choose. 

We can influence the road ahead, whether it will be full of pitfalls or smooth and beautifully surfaced. And whatever challenges await us, we can determine how, and with whom, we will travel. Will we face one challenge after another, or will it be plain sailing all the way? 

We can choose to fill our lives with the flowing waters of Torah. Will we immerse ourselves in its teachings during the months ahead, allowing its values and directives to shape the way we live? 

Will we remain plugged in, constantly connected to the ultimate Source of power, acknowledging that life, health, sustenance, and happiness all come from Him? 

We must also choose to conduct our financial affairs with absolute integrity, refusing to succumb to greed or to pursue unlawful or unethical sources of income. 

The election campaign is already in full swing. Don’t wait for election day. In these remaining days of Elul, throughout the Ten Days of Repentance and even after Yom Kippur, until the final verdict is issued on Hoshana Rabbah, every day offers another opportunity to cast our vote. Let us fill this precious time with introspection, honest personal reckoning, prayer, generosity, and meaningful resolutions. 

Choose wisely. Choose goodness. Choose life. 

Shana tova. 

• Rabbi Yossi Chaikin is the rabbi at Oxford Shul and the chairperson of the South African Rabbinical Association.