Three days after Election Day, we stood with Jewish, Christian, and Muslim clergy colleagues outside of the Pennsylvania Convention Center where votes were being counted. We came to lift our voices in prayer to assert that “Every vote is sacred.” We came to honor our ancestors who paved our way to the polls, especially Black Americans who rose up and gave their lives for the right to vote. In this time of pandemic, we came to fight for life, for a robust democracy that honors the lives and dignity of every American.
Just a week earlier, many of us marched together in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood of Philadelphia to cry out for justice and lift up the memory of Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old Black father, who had been killed by police officers. Many of us spent the months before the election working together tirelessly with POWER (Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower and Rebuild), a local interfaith nonprofit, to engage hundreds of thousands of voters in our communities and in our city.
Understanding that Philadelphia would inevitably be a primary focus of post-election challenges, we planned extensively, with guidance from T’ruah organizers, to engage members of the Jewish and the broader faith community to respond quickly to various post-election scenarios. On Election Day, thanks to T’ruah, many of us went out to the polls with Election Defenders to ensure that each voter could carry out their sacred duty in safety and joy.
On that first Friday post-election, the prayer vigil segued into joyful music, continuing the days-long dance party to drown out the chants of protesters seeking to discredit the counting of Philadelphians’ votes. Soon, the Kol Tzedek Synagogue Simcha band arrived from West Philadelphia, and we danced a socially distanced horah in the streets to spirited strains of klezmer music, celebrating our efforts for democracy and justice.
Tireless support from T’ruah organizers this fall buoyed our work in Pennsylvania — and the work of Jewish clergy around the country — to guarantee a free and fair election. With gratitude to T’ruah, we have made it to this moment, to this new beginning, rooted Jewishly as we nurture our democracy for the generations to come.
Thank you for supporting the rabbinic moral voice, and may we have many more occasions to dance in the streets together.
Rabbis Annie Lewis & Yosef Goldman
